If you’ve never heard of first-time-fix support, it’s probably more important to your company than you think

First time fix, also known as “right first time,” refers to the percentage of repairs or maintenance tasks that are completed successfully on the first attempt. In other words, it’s a measure of how often a technician or service provider is able to resolve an issue without needing to revisit your location or follow up with additional work.

For example, let’s say you report a problem with your POS system. The service technician visits your location, diagnoses the issue, and repairs a faulty connection. The system is tested, and you return to normal operation levels. This would be considered a “first-time-fix.” 

If the technician is unable to fix the problem during the first visit, or if the customer reports that the issue persists after the technician leaves, then it would not be considered a first-time-fix.

Why is First Time Fix so Important?

Of course, it’s always good to get a problem solved quickly and properly. But there are many more bottom-line related benefits of receiving first-time-fix support.

1. Fewer Disruptions

A high first-time-fix rate means that you will experience fewer disruptions and less inconvenience. If a problem can be resolved on the first visit, you don’t have to schedule and make time for return visits, continue to use work-arounds or make any other adjustments to your normal operations.  

2. Less Downtime

Downtime may be one of the least understood and most underestimated costs of doing business. How do you measure the cost of downtime? What’s the cost of your employees not being able to do their tasks properly? Are your customers not getting the service they expect? Or, you being unable to forecast when systems and processes will be back to normal. 

3. Better Customer Service

This is where using a first-time-fix service provider could be a competitive advantage. Customers notice when a business provides consistent levels of service. Perhaps more importantly, they also notice when a business delivers inconsistent levels of service. And, when they deliver inconsistent levels, they are more likely to choose another option. 

4. An Indication of Quality Service

This is another business cost that is often underestimated. Researching and onboarding skilled and reliable service providers is not an easy task. Even after you find what seems to be a dependable provider, their service levels may change over time.

However, there’s not a better indication of service quality than consistently high first-time-fix rates. Also, if your support service is able to quickly and reliably repair issues, it’s very likely that they deliver their other products and services to the same standards.

In that way, first-time-fix rates are a key metric to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of your service provider. BFG is proud of the 90%+ first-time-fix rate that our Field Services team delivers all across Canada.

If you found this post helpful, check out our recent article Understanding Total Cost of Ownership.