Salesforce Release – Service: Field Service Appointment Assistant

There is no denying that it is imperative for field technicians to always have access to the right tools and information to maximize equipment availability and improve first-time fix rates for achieving higher customer satisfaction.

In the Salesforce Field Service Winter ’21 release, Salesforce has incorporated Einstein Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the Salesforce Field Service solutions to meet mobile technicians’ ever-evolving demands during the unprecedented global health and economic crisis.

A series of updates have been announced by Salesforce that brings a new comprehensive set of features to its Salesforce Field Service Platform to keep their equipment working effectively, businesses running smoothly while boosting technician’s productivity and keeping customers safe in this social distancing environment.

Some of the Salesforce Field Service key updates include appointment scheduling and optimization capabilities, asset performance insights, AI-based monitoring for dispatchers, and automated customer interactions. These innovations in Salesforce Field Service help ensure that the top-priority jobs must be completed first on time, every time.

When it comes to setting your technician team up for safe and successful service delivery, Salesforce Field Service has come a long way with the Appointment Assistant feature to make the work of mobile technicians safer and more efficient. 

Introduction To Appointment Assistant

Appointment Assistant is a one-of-a-kind, map-based feature that lets customers know the arrival time of technicians with real-time updates so they can prepare their homes and facilities for a safe visit. Earlier appointments in Field Services were scheduled with a 4 hours wait period. This is where the customers were unsure when the technician would visit, which resulted in a lack of preparation. Thus, creating a roadblock for both users as well as technicians. 

However, with the help of the Appointment Assistant, customers will be able to track the technician’s status in real-time, and the customer will also see the name and picture of the worker for greater transparency and safety. Thus, it means that the customers can keep the site all cleared for the technicians, and the technician will get to know that the customer is expecting them, thus cutting down no-shows and ensuring customers are ready for the appointment. 

The appointment Assistant uses the technician’s live status, and location thus provides customers updates on the technician’s arrival time. They have time to make COVID-19 safety preparations so that they don’t miss their service appointment. Admins set appointment expirations set a stop to customers from seeing a worker’s location, and worker identification like name and photo to ensure safety and security for both workers and customers.

Key Benefits Of Appointment Assistant

SMS notification: Customer receives the text message notification on their mobile as technician approaches the job location. 

Cuts wait time: Customers get real-time updates, giving them ample time to prepare for appointments. It helps cut down waiting on unprepared customers and sets them up to deliver personalized service via real-time alerts.

More personalized service: Companies can plan more effectively, use resources more efficiently, and offer more proactive and better customer service. 

Things To Keep In Mind While Using Salesforce Field Service Appointment Assistant

For Optimal Performance

Keep your mobile device’s current operating systems and update to the new device model as permitted by your mobile contract. The future versions of the Field Service mobile app may require removing support for older operating systems. 

Wireless Connection

For offline results, the Salesforce Field Service App is optimized, but for interaction with Salesforce, a Wi-Fi® or cellular network link is required. For cellular connections, a 3G network or faster is required and for the best performance, we recommend using Wi-Fi or LTE.

Steps To Add Appointment Assistant To Your Experience Builder Site

For enabling Appointment Assistant, you need to add it to your experience builder site.

Step 1: Setup >> Quick Find box >> Enter Digital Experiences, and then select All Sites.

Step 2:  Click Builder in the row for your site.

Step 3: Click Components The lightning bolt icon from the Experience Builder.

Step 4: From Custom Components, locate the Appointment Assistant component.

Step 5: Drag the component onto the site.

Final Wrap

In this era of social distancing, modernizing field service operations is not just a matter of convenience but also personal safety, health, and wellness. To cope with the increasing demands rising due to the coronavirus pandemic, Salesforce has added AI-powered features to its Salesforce Field Service platform to ensure operational safety during COVID-19.

Appointment Assistant feature in Salesforce Field Service uses status updates and GPS to update customers about their technicians’ estimated arrival time. This would provide customers with enough forewarning to adapt social distancing measures before the technician arrives, potentially decreasing the technician and customer’s viral transmission risk. 

Want to get started with an Appointment Assistant in Salesforce Field Service? At Cloud Analogy, we have a team of experienced and certified Salesforce Field Service experts that can help you maximize your investment in Salesforce’s Field Service features in countless ways.