This is a guide to the Home Visit features in Appliance.io
This Guide is based on the Current version of the features. The Home visit features will be receiving several updates to unlock the full potential but done so in phases to ensure the stability of the platform.
The feature has two very critical weaknesses listed below:
Home visits cannot be added to a Quote in any way.
Home visits cannot be rescheduled by the driver.
These weaknesses and the workarounds are going to be discussed further in the guide. First, we will cover normal use for each part of the feature.
Start by opening any Order.
Then open the “Select Action” menu.
Then select “Add a Home Visit”.
A popup will open.
The pop-up will provide three options and the fields will update once you have made a selection.
The three options are explained below:
Survey:
This option is for Pre-measuring/Surveying an appliance installation at the home. This is usually completed before an order is placed. This option should not be used for any other purpose.
Service:
This option is for scheduling a service call at the home for an appliance that is already at the customer's home. Most instances will be for an appliance sold through Appiance.io and the service call should be entered on the original order containing the sold and delivered appliance. This option should not be used for any other purpose.
Install:
This option is for installing an appliance that is already at the customer's home. Sometimes a customer will purchase an appliance and overestimate their ability to install it on their own. So an install call can be created to send a technician to the home specifically to install the appliance on-site. The sold appliance must also have been sold with an installation to use this feature.
What follows is a step-by-step for each type.
Starting with Surveys, select “Survey” from the options shown.
The popup will expand to show the survey form field.
You must select the desired form from the dropdown. This example will be for a cooktop.
Now we must complete the fields for this Cooktop form.
Start by selecting a model from the dropdown.
Then select a delivery method. Note: only some delivery methods will be shown
Then select an available date.
Then enter a description for the Survey. Any information can be entered in this box and should be used like a notes box to provide instructions for the Technician/Driver.
Then save.
The popup will close and the survey will be saved on the order.
The Survey tile will update once completed.
The next section will cover Service calls.
Start by selecting “Service” from the options shown on the popup.
The popup will expand to show additional fields.
Enter a description of the work being completed at the customer's home.
Then select a Delivery Method.
Then select an available date.
Then save.
The popup will close and the service call will be saved to the Order.
The service tile will update once the service call has been completed.
The next section of the guide will cover Install calls.
INSTALL CALLS SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF THE APPLIANCE IS ALREADY AT THE CUSTOMERS HOME.
Start by selecting “Install” from the options shown on the popup.
The popup will expand to show additional fields.
Start by selecting a Model #. Note: Only models sold with an install will be shown in the list.
Then enter a description of the work being completed.
Then select a Delivery Method.
Then select an available Date.
Then save.
The popup will close and the Install Call will be saved to the order.
The install tile will update once the install call has been completed.
This guide only covers normal use for each feature. As mentioned above these features are not available on Quotes just yet.
This next section will cover how to complete a survey for a customer before they place an order for their appliance.
Start by creating a quote for the customer.
Once the Quote is open, add a product.
In the Product box, we are going to enter the Model # of the appliance we would like to survey.
Before saving the Model # enter “(Survey)” at the end of the Model #. See my example below.
Select the “Custom Product” button to save.
By entering the model # in this way we can guarantee the Technician/Driver knows what model to survey/service/install for.
Now Disable the sales tax for the item. (sales tax is ON by default and labor is not taxed)
Now you may choose to enter a price for this labor. Many companies offer free surveys and the price is optional. Some situations may demand the you charge a fee for the survey.
Your item Quote should contain an item like the one pictured below.
Now we will convert this Quote to an Order.
A $0 cash payment should be used for $0 dollar transactions like this one.
Apply the $0 dollar payment.
The Quote will convert to an Order.
The Custom item should still be in place.
Inventory does not need to be reserved and those control can be ignored.
We now have open access to the Home Visit Features.
This same process can be used for all types of Home Visits.
Please refer to the upper portions of this guide to complete the Home Visit process for this Order.
Note: Installs will still require that an install be added to the Custom Product.
Model #’s should always be entered with the “Type” in parenthesis as custom products.
Examples:
WCG77US0HS(SURVEY)
WCG77US0HS(SERVICE)
WCG77US0HS(INSTALL)
This next section will cover what to do if a Home Visit cannot be completed by the Technician/Driver.
Since Home Visits cannot be rescheduled. All Drivers and technicians will be instructed to mark them complete and reach out to the salesperson to let them know.
The salesperson can then create another Home visit exactly like the first but with a new date of completion.
The weakness discussed above are both being updated to remove the issues entirely. A portion of this guide will become obsolete when those updates take place. I will be sure to update everyone when this occurs.