You know what’s funny about running an appliance repair business? Everyone thinks the hard part is fixing the machines. Nope. Try figuring out what to charge when your techs are covering four states and hundreds of zip codes. Let me tell you a story about how we solved this headache at my own company – and how it changed everything.
The Problem We Were Facing
Picture my service coordinator, Jessica, trying to quote prices to customers. Poor Jessica’s juggling Google Maps in one tab, our pricing sheet in another, and probably questioning her life choices. A customer calls from some tiny town in Iowa, and Jessica’s got to:
- Pull up their location (hoping Google even knows where it is)
- Figure out which of our techs is closest (and available)
- Do some quick math on drive times (quick being relative here)
- Calculate fees that won’t make us lose money or scare away the customer
- Check if we need to book a hotel for the tech (rare, but it’s happened)
And she’s doing this dance dozens of times every day. Not exactly what I’d call efficient.
The Light Bulb Moment
Here’s where wearing two hats – business owner and consultant – came in handy. I knew there had to be a better way. We had tried spreadsheets, then we were burning through Google Maps API calls like they were free (spoiler alert: they’re not), and my team was spending way too much time doing calculations we’d already done before. Then it hit me –
Why were we treating every call like it was the first time we’d ever heard of these locations?
Our Smart-Not-Hard Solution
Instead of reinventing the wheel every time, we built a system that did all the heavy lifting upfront. We mapped out every single zip code in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Once. Then we stored all that info in a simple file that told us:
- Which service center was closest
- What zone the customer was in (and if they weren’t in a standard service zone, which zone was closest)
- How long it’d take to get there
- What we should charge
The best part? When a customer calls now, we know all this stuff instantly. No more “Um, let me check and call you back.”
The Real-World Impact
Want to know what happened next? Our whole operation changed. My service coordinators stopped pulling their hair out. Our customers got quick, confident answers about pricing. And those constantly outdated Excel files and expensive Google Maps API calls? They practically disappeared.
But here’s what really gets me excited: we turned a process that used to take minutes into one that takes seconds. That might not sound like much, but multiply that by hundreds of calls a week, and you’re looking at some serious time savings.
What This Means for You
If you’re running a service-based business and you’re still doing things the old-school way, you’re probably leaving money on the table. Take this as an inspiration to consider just what drive time costs you. Trust me – I’ve been on both sides of this fence. Sometimes the smartest solution isn’t the most complicated one. It’s about working smarter, not harder.
Want to do something similar in your business? We’re hoping we see some solutions coming from all of the excellent appliance industry partners out there. This is just an internal project to solve our needs. Our focus is strategy, and we leave the heavy lifting to the big brains. And hey, if you’re in the midwest and need appliance repair, now you know how we keep our pricing so straightforward!