Get Great Service by Being a Great Customer

I previously published an article – 5 Ways to Save Money by Avoiding Worthless Cable TV Fixes – as a guide for avoiding typical do-it-yourself mistakes and for recognizing when a situation is beyond your own abilities to fix. Now that I’ve shown you some of those common mistakes that customers make before scheduling a service appointment, I want to share some etiquette advice that you should follow after scheduling a visit from a pro.

This stuff should be common sense, but you would not believe how many people out there make a cable guy’s job more complicated than it should be. In the name of customer service, I have moved pianos, run from dogs, taken down wasp nests, carried trash to the curb, disposed of dead animals, dug cars out of snow banks, and assembled TV cabinets. Once, I even tied a neck tie for a guy headed out to dinner. Providing a service at customers’ homes can be a rough job for any professional; don’t be a tough customer. Keep these things in mind when you schedule an appointment with your cable service provider or any time you have any professional performing work in your home.

Do: Know where your connections are.

It is every cable guy’s dream to work in a building that has been built with coaxial cable wiring in mind. Most new homes are built like this because modern people own multiple TVs. In the typical modern home, there are generally three main places that a cable guy needs to check out:

• The ground block – This is technical jargon for the point of contact between the service provider’s coaxial cable and your own wiring. It is usually located outside near the power meter, and it should be attached to a ground rod (or grounded, in the electrical sense). This is where your provider’s signal is delivered to your home.
• The point-of-entry or main junction – Basically, this is where the cable signal is split up to feed each of your devices. Sometimes it is simply the ground block itself and it is located outside near your power meter. In many newer homes, a single coaxial cable runs from the ground block to a panel inside the home where many cables meet. It might look like a pile of spaghetti, but having all of those connections in one place makes things much easier.
• The wall plate – If your coaxial cable runs through your walls, then this is where it comes out. There is usually one in each room that is expected to have a TV.

In newer homes, these connections are easy to find because they were planned. The ground block and wall plates, by nature, are easy to spot. The main junction isn’t always so obvious, but it is often located in the basement or a utility closet near the water heater or HVAC equipment.

Older homes are completely different in the sense that they were built at a time in which cable television either did not exist or was not common. There is often no sense of planning and coaxial cables do not often meet in a single location. Even the most seasoned cable technician can miss a bad connector hidden in a wall or an obsolete splitter under attic insulation. Share your knowledge if you lived in your house when those cable lines were added or if you’ve stumbled across them in your attic or crawl space. Experienced cable technicians know their neighborhoods well, so they may already have an accurate expectation of your home’s wiring – but no one knows your home better than you. If you’ve just moved in: pay attention to the areas your technician visits or ask him where things are when he’s finished.

Do: Try to clean up a little – make sure there is room to work

Honestly, your cable guy is probably not going to judge you for having a messy home. The cable guy is there to do a job and that’s really all he cares about. But I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve wasted moving things around so that I could get my work done. Some situations are unavoidable – I would never expect an elderly woman to move a heavy book case – but it’s not the cable guy’s responsibility to move video games and laundry out of the way so that he has a space to walk through. If you have a bunch of furniture near the cable in your basement, move it out of the way before the cable guy arrives.

Keep in mind that moving furniture, including your television, is a liability for the cable company. Many technicians will reschedule your appointment if there are too many obstacles. Some people try to scam their cable provider by accusing technicians of breaking equipment, hoping that the company will replace their old items. Cable service providers are aware of these sorts of scams and take precautions. I kept track of broken or damaged equipment that I found in homes, and I made sure to make notes on the work order or on the customer’s account so that I would not be blamed.

Do Not: Leave young children and pets alone with the cable guy

This is an awkward situation for any professional working in your home. Maybe that technician has great people skills and loves kids, but he’s not a babysitter. Often, he’s carrying heavy tools, bits of wire, screws and other sharp objects. Even well-behaved kids are curious, and it is not the cable guy’s job to keep your child’s hands off that utility knife in his tool kit. Some of my tools can cut off a child’s finger with little effort, but if I’m working at your home, my eyes are on my work and not on your kid’s fingers.

The best practice for pets is to keep them out of the way. Personally, I love dogs and dogs love me, but even a friendly dog can be distracting. Also keep in mind the fact that not all people appreciate animals in the same way that pet owners do. If your pet is especially active, make sure that you distract your pet from the cable guy; don’t let your pet distract the cable guy from doing his work. Always let your cable technician know that there are pets in the home, and do your best to keep those pets out of the way.

Do: Offer your service technician a drink

Many technicians keep water in their vehicles, but they will appreciate your hospitality – especially if they’ve spent time in your hot, dusty attic. If you have it, bottled water is best. I always appreciated a glass of ice water on a summer day, but I couldn’t put a glass in my back pocket and continue working.

Do Not: Leave the premises

This is another awkward situation for a professional working inside your home. Emergency situations are understandable, but if you leave your property for any reason, the cable guy should as well. If you need to be somewhere within an hour of the cable guy’s arrival, consider rescheduling your appointment.

In general, you should make sure that you are available to address concerns or answer questions that a cable technician may have as he works. It’s OK that you need to get things done, but don’t close yourself in a room and stay on the phone the entire time if you can help it. Sometimes the cable guy is going to need your input when he’s plotting repairs. If your opinion is not available, don’t be upset when you dislike the appearance of repairs or installations.

Do: Provide feedback

If you are pleased with the work that a technician did for you, contact his company and say so! Customer service is very important to your service provider, and companies pay attention to the feedback that you provide. Service providers use the information that they collect through customer satisfaction surveys to evaluate their employees, improve policies, and reward top performers. If a technician leaves behind his supervisor’s contact information, use it to let that supervisor know what a great job the technician is doing. This kind of input goes a long way in boosting morale and making great employees stand out. A simple 30-second voice mail or 20-word email can do much more good for a technician than offering a cash tip. It won’t cost you anything, but can really boost a technician’s career in the long run.

Remember: a cable technician is there to do his job – fixing cable service – and he wants to do it as efficiently as possible. He is not a dog-whisperer, babysitter, mover, landscaper or cleaner. Describe your service issues, point him to the cable, make sure he has space to work, keep your kids and pets away, maybe offer him some water, and be available to answer questions. If you don’t do any of those things, and the cable guy still fixes your service, then the least you can do is send the company positive feedback. If you are a good customer, a technician is more likely to go out of his way to provide a great experience.