General Term Flashcards
1-Legger “Pirate Call”
This is where only one decision maker is present. It is common for spouses to look to come to a decisions with both DMs present. For example, a sales person goes out and presents to one spouse and then delays making a decision until the other spouse is present.
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)
A telephone facility that manages incoming calls and handles them based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions. Many companies offering sales and service support use ACDs to validate callers, make outgoing responses or calls, forward calls to the right party, allow callers to record messages, gather usage statistics, balance the use of phone lines, and provide other services.
E.g. Five9
Apprentice/Helper
Referred to as Unmanaged Tech in ServiceTitan
Assemblies
Similar to bundle, selling a single large task that includes multiple smaller tasks.
Business Unit
“Divisions” of a business and varies from company to company. Businesses frequently break these out into the various operations such as Install, Sales, Maintenance. Some companies that service multiple states may also consider geography when building out their business units. E.g. Arizona Install, Arizona Sales, Arizon Maintenance, California Install, California Sales, etc. Others that service multiple industries may break out by industry. E.g. HVAC Install, HVAC Sales, Plumbing Install, Plumbing Sales, etc
BUs serve several purposes within ST’s UI. They can be leveraged as filters in almost all areas including Schedule Tab, Dispatch Board, Reports, Search, etc. In cases where a QB destination account isn’t defined at the Pricebook Item level, BUs may be used to define the destination account in QB certain data exports to.
Call Center/After Hours
Outside of a business’ working hours (e.g. nights, weekends), calls may be directed to a different call center (a 3rd party service) to take the calls and relay messages to the company.
E.g. Nationwide Inbound, Stericycle
Call Taker
Referred to as CSR in ServiceTitan
Call/Work Order
This is typically in reference to a Job booked to service a customer. In ServiceTitan, we call them jobs
Callback
Callback is a term that is used to refer to a job that a technician goes back on because of poor quality work. This is referred to as “recall” in our software. Typically an inbound job is booked as a recall based on a company policy and then later an additional review is done to determine if it was truly a callback (recall). For example, if a technician is on site and the customer calls back within 30 days for the same trade/issue then it is automatically booked as a recall. Then a report is generated and reviewed by an additional person (usually a service/field manager) to determine if was truly a callback (recall). Some shops will also enforce a financial penalty for callback, particularly if commission or spiff was paid out for the work.
Certified Payroll
A report is “certified” when it has a signed statement of compliance indicating the payroll forms are correct and complete, and each employee has been paid no less than the proper Davis-Bacon prevailing wage for the work performed.
Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
Protects consumers by regulating the construction industry (including plumbing, electrical and HVAC) through policies that promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the public in matters relating to construction. It is part of the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).
Many clients do not want to deal with the CSLB as it can get expensive and time-consuming, so they try to keep their customers happy. This includes offering a full refund if a customer threatens to go to the CSLB.
Customer Acquisition
The process of getting customer
Department
Referred to as Business Unit in ServiceTitan
Equipment
Unlike Materials, these are far larger and usually the main focal point for a specific task (e.g. a water heater in a water heater installation job). There are a lot more variables that go into Equipment - have model numbers, have opportunities. E.g. if tech goes to a service location and sees the customer needs to replace a water heater, this is a huge conversion opportunity.
While Materials may be on an invoice for show but not necessarily charged to the customer, an Equipment is listed on invoice and probably has a task designated to that installation and will be charged to customer (the Equipment may have conversion tags).
Estimate
A quote or rate of a service. Businesses generally avoid providing these over the phone as there may be many factors that go into the final cost of service (e.g. an “unclog drain” job may involve digging into the ground to get to the problem/diagnosis, which can get expensive). Some companies have started to advertise a flat-rate estimate for specific services as most customers prefer to know the cost upfront rather than shopping around and having the tech come out to inspect before providing an estimate.
In ST, open estimates are opportunities that an office should follow up on to close and convert the estimate. In these cases, the customer has already been presented the options and costs.
Follow Up
The term follow up can be used in a variety of different ways. While in our software FOLLOW UP is an actual module used to ‘follow up’ on sales opportunities, appointment bookings, sold estimates and expired credit cards. The term follow up can be used to refer to anything where a home service return to the customer. Commonly it can be used to refer to a job type where a field employee goes out to a customer’s home free of charge on a non-opportunity call to check back in, gather paperwork or other actions similar to this.
Franchise
A trademarked business (McDonalds) that is owned by the franchisor and “stakes” of it can be purchased by a franchisee (the independent business owner of McDonalds at 500 N Central Ave in Glendale). Franchisees must follow and operate within franchise policies and pay royalties to the franchisor.
Some of our clients may own a franchise (Mr. Rooters - LA) but also have their own business on the side where they are not restricted to franchise policies.
The Dwyer Group is an organization that owns several franchise business (i.e. TDW is the franchisor) that we work with including Mr. Rooter, Mr. Electric, Mr. Handyman.
Franchise
A trademarked business (McDonalds) that is owned by the franchisor and “stakes” of it can be purchased by a franchisee (the independent business owner of McDonalds at 500 N Central Ave in Glendale). Franchisees must follow and operate within franchise policies and pay royalties to the franchisor.
Some of our clients may own a franchise (Mr. Rooters - LA) but also have their own business on the side where they are not restricted to franchise policies.
The Dwyer Group is an organization that owns several franchise business (i.e. TDW is the franchisor) that we work with including Mr. Rooter, Mr. Electric, Mr. Handyman.
Franchisee
The individual business owner that purchases a franchise business from the franchisor.
E.g. John Akhoian is a franchisee - he purchased Mr. Rooter LA from The Dwyer Group, the franchisor. John must pay royalties to TDG.
Franchisor
The trademark owner who sells its trademarked business (the franchise) to individual business owners, aka the franchisees.
E.g. The Dwyer Group is the franchisor of several franchises including Mr. Rooter. Each individual business owner who purchases a franchise business (aka franchisee) must pay TDG royalties.
Happy Call
A follow-up call similar to our Pulse question, generally done via phone. A CSR or other rep will call customers and ask how a recent job went. A Happy Call can also be automated, where the customer keys in a number from 1-10 rating their satisfaction.
High Value Calls
Jobs that are more likely to result in higher ticket invoices - IE an older AC system would indicate a “high value call”
HUD
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a U.S. government agency created in 1965 to support the housing market and homeownership. HUD does this by improving affordable homeownership opportunities, increasing safe and affordable rental options, reducing chronic homelessness, fighting housing discrimination by ensuring equal opportunity in the rental and purchase markets and supporting vulnerable populations.
Install
Install generally refers to a division that installs larger projects that is sold by a salesperson. IE HVAC Installs. It can also be used to refer to the type of work being done.
Install Job
A type of tech job: the installation of a new unit.
Invoices
How a business bill its customers for services performed. Depending on the company’s pricing model, the invoice may show tasks completed, materials used, taxes, cost of equipment a breakdown of cost as well as sub/total.
In ST, each invoice may house payments and purchase orders.
Job Hours
The amount of time the job actually took to be completed. Also referred to as “on the job hours”
Jobs
A job generally refers to work being done for a home owner on a particular day.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives
Leads
A prospective customer or job who presents a revenue-generating opportunity.
In ST, a call is considered a Lead if it lasts over 60 seconds, where the customer fully intends to hire someone.
