Many years ago while visiting with a good contractor friend in Northeast Ohio, we walked from the office area to his shop. It was there I saw a full-length mirror on the wall. That mirror was near where his techs and installers walk through as they got ready for the day.

Above the mirror was a sign that read, “The Customer’s Eyes.” I immediately got it and congratulated the contractor on this brilliant idea. It was obvious that each employee would pass by this mirror before heading. They could see exactly what a customer would see when they rang their doorbell. Genius!

I brought this up during a recent Path To High Performance monthly coaching session led by David Richardson with about fifteen contractors. One of those contractors, Dennielle from Hearn Heating and Air, also coincidentally from Northeast Ohio. She mentioned that they use a checklist for their techs to review. It included a checkbox regarding their physical appearance before heading out, which made me think back to the mirror.

This triggered an idea that would combine the best of both methods. What if you had that full length mirror in your shop? What if next to it you had a full length poster of a technician with callouts that point to specific things to check for before they head out.
Here are a few examples:

  • Am I clean shaven? Do I have a neatly groomed beard?
  • Is my hair combed neatly?
  • Are my hands clean?
  • Is my uniform clean and pressed?
  • Are my shoes or work boots clean and/or polished?
  • Do I smell good? Is my breath OK?

I’m sure you can think of other things to add, but the point is you set the standard for your team members. And the great thing is you don’t have to say a word. The poster is essentially a set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

The more I thought about this it the more it seems that this concept has its use in other areas. Rather than just posters of technicians, you could have posters that show KPI’s for a number of things you want to set expectations for. For instance, how a tech should treat the customer’s home.

Some examples might include wearing booties as they enter, and disposable gloves around thermostats and walls. Another thought: placing runners to protect floors. Make sure to vacuum up any dirt or scraps around the equipment when done.

Maybe have posters of things to do to avoid callbacks. You could have ones that explain what you should do on every service call, like following a carbon monoxide inspection protocol.

I’m sure you could come up with a few posters that reflect the behavior you want to see. Include KPIs your team should work from.
It’s equally important to provide checklists they can take with them, either on paper or digitally. These should reflect expectations, so they can tick things off as they complete their work.

We often think that as long as we state our expectations once, every employee should memorize and know them instinctively. Unfortunately, with so many distractions and the need to focus on the task at hand, it’s easy to overlook these things.

Take some time to determine your company’s standards and develop a method to continually communicate them to your team.

The return on your investment will be many fold, and your quality and customer satisfaction will increase dramatically.