MEET THE EXPERTS

Aprile Chalmers

Client Care Manager
About Town Electric
Website: http://www.abouttownelectric.com
Phone: (905) 878-0287
Email: hr@abouttownelectric.com

VIDEOS

When Should You Call an Electrician? - more...
Choosing the Right Electrician - more...

ARTICLES

When Should You Call an Electrician? - more...
Choosing the Right Electrician - more...

Aprile Chalmers is the person behind the friendly voice that callers to About Town Electric hear. Her greeting, “how can I brighten your day” begins what she hopes will be a conversation that ends with a new client being added to About Town’s roster.

It’s no accident that on average, 97 per cent of customer calls that the client care manager receives at About Town Electric result in service bookings. Research, training and a lot of discussion have combined to create a winning marketing strategy. Chalmers has participated in training sessions offered by a professional association called Electricians’ Success International (ESI) and has read volumes of literature related to customer service, generating referrals and customer satisfaction.

Electrician’s Success International helps businesses like About Town track their efforts and offers proven marketing techniques and practices that result in consistent customer satisfaction as well as sets standards. Chalmers is able to assess her performance on a month-to-month basis by providing her statistics to ESI. The client care manager is willing to share her expertise with others in the business and occasionally is asked for advice and suggestions.

Her job entails dispatching and scheduling the About Town electricians, following up with clients and running the office. Each client receives a “happy call” after a service call has been completed. This gives clients a chance to comment on the service they received, and helps Chalmers ensure that the About Town employees have performed to a high standard. She also asks if there is anything that could be improved upon.

It’s a perfect opportunity to introduce the “friends and family referral program” that results in a client receiving a $25 About Town coupon for each referral made. Chalmers knows that people value referrals given by people they trust, like their friends and family. The success of the referral process reflects this.

Chalmers has been with About Town since the company began as an offshoot of Bretco Electric Inc., an established electrical contracting company based in Milton. The owners, Brett and Kathy Patterson, were receiving numerous requests for residential electrical work and decided to branch out by hiring electricians with that area of expertise. That was in the fall of 2005, just a few months after Chalmers started doing office work for Bretco Electric.

In addition to extensive training in marketing and customer relations, Chalmers has some technical training under her belt as well. She’s also learned a lot about the business through osmosis, soaking in information about getting permits and other aspects of the field.

The mother of three has found that her skills in relating to clients have served her well in her daily life as well. She certainly knows how to recognize good customer service and has found her skills of persuasion useful outside of her job.