Mr Electric Puts The Spotlight On Customer Service

By Nancy K. Crevier

Mr Electric, the franchise electrical service business owned by Dawn and Bill Keeler since May 2012, may be located in Brookfield, but the Keelers are Newtown residents providing service to Newtown residents — and customers in the rest of Fairfield, Litchfield, Westchester, and Putnam Counties, as well.

It is a new business for the Keelers, but they are not strangers to the electrical service business. Keeler Electric provided electrical service for new construction for 21 years prior to buying into the Mr Electric franchise.

“When the economy slumped and new construction was not so hot anymore, we decided to shift gears,” said Mr Keeler. They were attracted to the franchise primarily because the core values promoted reflected their own desires to provide quality service in a personal way.

“What I liked,” said Ms Keeler, “is that the parent company, the Dwyer Company, and others in their concepts, is made up of people who really live the Mr Electric Code of Values.”

That code is based on respect, integrity, and customer focus, and every Mr Electric employee follows a particular 14-step process at each call that ensures customers feel comfortable, from the cheerful “It’s a great day at Mr Electric! How can we help you?” that greets each caller to the communication techniques to help customers understand the problems and solutions, to the manner in which repairs are undertaken.

Calls are not booked back to back, so customers are not rushed, said Ms Keeler. In fact, customers with a “laundry list” of electrical issues are encouraged to have all of them addressed at a single visit, to save both the customer and the business time and money.

“I liked the whole system [of Mr Electric]. It’s a relationship we are building now with customers — friends, actually,” Mr Keeler said. “ I enjoy this more. I’m not just the contractor for new buildings now. There were times I never met the owners of the building we were working on,” he said.

“In this industry, electricians are generally ‘Let’s fix it and get it done and get out’ people. It’s not always so much a relationship,” Ms Keeler said.

Mr Electric services minor and major residential as well as commercial electrical needs. Its staff provides design assistance and products for interior and landscape lighting, install generators, and offer surge protection. Mr Keeler and two technicians, all licensed and insured, also install surround sound systems and program smart televisions and other audio systems. A safety inspection is included with each call, in order to point out potential risks and options available to correct those problems.

“It’s an extra service we include, just to make sure your home is safe,” explained Mr Keeler, and added that safety inspections only are also booked by appointment, for a cost of just $89.

All Mr Electric jobs are charged by the job, not the hour, he said, and upfront menu pricing for each job is given to the client after assessing the situation.

Technicians for Mr Electric are handpicked and interviewed extensively by the Keelers before being offered a position in the company.

“All of our employees are drug tested, driving tested, and have a background check,” said Ms Keeler, and it is imperative that technicians possess a positive personality. Weekly meetings with the staff allows for time to review the Mr Electric Code of Values and emphasize the customer service process. Each scheduled client receives a reminder the day before the appointment that includes a photograph of the technician who will be visiting, adding another layer of comfort for their customers, Ms Keeler said.

Every call to Mr Electric is answered personally. “We are generally in the office 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. When we aren’t, or when we are tied up with something else, calls go to a local call center. No one ever hears a recording, and we hear all the time from our customers how much they like hearing a real voice when they call us,” Ms Keeler said. Messages from the call center are immediately texted to both of the Keelers, and customers can be confident that one or the other will get back to them in a reasonable amount of time. Emergency service is available 24/7.

“I want people to know us for our customer service. We try to provide the best communication, even if I don’t have the answer right away,” said Ms Keeler, who along with her mother, Bonnie Johnson, handles the front office at the 1120 Federal Road location in Brookfield.

In less than half a year, business has grown as people become more aware of them, Mr Keeler said. “The phones are ringing pretty good now,” he said, and the company is looking forward to expanding coverage to all of Connecticut in the near future.

For monthly special offers, visit www.mrelectricwesternct.com. Call 203-437-7092 for service.

“Our number one strong point is customer service,” Mr Keeler reiterated. “It’s what sets Mr Electric apart [from the other electrical service companies in the area].”