How to Manage Rush Jobs at Your Repair Store

How often does your repair store get customers asking for a rush job or same-day repair?

Whatever your answer, these last-minute panic requests from customers are a source of multiple problems. For instance, your technicians might not be able to finish the rush job due to overnight parts sourcing. Or, the customer might not agree with the total price when they come to collect their device. 

So what are the best practices to handle rush jobs and ensure that no customers leave your repair store unsatisfied?

Let’s start from the beginning. When a customer walks into your store and asks for device repair on priority, you need to consider the following:

• Repair cost
• Availability of parts
• Volume of repairs in progress
• Availability of technicians
• Diagnostic charges
• Rush fee

There are scenarios where customers don’t agree upon the price and simply ask you to repair their device as soon as possible. With such rush jobs, you never know how many parts you will need to replace and how much time it will take. Moreover, customers often ditch their device if you tell them the cost of the repair after it’s done. Then, the device and the repairs are all on you.

To avoid such situations, you need to adopt a systematic approach to rush jobs. For starters, you’re going to need RepairDesk’s ticket management system. Before you run a diagnostics check on the device to understand exactly what needs to be repaired, you need to create a rush job repair ticket. Here, the ticket management system offers the option to upload pre-repair condition images and add a pre-repair checklist, so both you and your customers know the pre-repair condition of the device.

Along with this, you need to communicate the rush fee with the customer. Customers who are in a hurry often ask you for quick repairs and offer to pay a higher price. In either case, it’s important to finalize a price before proceeding with the repairs.

Another great practice is to label devices with varying color tapes so that everyone knows which parts belong to the same device. This is also helpful in cases where a customer submits a device with cases or other accessories.

Lastly, rush jobs and same-day repairs require you to prioritize certain customers and leave others behind. So, your business must gain something from these types of orders. Therefore, you must charge a diagnostic fee before the customer leaves the device for a rush job. That way, even if they change their mind after the repair, they will have paid at least some of the amount that’s due.