Seven Tips to Follow when Adding a Service and Maintenance Department

RCS Influencer Ken Kelly says that their service and maintenance department is a proven lead source for roof replacements.

As the great Gregg Wallick [Best Roofing, Florida] says, “A strong service department is a feeder to your production department.”  Meaning, roofs that are starting to fail now, will need to be replaced soon.  This advice turned my head around on the importance of a service department back in 2004 when he told it to me.  At the time we were involved in recovery efforts from Hurricane Charley when buying trucks for roof replacements were all the rage. I literally was yelled at by our leadership team for using precious capital to purchase repair trucks, knowing that when the replacement work was completed this would be the only revenue our company would have to survive on. 

From the first one-person repair team then to the 34 full time service technicians today, our service division is at the heart of our success and profitability.  It’s proven in our lead source; 72% of our new leads come from past customers and referrals.  That’s almost the exact reciprocal it was in 2004 when we started doing repairs.

Here is some advice to follow when starting a service department:

1. Service should be separate from the install division with its own technicians, supervisors and internal job process.  Repairs are all about speed and accuracy.
2. Put your top performers here.  Repairs are a profit machine when done right.  But, it’s in need of technicians who can communicate well, diagnose issues from years of experience and price accurately.
3. This is a great place for an aging workforce as the physical demands are typically less than install work.
4. Box trucks are rolling billboards.  This is something else Gregg Wallick taught me.  Outfit the box trucks with just about anything a service team could need so they are at the supplier less and billing more.  Yes, four thousand dollars is expensive for vehicle wraps, but it’s a lot less than Google Ad Words.  My father always said, “Work begets work!” 
5. Residential service is a real thing.  I know our industry is stuck thinking that the only profitable service companies concentrate on commercial work.  In our case, that’s just not true.  We focus on residential and do quite well.  Plus, it’s a Blue Ocean Strategy you can win.
6. Pricing is a factor of time and materials, but lump sum quoted.  We’ve tried time and materials, not to exceed and just about every other form of pricing methods.  What works best for us is to send a Project Manager to inspect the situation first, quote the scope of work and price using the fixed price method.  This is what the consumer likes most and is best for predicting profit.  To figure out pricing, just think about all the areas on a roof that you could repair and write them down.  Next, put a number of hours to make the repair correctly next to it.  Then figure out the material list and price it.  Add this together, plus your margin, and you’re at the customer’s price.  It’s just like bidding a reroof, only smaller.
7. Emergency repairs can save the day.  Remember the last time you wanted to book an appointment at the dentist for a cleaning?  They were weeks out, right?  Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had a dental emergency?  For those who went too aggressive on the hard candy and chipped a tooth there are openings in the dentist’s schedule same day.  They are able to accommodate by leaving holes in their schedule for emergencies.  If there are no emergencies, pull work forward and fill the gaps.  Customers love to be made a priority and have their work done faster than promised but need you there immediately in a real emergency.

Let me know any tips you’ve experienced.  Email me with your successes and/or any follow up questions: ken@kellyroofing.com.

Ken Kelly is President of Kelly Roofing, Naples, Florida. See his full bio here.