is the concept of respect and courtesy long-gone? Am I asking for too much?

[Rosco]

Ok. Word of mouth/referrals take time to get around. I'm now just finishing my 3rd year and I work from home. Maybe your expectations are too high?

Yea it takes a while for word to spread and your reputation to grow. I used to think working out of my house hurt business but i can remember the last time someone didnt do with with a repair that wasnt just tire kicking away. THe ecomony is really tough right. Everyone is suffering from what i hear.

I went to a seminar about a year ago run by the SBA and they said like 50% of small business is run out of people homes. So it must be working for poeple.

What are your advertising channels. I find the adword brings in lots of business. Had 2 this week just from craigslist. Start and referral program. If something doesnt work try something else. The most important thing about business is learning how fail. It will happen. Dont let it get you done. Look at lisa(call that girl) she has been through some hard times but is making the best of it and actually happier and making more money.

 

[hightechrex]

I know for a fact that working out of my home is affecting business. Maybe not in a huge way, but it definitely has a negative impact. I've had people drive past my house who I knew were coming for a pc repair service; many people even think they are at the wrong place.. I've had customers tell me they were initially apprehensive when they discovered that I was working out of my home (happy customers even.) We usually laugh about it and keep it moving, but it does bring a problem to my attention. Some people may not be as accepting. I do get more than enough business to keep me afloat, I do keep my overhead low, and try my best to keep customer satisfaction up.

Perhaps i'm just worry too much...

 

[Martyn]

I know for a fact that working out of my home is affecting business. Maybe not in a huge way, but it definitely has a negative impact. I've had people drive past my house who I knew were coming for a pc repair service; many people even think they are at the wrong place.. I've had customers tell me they were initially apprehensive when they discovered that I was working out of my home (happy customers even.) We usually laugh about it and keep it moving, but it does bring a problem to my attention. Some people may not be as accepting. I do get more than enough business to keep me afloat, I do keep my overhead low, and try my best to keep customer satisfaction up.

Perhaps i'm just worry too much...

I don't know your area your house is in, maybe it's not a good area? What I do know is here is not a lot on your website or Facebook about you. The website is nice but you are an unknown to your potential client. On my website you can read about me, see me and read plenty of testimonials. In fact I always ask where they got my number from and sometimes they say the website and they connected with me through that. Also maybe your expectations are high, for a long while I didn't get many calls. Create a page about you and your experience and put a pic up of yourself as well. Maybe you don't talk enough on the phone? I can talk for England many years in the service industry but people need to be at ease especially women who are a lot of my clients.

 

[hightechrex]

I don't know your area your house is in, maybe it's not a good area? What I do know is here is not a lot on your website or Facebook about you. The website is nice but you are an unknown to your potential client. On my website you can read about me, see me and read plenty of testimonials. In fact I always ask where they got my number from and sometimes they say the website and they connected with me through that. Also maybe your expectations are high, for a long while I didn't get many calls. Create a page about you and your experience and put a pic up of yourself as well. Maybe you don't talk enough on the phone? I can talk for England many years in the service industry but people need to be at ease especially women who are a lot of my clients.

I do sometimes feel a disconnect between me the customer over the phone perhaps something I need to work on. I do have a google+ page with 17 positive reviews, and that number is growing. I even have customers come out and tell me, "hey I read good things about you." That sense of apprehension goes away during the initial meet and greet, but my on the phone personality has much to be desired. How do you typically open the phone conversation?

Note: I do live in a pretty nice area.

https://plus.google.com/115505212608611029017/about?hl=en

 

[Kitten Kong]

I can talk for England many years in the service industry but people need to be at ease especially women who are a lot of my clients.

I can vouch for that :-D. Haha, when Martyn and I get on the phone, we are yakking for usually 30+ mins. Then we get round to what we actually called each other over .

I agree, if you approach each and every client with a professional voice, be empathic, listen to their needs, and don't interrupt, you will bag more than you lose.

Word of mouth is the largest selling point for me. I only now advertise in one local mag, which comes out bi-annually. Apart from that, and my website, I do no advertising.

I've been in business now for 8 years, and roughly 5-6 years ago, is when the wom really started working for me.

By being professional, putting everything down in writing, and giving the client a copy of the repair report (pcrt), explaining everything etc, goes a heck of a lot further, than simply, right you had a virus, ive cleaned it up, heres your invoice. (Not saying that's what you do though )

 

[Kitten Kong]

.... but my on the phone personality has much to be desired. How do you typically open the phone conversation?

Didn't Dan go through a telephone call with you, only a couple of months ago?. Have you put into practise what you did from that?

 

[hightechrex]

Didn't Dan go through a telephone call with you, only a couple of months ago?. Have you put into practise what you did from that?

He did and all of that actually worked, but I'm always aiming to improve.

 

[Martyn]

As Nige says put people at ease but impart some of your knowledge so they'll know who to call when they need help. Sow the seeds now, reap the rewards later. Yesterday I had a someone ring up yesterday asking me about downgrading their mothers Windows 8 laptop to windows 7. I asked why and he said she didn't like it and she had just got rid of a windows 7 laptop! anyway I told him about the Classic Shell start and he was really grateful. So sometimes just make connection and maybe get the business later.

Yes me and Nige can talk a bit and I've never met him

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

I do sometimes feel a disconnect between me the customer over the phone perhaps something I need to work on. I do have a google+ page with 17 positive reviews, and that number is growing. I even have customers come out and tell me, "hey I read good things about you." That sense of apprehension goes away during the initial meet and greet, but my on the phone personality has much to be desired. How do you typically open the phone conversation?

Note: I do live in a pretty nice area.

https://plus.google.com/115505212608611029017/about?hl=en

Now keep in mind i'm not a people person but I am not sure many would consider south of rosewood a pretty nice area. Now north of rosewood is a different story

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

I do all of the above lol. I think the fact that I work out of my home may be driving some clientele away, is that a possibility? I do get a decent amount of business, but I'm just thinking of how I can get more and do better.

Its more than possible. For some reason, people tend to trust brink and mortar shops, particularly in the United States. In places like the UK and Australia, it is not uncommon to seek out a professional that works from his home. In fact, in Australia, I once got a physical for immigration purposes from a doctor that ran a clinic out of a addition from her home.

Also, it is really going to depend on your location. Some places might be conducive to business from a persons home, others it might be a terrible idea for various reasons. Working from your home is just going to put some people off, and short of getting a retail location, there is little you can do to change that.

 

[gikstar]

I think the fact that I work out of my home may be driving some clientele away, is that a possibility?

This is definitely a problem even if you notify them when they call that your 'workshop' is in your home.
But the reason for your workshop being where it is is that you service a number of businesses who rely on you to be able to handle overnight turnaround and you can't do that in a commercial setting.
This way you have a full-service kitchen and a place to take a nap.

Quote: So, where did you find us? If you found up on 'yelp' (or wherever), you did notice all of the 5 Star reviews and satisfied customers... that should tell you that we are on the level and can be trusted to service your computer needs".

Maybe the above will help... also, have some signage on you vehicle parked in your driveway which is usually legal (compared to having a sign on your front lawn). Having a small sign next to the door bell can't hurt either.

 

[Jeffreynya]

my on the phone personality has much to be desired. How do you typically open the phone conversation?

This part is tough. I don't know what you went over in the comments above, but I can add a few things that may help. I do phone work all day so it comes pretty easy to me. You ALWAYS ask them how they are doing or some variation of that and do it with a Smile on your face. People will pickup on it right away if you don't seem interested in them. You don't have to treat hem like best friends but make them think they are the only person you want to be talking to at that very moment.

They call you with a problem. So you need to always make it about them and what they want. You need to empathize with there issue and never ever trivialize it.

Think about every time you have called some place for support and think about how they interacted with you. Did they sound like they were reading from a script? Did they just try to get basic info and get you scheduled and off the phone? Its these negative type things that will drive people away.

I will say this again. Always have a smile on your face when talking on the phone. It will make things go much better for everyone involved.

 

[PBComputer]

Not had someone do it in ages, but it looks like it has just happened someone was calling in at 2.30-3.00pm to pick a system and, they have not arrived yet and no phone call.

Updated, they did arrive a few hours late, they went to the beach and fell asleep. But did arrive, lucky I was in the garden and seen them arrive.

 

[Adept PC Repair]

This seems to happen to me rarely but when it does I seem to get 2 or 3 in a day and I tend to then beat myself up about it blaming myself, wishing I worked for someone so I didn't have to devote my time to waiting for nobody.

It's a rarity, I think it's just a part of business.

 

[Digital Sage]

I've had mostly solid clients - they ring, are happy to book, and I turn up and they're there. I always SMS them an hour before hand.

Interestingly, most of my cancellations have something in common:

1. Female
2. Easy fix type problems

At least they give me notice of cancellation , but it's interesting that its "something came up" and "ill call u again to book an appointment".

I don't bother chasing them. Perhaps it's your rates or clientele that need adjusting. I find the cheaper people are, the less they care about quality, and valuing their own time or someone else's...

 

[ell]

Am I the only one who has the problem of people flaking on appointments? I've had individuals show up 2 hours late, don't show up at all, or are just plain uncooperative. Is it so hard to spend the 30 seconds required to call with a simple heads up, "hey I'm supposed to come at 2:30 but I changed my mind or went somewhere else." It wouldn't offend me; I can deal with that.. It's just a little frustrating when I have to free up time for someone and they just no-show. How do you counteract this? Solutions?

I have them book a 1 hour time frame and request a cancellation call or email, if you give them an hour maybe that will help.