It’s not uncommon to see “customer service” mentioned in a company’s mission statement or motto. However, for All Star Home Services, of Miami-Dade, Fla., catering to the customer is not a trite tagline; it’s a promise.

The All Star team operates according to a 6-tier service level guarantee:

1. Available when convenient to the customer
2. Licensed and insured service providers
3. Up front, per job pricing
4. Experience and expertise
5. Helpful and tidy service
6. Written warranty on workmanship

“As All Star Home Services continues to expand our business and our reach, relationships with our suppliers such as our main AC supplier, Lennox, also sustain importance for the company,” explained Rocco DiBenedetto, owner and manager of operations at All Star. “The relationships with suppliers, employees and customers hold weight with the team, as we were built on a customer service foundation.”

All Star understands that home system emergencies can happen at any time, and that is why its operation runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All pricing is calculated on an individual basis and provided to customers in advance so that they can make informed decisions. Staff is regularly trained on the latest technology and practices in order to understand how to best analyze customer concerns and present expert advice. And, professionalism on the job is a must. Licensed and insured technicians keep shoes covered while working in customer homes, place mats on work areas, and clean up any mess before leaving. In addition, technicians deliver a written warranty on all workmanship.

All Star specializes in three services: Air Conditioning, Electrical and Plumbing. Previously known as All Air of South Dade, in 2014 the company incorporated residential plumbing and electrical service to its existing air conditioning business and changed its name. The company now includes a team of six managerial employees and 16 lead technicians.

DiBenedetto is a firm believer in reinvesting in All Star. He recently turned those efforts to focus on innovation and communication through the implementation of a new business management platform, ServiceTitan. The company also started offering iPads for technicians and managers to use on the job.

“With this investment, we’ve seen an improvement in communication and efficiency, which overall has improved each team member’s productivity,” DiBenedetto said. “Externally, the adoption of new technology and our increased efficiency improves our perception to current and potential clients.”

Background

The premise behind the ServiceTitan upgrade was always customer service. Before selecting ServiceTitan, All Star’s leadership team dug into its existing operational system to determine a more streamlined software as a service for management processing.

“We determined to work with the SaaS platform ServiceTitan and then began work on converting from our previous system,” DiBenedetto said.

DiBenedetto was determined to not only educate himself on ServiceTitan, but to also make sure that his staff was more than up to speed by the time the system was ready to go live.

“Doing your homework extensively beforehand and being prepared to train your staff can help any service business owner find their next back-end management system and create their best company set-up,” DiBenedetto explained.

Installation

Technology is not completely foreign to All Star. Staff has been equipped with iPads for some time.

The first step in the system installation was consolidating All Star’s iPads as well as its QuickBooks data into the ServiceTitan platform.

“The data transfer – like any major switchovers – was met with some complications, and implementing the system throughout the entire company simply took time,” DiBenedetto said. “The success wasn’t without its setbacks and challenges.”

DiBenedetto went on to explain candidly that when it comes to new technology business owners have to be patient and understand there will always be a learning curve for staff.

“Coupled with old-fashioned determination and optimism, we’re now running smoother than ever,” DiBenedetto acknowledged. “Despite the challenges, we needed to make the change in order to grow. It may have appeared to be daunting, but the temporary challenge of the switchover was worth its weight in gold.”

Outcome

The switch over was conducted on a weekend. During that time, the ServiceTitan operating system ran parallel to the company’s old system, in order to monitor any data loss. On the following Monday, when All Star went live with ServiceTitan, only the office manager continued to access the company’s prior system. And, so far, so good.

“Things that once would take us hours or days can now be set up as automated reports to be emailed to us when we expect them,” DiBenedetto said. “We believe ServiceTitan will revolutionize how we manage our various sectors of service.”