At the Housing Technology 2019 Conference, Paul Swannell spoke about how to better serve customers who know what they want, when they want it. Paul explored how Localz technology is keeping customer satisfaction ratings high and how this aligns to lower costs.

1. TRANSPARENCY AND
EFFICIENCY IN
HOUSING REPAIRS
© Localz 2019
An introduction to

2. © Localz 2019
Localz Customer CommunicationsThe ‘Uberisation’ Paradox
Great customer service costs money, right? Which do you choose to offer?
Low cost, basic service
or
High cost, great service
Here’s the paradox – it needn’t be either/or (and you have reasons to want both)

3. © Localz 2019
Problem statement
When we carry out repairs [or other visits], customers don’t know precisely when
we’ll arrive:
o The customer isn’t always around to give access, so we waste a journey (£60 a time)
o Customers clog up our contact centre with ETA queries – “when’s the operative due?” (£5 per call)
o Customers can’t contact our operatives to discuss arrangements – “doorbell broken, pls knock loudly”
o Our customers get frustrated (they don’t want to hang around all day, waiting)
The Solution:
o Provide customers with automated notifications and real-time ‘Uber-style’ operative tracking so they
know exactly when to expect you
o Provide two-way communications so customers can make smooth appointment arrangements
directly with your operatives

4. © Localz 2019
Localz Customer Communication – British Gas

5. WE ARE EDUCATED & CONDITIONED BY
EVERY CONNECTED EXPERIENCE
Consumers expect all services to meet the transparency and
control benchmark set by the likes of Uber, Amazon, DPD, etc
“Today’s wow quickly becomes tomorrow’s norm”
Jeff Bezos, Amazon

6. ……and the benchmark is influenced by:
• you and/or your partners
• your industry/peers
• companies in unrelated industries
Customer expectations keep rising…

7. OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
[Not just happy customers]
Remove primary reasons for inbound calls & complaints
• Where’s my repairs guy?
• Late and failed appointments
Reduce no-access failed appointments
• Total transparency/real-time progress tracking
lessens chances of customer not being in/available
Rapid handling of remaining queries
• Contact centre agents have visibility
• Removes reliance on planning/scheduling team

8. }
Day of appointmentDays prior
Reminder 1 Reminder 2 On my way About to arrive Completion
Leaving
customer site
EITHER
“Your {{job#}} has been
created and scheduled for
{{date}}, reply to this message
if you want to inform your
operative of any access
information"
“Your {{job#}} has been created
and scheduled for {{date}}, click
here: {{Link Specific}} for the job
summary”
“Your {{company}} operative
{{Name}} is on their way, they
will arrive {{ETA Specific}}. To
track their arrival, click here:
{{Link Specific}}”
“Your {{Company}}
operative is arriving now!”
“Your {{Company}} repair is
completed! Do you have
any feedback for us?
{{Feedback link specific}}”
“Your {{Company}}
operative could not
complete the job, we’ll be in
touch with you shortly.
Customer can
call operative
Changes to job status trigger automatic comms
Customer can reply via SMS
Localz Customer Communications

9. o Job status updates/tracking – with two-way communications
• Notification with link to job status page – view on mobile device
• Automatically triggered and updated according to job status changes
• Collect customer preferences for appointment – with customer annotations
• Provides updates prior to live tracking commencing
Status Tracking & Preferences

10. 4321 5
ETA
communication
Map link
“On my way”
SMS
Includes link to live
map
Option to respond
Live ETA
Driving Route
Option to call
operative
Feedback Link via
SMS or Push
Notification
Feedback Form
Web Page
App integration
Example Customer Experience

11. Reason %ofTotal
ConfirmappointmenttimeOK 19%
"Ready and waiting !"
Issue with appointment time 18%
"Hi I am not at home at the moment, is it possible to re schedule
for after 2pm"
Parking/accessinstructions 16%
"Hi. Come to the back door through the gate to right of front
door. Thanks"
"Secure entry not working so will stay alert for van"
"You need to come via Wemyss Rd due to roadworks"
"Bells not working, pls knock loudly."
"Neighbour at 32 Dryden close will let you in "
I'llbebacksoon 15%
"I have a school run at 3:15 the school is on my doorstep so I
shall only be 5 minutes if I am not in!"
"I am at the school picking my son up will be there 3.20"
Detail around reason for appointment 9%
"He needs to check boiler, flue, and radiators please"
Don't need appointment 5%
"An engineer came to me yesterday and the problem has been
fixed so I don't need you today thank you"
Requestcall 2%
"Please can the engineer call me"
• Response to SMS
• ‘Call’ to operative
• Saves time/reduced dwell time
• Better first-time access
• Reduced wasted journeys
• Customer not in
• Problem fixed
Two-way Communications

12. • Real-time location and status reporting
• Actionable management insights
• User-level widget
customisation
• Real-time data updates
• Multi-format exporting
• All data streams available
as RESTful APIs for simple
integration to existing MI
solutions
Localz Dashboard

13. Localz Dashboard

14. Localz Dashboard

15. Localz Dashboard

16. • Improved Repairs Satisfaction Ratings
• Meet publicly-declared objectives/goals
• Fewer inbound calls and operative chasing calls
• Reduced call centre cost
• Back-office visibility
• Technician location and job progress
• Better first-time access
• Saves significant costs
• Easier/cheaper to attain regulated standards
[e.g. gas safety]
Benefits for Landlords & Contractors

17. • Transparency and verification
• Less anxiety
• Take life off pause
• Save time and frustration
• No contact centre queues to get ETA
• Ability to communicate directly with operative
• Cuts out layers of ‘middle-men’
• Introduces mutual control
•
Benefits for Customers

18. How/Why?
• Timely and relevant reminders
• Customer instructions/responses to
notifications
✓ e.g. "please wait 5mins after knocking; I’m slow on my feet”
• Exact ETA and route progress map means
customers don’t miss the knock at their door
✓ They don’t ‘nip out’ to buy milk/walk the dog
✓ They’re not in the shower/toilet at the wrong time
• If driver running late, customer stays home
because they can see their progress live
• Tackles ‘feather-light’ knocking on Fri afternoons
First-time Access

19. DPD is using Localz Last Mile Delivery to increase
first time delivery rates
• First time delivery rate up from 95% to 98%
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Competitive differentiation and brand
perception

20. British Gas is using Localz Last Mile Delivery to
improve first time access rates
• 20% reduction in ‘no access’ rate
• Showcased in Autumn 2018 TV and
radio ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=sG89OMxodPo

21. Autoglass UK is using Localz Last Mile to improve
customer communications
• 30% reduction in ETA ‘Red Calls’
• 15 point improvement in NPS
• 9/10 technician rating

22. OVO Energy is using Localz for Meter Installs
• Failed appointments reduced by 20% (from 8.1% down
to 6.5%)
• £450k/yr saving from reduced failed appointments
alone
• 94% positive feedback responses from customers