Innovative Customer Care Strategies with Valerie Heck
It's International Women's Month in the virtual Lemonade Stand, and Crystal is joined by Valerie Heck from Colair! They talk about navigating customer service techniques, bolstering your call center, and the core of human connection.
0:07 - Empowering Women in the HVAC Industry
5:42 - Empathy and Empowerment in Customer Service
11:34 - Call Center Performance and Outbound Strategies
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Speaker 1: 0:07
What's up, lemonheads? Welcome to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. I'm Crystal and I'm doing this thing solo today, but that's all right, because I have the best guest with me today. I'm so excited. I think she's kind of a little hidden secret in the industry and, in honor of Women's Month, we are really talking to a lot of women that are kicking booty at what they do. So, guys, I can't wait for you to hear about how she's running call centers and call by calls, and she's even doing some of it remotely. Guys, we cannot wait for you to hear this.
Speaker 1: 0:39
Let's sip some lemonade, all right, so joining me today in the virtual lemonade stand, as we say, is the super sweet. I love her humility, like she's so excited to be on here and we are the ones that are blessed with her being on here. But Valerie Heck, she is the customer care coach and now call by call for Coleair, which is based in Mission, texas. Again, y'all know I say this every time I get to have a Texan on the call, like Yee Hall Texan. We just have a vibe. We just love other Texans, I love everyone, but there's just a special connection with a Texan, right?
Speaker 2: 1:18
Yeah, it's our special place.
Speaker 1: 1:21
It's our special place. So I absolutely love, like Valerie, she says she's very passionate about her son and all that she is and all that she gets to be is being a mom for him and then also getting to run this really cool organization there with Coleair. I like to talk a little bit today about both sides. So we're gonna talk about the empowerment and the journey side that Valerie has as part of her testimony, if you will. But then I'm gonna ask some specific questions about her call center and call by call. So make sure you hang on through all of these pieces today because we're gonna kill both of them. So I'm really excited to hear from you today. And so, valerie, you've been in the industry for years, starting the call center. You kind of moved up right. So tell us a little bit about, like, your journey through the HVAC industry. Like how'd you get here, why'd you stay here? All those good things.
Speaker 2: 2:15
Well, I could say that it started when I was a kid, even, because we had our air conditioner installed and then they had the little magnets with the air conditioning company who installed our air conditioner there, and so I would drive them around on a refrigerator as a kid, pretending that I was driving that van with the name of the company.
Speaker 2: 2:35
So I have been yes, I have actually been working in an air conditioning company since I was a kid. No, I'm just teasing. So I actually I worked in the call center for a very wonderful answering service here that's local to where I'm from in the Dallas Fort Worth area, and I worked there in 2013 up until 2020 was whenever I left there and it was a great experience to work in that call center because we answered for over 400 different types of companies, from bondsmen to electricians, roofers. It was everything under the sun apartment complexes, we did the water supply district. So when we had that great big Texas freeze, we answered for everybody. It was wild.
Speaker 2: 3:24
So I have worked in a call center for many years and then I transitioned into air conditioning, into the HVAC industry whenever I left the call center and that was after the pandemic and I realized that I wanted to grow and I started noticing that during the pandemic, a lot of the calls that we were getting were air conditioning calls and that that was something that was still flourishing, and so I went over to work at a company and, lo and behold, it was the company for who installed our air conditioning systems. The company that I was driving those little magnets were in for. So I really thought that was special. I knew that company, I was comfortable with them. I knew that they took care of their customers. We had been using them for years so I was very familiar with their customer experience.
Speaker 2: 4:14
So I have started there in their call center and then I started noticing more on the inside sales of things. I really got into inside sales and I really enjoyed helping the customer experience. So, building on that and really looking into how can I help these customers who are calling in, we get so busy in the summertime that we really just have to find a way to help them and enhance their customer experience, even whenever we're the first person in line on the phones. So I've been trained on being a voice with a smile for so many years that it has really just come naturally to me as far as helping others. So I really am excited to be here.
Speaker 1: 5:02
I'm a little bit nervous but no girl, no people love to hear from you. So let me ask this so, when you're working to answering service, what do you think your biggest piece of advice for CSRs? Because now you manage some CSRs and things like that so how do you coach your CSRs on having the best customer experience ever for the customer?
Speaker 2: 5:25
I definitely think that it all starts with empathy. If you can put yourself in that customer's shoes and really experience how they could be feeling. They're only really going to be calling the air conditioning company once that's when their system is broken. We need to remind them to schedule their maintenance. So whenever they're calling us, it's usually because they have a system issue, and the first thing that we can do is always just answer that very kindly.
Speaker 2: 5:51
Be that voice with a smile. That's how I've always been trained to be. That was the slogan of the answering service that I came from, and so I've been well versed in core values on, you know, being that voice with a smile, because whenever you're upset and you're feeling down, the first thing that can make you feel better is just a smile, and so we don't get to see that customer face to face. We have to actually be that voice so that they can see it through how it sounds. So I really do try my best to always even just greet them with the first impression, because how somebody makes a decision is within seconds.
Speaker 1: 6:34
Yes, yes, you're exactly right. So you know something I say all the time CSRs are your first line of the actual human connection with your brand. So you need to put a lot of importance as business owners with that first line, which is the CSR, empowering them to be empathetic. So listen, no one wakes up and says you know what I can't wait to do today? Buy a new heating and air conditioning unit or buy a new water heater. Like, please, lord, today let me spend $20,000 on a new system. That's not what happens when they call in. We're getting people that are a little irritated with the fact they're having to call in right.
Speaker 1: 7:13
So I always like to really encourage people. Like man, we can soften a relationship really quick with just good empathetic skills with the first interaction. So I think that's a great tool. Like it does start with empathy and even in the interpersonal communication side of things, like how your team deals with each other and also how they deal with the clients, like empathy is a very important piece of that. So well, tell me, valerie, did you have any sort of issues? Have you ever felt that? Tell me how you feel about women in the trades. Do you feel like we're supported. Do you feel like that we are empowered to do what we need to do? Do you work for someone that empowers you? Tell me a little bit about the empowerment side.
Speaker 2: 8:01
I do work for someone who empowers me now. So I say now at the end of that statement, because you know I have worked for other companies before who haven't had the best culture and that's why I really strive to enhance culture everywhere that I go. I have been, you know, womanized within the industry. I would say. I think that it is an industry where it can be quite difficult sometimes to come in as a female, but I have learned to grow within that role, within being who I am and embracing who I am.
Speaker 2: 8:39
It all depends on the culture of where you're at. If you're at a place where you don't feel welcome or you feel things aren't right with being you know yourself, especially with being a woman in the industry, I would suggest using the skills that you have within that role and that you've learned there and finding your tribe. So that's why, whenever I say that I found Coler, I'm very blessed to have found my tribe, the owner of Coler. He actually values my input, listens to what I have to say, we work together to collaborate as a team and I feel 100% heard. So it can really change your worlds to be in a place where you're valued and I'm sorry.
Speaker 1: 9:27
I'm sorry, I heard you say so.
Speaker 1: 9:31
I love this. She felt heard, so I think that as leader. So let me talk to all the owners that are listening today, owners that are listening today, it isn't always that you have to give in to every request or give in to every suggestion or accept every suggestion. I think what it's about is making sure that people feel heard and understood and that we do a good job of telling why we're making the decisions that we're making. So a lot of times when, innocently, it's not that we're not listening, but we're not acknowledging to our team members that we hear them, we understand where they're coming from, but we need to go this direction. Or making them aware like, hey, there's a lot of things behind the scenes that you don't see, as to why I can't do that, or heaven forbid. Some of us need to say this is a great idea, or Valerie, you're doing a great job or so, and so this was a great script you put out in front of the team. We can, overall, do a better job of making sure our team feels seen and heard and not just dismiss a lot of things like, oh my gosh, everybody's so emotional.
Speaker 1: 10:32
I tend to be that way sometimes. Like man, I just want to grab a hold to people sometimes and say toughen up right like girl, if you don't put your big girl panties on and just okay, thick skin, be professionally mature. But there is a side of that that goes to making sure that your team members feel heard and respected so that they will continue to collaborate with you. So I think those are that's a great piece of advice. Well, hey, you mentioned that you guys just added call by call, or recently added call by call, and so I'm assuming the traditional way to call by call is basically you literally are coaching your team call by call on how, if things need to be sold or upgraded or whatever, tell me what that looks like for Coler.
Speaker 2: 11:19
Yes, so well. Right now we're still learning and implementing the process. We do have it divided up with a team so that that way we can balance out between the number of technicians that we have while we're still learning and growing into that. So it's a very wonderful process. Anyone who's not running call by call within your company, I suggest you look into that method. It's something that I highly have seen the value in. And then you know, structuring your call center that's been my major role, you know is in the call center, both inbound and outbound. So I think that if you don't have a good outbound method within your call center, you should definitely be following up on, like estimates, memberships. You know you should always be striving for those things. You can pull reports from your CRM system and, you know, go back a few the months. Let's go and see where we can find those opportunities as CSRs.
Speaker 2: 12:17
Then there's always processes that we can always be following, but with Call my Call it's a very different experience. It's a lot to do with dispatch and it is very much within just every single step of the role. So we follow, we really have to do make sure that it is a customer experience with a great meet and greet From the very minute the technicians get to the door. Like I said, it actually starts when we're answering the phone, but from the minute the technicians are set up for success, then we will have them in the door. Great meet and greet. Make sure you have your booties on. Those are little things that really enhance customer experience, but those little things go a long way. So even how you're presenting yourself if you don't have on your uniform, if you look messy, those types of things are really important to the customer and how we present ourselves. For ourselves.
Speaker 1: 13:11
That sets the tone, though, so we were talking about this today. So if you drive up to a restaurant and the paint is peeling the parking lot's dirty, the neon signs half lit, you walk in, nobody greets you, it smells like stale tortilla chips. You're going to expect that this place is going to be a little ratchet and it's going to be cheap. So if they were to then bring out $110 T-Bone steak, you'd be like hold on, this don't match, right, this here don't match. That's probably a little Texan for y'all, but this don't match. So when you can increase the experience level for your customers through a good CSR presentation booties on, feed, all of those things then, when the price is higher than the next store, next company, but the experience was elevated, the conversations were better, the experience overall and the relationship that was built was much better. So, hey, on your outbound strategy. So tell me your CSRs just choose who they're going to outbound. Do you put out a list every day? How does your CSR team know when to launch?
Speaker 2: 14:20
Well, right now we don't have an outbound team. I have come from a role before where I had just strictly an outbound team. I do suggest, if you have the capabilities, to have both separated. They're two separate roles. But if for right now, like in Colare, we have our inbound department and we are outbounding from that, and that's great when you're growing so our inbound department, I pull the reports, I send them to everyone, depending on what we're needing to call out for. I can pull reports and filter them by who needs a maintenance, who had the age of their system, etc. We can look and see who's needing to be followed up with. So we use service Titan. I really suggest that if you haven't heard of it or anything like that, I'm sure you have, but look into it. If you're not using service Titan, it's a great feature to have and pull those reports on of your customer's database. So, and then you can also just get a lot of training within the industry through service Titan as well.
Speaker 1: 15:19
Yes, so what report do you pull?
Speaker 2: 15:23
Well, I make my own custom reports on there so I can just yeah, you can go in there and even with marketing. So outbound strategies for marketing whenever you are outbounding to like, you have your CSR team following up by phone. You can have drip campaigns with emails that follow up, and then you can also SMS campaign them as well to keep it all in a good alignment with everything. They know the offer that you're sending them and you know you get it all in a good groove of everything.
Speaker 2: 15:53
And then you can also follow up with them with what you've been broadcasting as your you know, your brand and your you know we've run a lot of commercials right now is what our primary marketing campaign is for commercials. But we can also just follow up with them in millions of ways through marketing campaigns. So, like service Titan has marketing pro. It's a great tool to use. So I really find value in digging into all those different aspects of the industry and like what I do. So I, like I said I, wear many hats within my role, but I really I couldn't imagine not doing what I do. It's ever since I started rolling into it I realized I needed to help the customers with the answering service. It was interesting because a lot of the times they would be calling in and I would be after hours just letting them know the office they were trying to reach was closed. So they were very frustrated customers. That's how I've learned how to handle escalation so well. But I never felt like I was really helping the customers because I was telling them the officers are closed, I can't help you, you know. And so then I realized that I wanted to help people and I wanted to do more for myself and my family and my son. So that's why I started looking into air conditioning, like I was, is the times were very hard during the pandemic and with everything else, I just realized that there was more to be found and air conditioning was it, and that was just like once I was in it. I was in it and nobody was gonna get me out of it.
Speaker 2: 17:27
Our outbound campaigns you know, I can outbound and focus on a campaign to just call all day. If I'm the CSR on duty myself, I can call and then, if I help assign it to everyone else, I make sure they have an outbound minimum of number of calls that they need to hit. Some people enjoy outbounding more than others, but it really just boils down to the drive and what seat on the bus the person within the company likes to have. So if let's say they're not very good at outbounding but they're very great at, you know, permits, we'll find a way for them to just work on permits. If they're not that great on the phone, we can, you know, have them as the receptionist just greeting at the door. Always find somewhere within our company for our teammates, even if they're not the best at outbounding, you know so, but we do have great outbound methods.
Speaker 1: 18:21
Well, you know, one of the things that's really important is a strategy in general. So I say this all the time it really doesn't matter how you build the watch, as long as you can tell me what time it is right. So, as long as things are working, I don't always care how we get there. As long as you guys know how you're getting there, you can pull. It's scalable, it's documented. I just really encourage this. I think you're doing a great job with your call center there. Last question and I know I'm kind of putting you on the spot with this, but can you tell me some of the KPIs that you are holding your call center CSRs accountable for?
Speaker 2: 18:56
Yes, I actually have them on my board here and I was going to let you know. So these are actually my real KPIs that I told the team about. But then these are the KPIs for the call center. So you can see here the actual numbers portion of KPIs which I'll tell you. But I wanted to tell you the most important part of the call center and the company as a whole. So you have being accessible, mentoring, customer experience, fostering improvements, personal and team professional development, empowerment and inclusion, growth, mindset, cultural, organizational growth, dedication, open, effective communication, prioritizing urgent needs, identifying opportunities and needs, restoring comfort, strength, resilience, adaptability, core values, vision and mission and cultivating positivity, gratitude and respect. So those are the real KPIs that I'm looking for and keeping people interested is what they say.
Speaker 2: 20:02
But the KPIs for the call center would be your booking rate, so your inbound booking rate, which we want to have it about 95% or higher, and your inbound number of calls taken, outbound number of calls made, total number of jobs booked, membership sold and the turnovers. I like to count those and run little specials. I call them Santa's showdown and Christmas time and everything else. So if you take a call and it turns over to a comfort advisor, you built some good value on that call. That means we're going to have a special incentive program for that year. So, like right now, we're springing into success and that's with our membership sales. So we have different KPIs all around. I like to keep it fun and interesting for everybody.
Speaker 1: 20:48
So lots of different.
Speaker 2: 20:50
KPIs. You've always got to keep tracking your team, and day to day, I suggest you have huddles, go over the numbers, and one-on-ones are very vital too.
Speaker 1: 21:02
Love that. Well, listen, I think that you guys have great things going on over there. I think that you're a fun little rock star. What is your big piece of advice for women that are looking to get into the trades?
Speaker 2: 21:21
I think anyone looking to get into the trades, whether you have a bad history I wasn't always a great citizen. I was not doing the best in life. So if you have bad past if you have, if you're a female, if you want and try to live every day to be better than the day before and learn and grow and understand your fallibility as a human being that you just want to be better, jump into the industry of air conditioning. You know sales as a whole has been my life. My dad was a salesman. It's in my blood, because sales is actually educating and listening and getting to the needs of the customer and making sure that they're best taken care of and any way that we can do that day to day. When we say Coal Air Cares, it's not just a slogan, we mean it. So I've really found my tribe here taking the best care of the customer.
Speaker 1: 22:19
I adore that. I think that is adorable and precious. Well, hey, if, if people wanted to get in contact with you, how would you like for them to reach out to you?
Speaker 2: 22:30
You can always email me. It would be Valerie and that's ValeryGarcia.
Speaker 1: 22:43
Perfect, all right, well, listen. Thank you, guys, so much for listening to another rock star babe in the space right now. She's killing it for Coal Air. I think you're probably killing it as a mom and as a call center leader and a call by call implementer and all of those cool things. And so, in this month where we honor women, we are super glad that you chose to be on our podcast, valerie. You are such a doll and I know you're going to keep doing great things in the industry. Thank you so much, absolutely so. Thanks for listening to another episode from the motion here.
Speaker 1: 23:16
You can do anything you dream of. Oh, that's right, you know, I know. I'm glad you said that you absolutely can be anything you dream of, and I think you had to put in some work. Is that right, sis? You had to put in some work To get there. Yes, yes, you can. You can do it, and we are always so proud of all the people making waves in this industry. So, guys, thank you so much for listening to another episode of from the Yellow Chair. If you love what we do, we'd love for you to follow us on all of our social media channels and give us a review. We'll talk soon. Bye.
