I recently hopped in the car for what I thought would be a quick 10 minute drive, but because of new road construction it took an additional 20 minutes to get to my destination. I needed to look for an alternate route to go around the construction on my return trip in hopes of making up lost time. Guess what? That alternate route had heavy traffic because everyone had the same idea! 45 minutes was added to a 10 minute trip which meant I was going to be behind by an hour for the rest of the day. Now I had to figure out what task could be pushed back or pushed out to the following day. Apply this same scenario to your drivers and you will understand why traffic delays are increasing the cost to provide service. Time is money.

In competitive markets, rolling out a price increase to customers has become a regular occurrence. A constant drain on profitability means that everyone is examining and reexamining the cost to deliver service. Are you and your team prepared to address your customers’ questions and attitudes this time around? Here are a few tips to help you have a positive approach and outcome with your P.I.
Starting the conversation
Often times the way your customer shares a question or concern during a P.I. may be clouded in emotion or veiled with a question such as, “When does my agreement expire”. In customer service, our job is to listen and acknowledge the customer in a positive way. The way you respond to the customer is what we call a welcoming comment.
Welcoming comment suggestions during a price increase:
 I can help you!
 I want you to know that I am here to help you.
 I’d be glad to take a look at your account with you.

Common mistakes to avoid during your P.I. roll-out
Mistake # 1– Immediately rolling back the rate to what the customer had before without understanding the real reason behind the customer’s call. Did you know that some of your customers are calling for an explanation and not for a change to the new rate?Mistake #2- The sales manager did not clearly communicate to sales and customer service representatives what the negotiating strategy is or what they are empowered to do. The common goal is to maintain as much of the price increase as possible. That requires we have a clear strategy for both sales and customer service on how to handle these customer conversations.
Mistake #3– People on your team are making up their own version of the reason for the price increase. This is not a time when you want your team to ad-lib their way through the customer conversation. The explanation from one person to the next should be consistent and clear. Example: Mr. /Ms ____, I appreciate your question and the price increase is due to an increase in our costs to haul the trash. Traffic delays have increased the amount of time it takes to complete service.
Remember, your driver’s time is a commodity. If we don’t use our working time to make money, we are in effect losing money.