5 Ways AI Increases First-Time Fix Rate

Customers want solutions fast. This is true for most industries and services. However, in the manufacturing world, where a broken machine or product can lead to hours of unplanned downtime, being able to solve a customer’s problem the first time is incredibly important.

What is a first-time fix rate?

The first-time fix rate (FTFR) measures how often a technician solves a problem on the first visit.  

To calculate your company’s FTFR, divide the total number of customer issues solved on the first visit by the total number of field visits. So, if your field service team handled 500 interactions, and of those, 400 were resolved on the first visit, your FTFR would be 80%.

Why does FTFR matter?

The numbers speak for themselves. According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, the best-performing companies had an FTFR of 88%, and struggling companies had an FTFR of 63%. A high FTFR means happy customers and happy customers are more likely to be loyal to your company and continue using your services.  

There are several other benefits to having a high FTFR.  

• Lower operations cost: A high FTFR means you spend less time and money on return site visits. Additionally, with a high FTFR, your customer retention rates will increase, meaning you’ll spend less money acquiring customers.  

• High productivity: When your team solves issues the first time, they can move on to helping other customers, increasing their capacity.

• Brand reputation: your FTFR has strong ties to your company’s reputation. Customers want their problems fixed the first time. The higher your FTFR, the more you’ll be known for your effective and fast customer service, and those customers will be more likely to recommend your business to others.

Common causes of a low FTFR

There are several causes for a low FTFR; we'll cover the most common ones here:

• Incorrect initial diagnosis: If your dispatcher misdiagnoses the problem at the initial call, the wrong technician with the wrong parts could be sent out, leading to follow-up site visits.
• Poor technician training: If your technicians lack proper training or the right skills, they may be unable to handle the issue on the first visit. Instead, a second visit with another, more knowledgeable technician might be needed.

• Lack of access to information: When technicians don’t have onsite access to important details like manuals, past service records, or troubleshooting guides, they might miss crucial steps or misinterpret the problem.  

• Parts unavailability: If your technician doesn’t have the right parts on hand, they can’t complete the repairs. This causes significant delays and requires additional visits once the parts are obtained.

What’s the impact of a low FTFR?

Imagine two field service companies: Apex Services and Delta Maintenance. Both handle 200 service calls daily, but their outcomes are very different.

• With an 88% FTFR, Apex Services revisits only 24 jobs (12%).  

• With a 63% FTFR, Delta Maintenance revisits 74 jobs (37%)—50 more than Apex Services.

 
Each unresolved job requires 1.6 additional dispatches and can cost $200 to $300 per visit. These extra visits add up quickly for Delta Maintenance, significantly increasing operational costs.

Apex Services keeps its workforce and budget in check, while Delta Maintenance must either hire more technicians or find a solution to improve its FTFR. On top of that, Delta Maintenance may notice increased customer churn as customers become increasingly frustrated by the inconvenience of multiple site visits to fix one problem.  

Improving FTFR with AI

There are several recommended methods for improving your FTFR.

• More knowledgeable technicians

• Better triage

• Self-service options

• Parts management

• Mobile access to information

AI can help with all these methods. From WRB’s AI in Field Service report, 74% of the respondents said they saw increased FTFRs after implementing AI. We’ll explore how an AI-powered tool like Service Advisor can improve your FTFR rates.

Smarter technicians

One of your service technicians goes to a site visit but doesn’t have the knowledge to solve the customer’s problem. They’ll need to schedule a return site visit with a more knowledgeable technician to fix the issue.  

Now, imagine the most experienced expert on your team can go to every site visit. Service Advisor gives your technicians all the knowledge and data they need to be well-rounded experts in all your products and services. With Service AIdvisor, all your technicians can access training videos, diagrams, manuals, and more while they’re on-site.

Better triage

When technicians are sent to a site with incomplete information, precious time is wasted since the technician lacks the full context of the problem and may not have the right tools or parts to fix the problem.

Your agents and dispatchers can use Service AIdvisor to get a complete picture of the issue based on the customer’s historical data and product information. When the problem is accurately identified from the start, technicians have all the information they need to fix the problem the first time.

Self-service

Not every issue needs a site visit. For minor issues, customers can engage with a Service Advisor to troubleshoot and potentially resolve their issues before calling a technician. Deflecting minor issues will save money over time, and customers will be happy that they can solve their issues without waiting for a technician.

Parts management

Imagine a technician arriving at a site visit and realizing they don’t have the part they need with them. They’ll have to go get the part and then return to the site to complete the repair. This can be time-consuming for the technician and frustrating for the customer who is hoping for a quick fix.

With Service AIdvisor, technicians receive pre-visit work instructions, diagnostics, and parts recommendations so they know what parts they might need ahead of time.

Knowledge on the go

Your technicians might have a knowledge CRM where they can search for the product data or troubleshooting steps they need, but if it’s not hands-free and mobile, they will need to stop the repairs each time they need to look something up, leading to slower site visits and decreased productivity.  

Technicians can take Service AIdvisor wherever they go, and with hands-free support, they don’t need to stop working to access troubleshooting guides or product details. This easy access to knowledge speeds up the repair process and keeps technicians safe and focused on the task at hand.

Get a handle on your FTFR

FTFR is a powerful indicator of your company's performance. Thankfully, there are easy ways to increase your FTFR. By giving your technicians the right tools, you can delight customers with efficient and quick service.

Service AIdvisor from Circuitry.ai provides your technicians, and support agents the relevant answers to boost productivity and increase those first-time fix rates.