If you had an opportunity to educate your customers before they called you so their time and yours would be spent most efficiently and effectively, what would want them to know? I'd like to know from both a residential service provider as well as an industrial service provider's viewpoint - what should the homeowner or the facility/building manager be familiar with or able to discuss with some level of understanding in order to get the job done quickly and correctly?
For example, when I was dispatching telephone repair & installation techs, I was often frustrated when a caller didn't know their location (large facility) and they'd know the general area but not the building number or the room number - afterall, they just drive there, park, walk through a door, turn left and unlock their door, why can't my service guy do the same? (tongue in cheek) They also often didn't know what kind of phone they had. Often they didn't know exactly what the problem was either or how often it occurred, or when it happened. I realize sometimes things can be a little fuzzy but as a person sitting across town hoping to send this individual some relief, it became apparent that if we told the caller that "I'll need this basic info - location by Area/Bldg/Rm, type of phone, description of the problem or failure and if possible, when or how often it occurs, and whether or not there was other service types of work being done nearby."
What would you ask your customer to be ready to provide you upon their request for your service?
