Defining the Problem
Andrew, the Director at NSRS was finding that one of his communication channels wasn’t working as effectively as he’d like. He described how the information being returned from vehicle drivers about the nature of the damage to their vehicle was inconsistent and often didn’t provide enough information for his technicians to make a sound judgement about the repairability of the damage.
In order to properly assess the damage, technicians were carrying out visits to the vehicle drivers’ homes incurring unnecessary costs and impacting efficiency causing annoyance to both customers and technicians. This was particularly inefficient when the damage was not able to be repaired there and then.
Committed to a high level of customer service, Andrew was keen to remedy this issue quickly before it could impact customer satisfaction and to stop technicians from making unnecessary visits.
The Root Issue
Once Andrew’s outcome was defined, we began to gather data about the issue. We began by sifting through responses from the customers discussing any issues with the content as they arose. We looked at the method of delivery (email) and ran through scenarios around the issues that might arise once a customer received the information request and a technicians decision to visit the driver.
We worked back from the desired outcome and reviewed the steps that needed to take place:
Once a repair had been requested by a fleet manager, it was NSRS’s job to get in touch to get information from the vehicle driver and gain all relevant information. The incumbent system relied on email, which had the potential to present differently depending on the email client used by the customer.
To ensure the damage was something that could be repaired by the technician on-site, photographs were required to show the damage as accurately as possible. The current communications showed that the photographs were often difficult to view and taken in bad light or from an angle that didn’t accurately show damage. NSRS also needed to know the position of the dent or scrape, but these descriptions we inconsistent and often so vague as to be unusable.
Running through the scenarios showed us the customer pain points and it was clear that customers considered that drivers’ undersranding of the kind of image required was too low, resulting in poor images and information.
It was considered that the amount of switching between devices may be getting in the customer’s way and contributing to the inconsistent results. The email may arrive on their computer but to gather photo evidence in good light they may need to use a personal phone and transfer the files back to the computer.
The Solution
We moved the communication into a web-app which worked on any device responsively enabling the respondents to transfer quickly from work computer to phone via a short link and complete as one task.
We formulated a questionnaire script that walked drivers through the process of accurately documenting the damage in order to maximise accuracy. The questions were refined so that we asked for as little information needed but which fulfilled the technicians’ requirements.
The web app was created to look like a part of the NSRS family, using the same fonts colours and tone of voice throughout.
Once the prototypes had been created we began a small-scale user test that checked responses were clear and easy to follow and that retrieval from the back-end met requirements.
Implementation
When testing was complete and minor improvements made, the project was launched and the app began gathering requirements as NSRS’ new self-serve diagnostics tool.
The web app is now the primary method of damage information capture at NSRS and has greatly improved the frequency and accuracy of responses. Customers are much more able to understand the detail of what is required and NSRS receives better information, resulting in fewer unnecessary appointments.
To further improve usability a QR code has been added to the initial communication to allow respondents to work quickly and efficiently between devices.
