An Important Lesson for Home Service Businesses

Businesses with large service areas often create multiple zones and assign technicians to specific areas to manage the workload. While this approach seems logical, it can significantly reduce the critical availability of same-day appointments.

We analyzed two key online scheduling metrics for a business that operated with multiple zones.

May vs. July Metrics:

• May:
  • Job Type and Zip Completed: 241
  • Selected an Appointment Time: 119 (49.38%)
  • Appointment Confirmed: 85 (35.27%)
• July:
  • Job Type and Zip Completed: 277
  • Selected an Appointment Time: 217 (78.34%)
  • Appointment Confirmed: 169 (61.01%)

Key Observations:

• In May, 49.38% of customers selected an appointment time, compared to 78.34% in July—a nearly 30% increase.
• The number of confirmed appointments nearly doubled from May to July.

What Changed?

We identified that the business often lacked same-day and next-day availability, particularly in their most popular zones. Additionally, they only offered two four-hour arrival windows per day, which limited flexibility for customers.

The Business Took Two Key Actions in June:

1. Consolidated to One Zone: This change placed more pressure on the dispatcher to route jobs effectively, but the results proved it was worth the effort.
2. Increased Arrival Window Options: They shifted from offering two four-hour arrival windows to five two-hour windows, giving customers more flexibility.

This example highlights how savvy business owners can use data from platforms like Street2Fleet to uncover hidden profits in marketing and dispatch. By understanding and optimizing these key metrics, businesses can significantly enhance both their revenue and customer satisfaction.