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Category: Customer Service
What is a Home Warranty? Let’s Talk.
First Things First
Home warranties and homeowners’ insurance are two different things.
Homeowners’ insurance is essentially hazard insurance—it covers damages to your property as a result of external forces (i.e., flooding, fire, etc.). A home warranty, on the other hand, is a service contract—it offers coverage for failures of your major home systems and appliances due to normal wear and tear.
Neither replaces the other, but they can work well together.
Know Your Warranty
It is vital that you thoroughly read and understand the details of your home warranty contract. Reading the terms and conditions will provide crucial information to your decision-making process, creating a better understanding of what to expect from your coverage, and helping you to avoid unmet expectations.
Why APHW?
America’s Preferred Home Warranty (APHW) allows homeowners to Choose Their Own Licensed Contractor. This provides the homeowner with:
- An unbiased, third-party assessment of the covered item’s failure,
- The ability to choose someone they know and trust to allow into their homes, and
- The freedom to schedule their contractor at THEIR convenience.
APHW also provides a 3-step easy claims process with 24/7/365 person-to-person service. Whenever you need us, we are here to help.
Call 888.351.3681 for more information.
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APHW Opens New Call Center
On Wednesday, August 21, America’s Preferred hosted an open house for our new call center in DeWitt, Michigan. Continuing our high level of service for homeowners and families, the new call center will benefit the local community and provide growth opportunities for employees. For information on positions at this location and throughout the organization please visit: AmericasPreferredHomesWarranty.appone.com#GodEconomics #APHW
We’ve Got Goosebumps! CSRs Trained in ‘Chill’
With A/C season right around the corner, America’s Preferred Home Warranty (APHW) wanted to ensure easy communication between contractors and their customer service representatives (CSRs). Enter Andy Miller, a service manager for Lammers Heating & Cooling in Jackson, Michigan, to train them in ‘chill.’
“APHW hired me to teach a refresher course on air conditioning components, equipment, and general knowledge,” Andy said. He displayed the common parts and components of an air conditioner to the CSRs, explaining how and why they might fail, and the causes behind it.
“It’s different when you can touch and see the equipment—when you can discuss it with a professional—than it is just to Google the part,” said Rusty Reynolds, the Call Center Operations Manager at APHW. “The development of our people is critical. When you know your job inside and out, it makes you more efficient and less stressed at the end of the day.”
Andy visited the company once before as well, covering furnace parts and components. “This sort of training is very proactive,” he said. “It helps their CSRs know what contractors are talking about over the phone—now they can picture the parts being discussed.”
The employees showed plenty of interest in the sessions, engaging with the technician. “They asked a lot of questions both times, even some questions I wasn’t expecting,” Andy said, adding that he’s pleased to see APHW pushing the education. “We deal with a lot of other home warranty companies that know nothing about what we’re talking about, and it’s like pulling teeth,” he said. “Giving them an idea of what we’re telling them helps us out.”
“Being able to support the industry with knowledgeable people is great for everybody,” Rusty said, adding that APHW’s employee development program will host more of this type of training in the future. “It feels good that we can do this as a company—it’s a win for everyone.”
Furnace Technician Trains APHW CSRs
When your contractor tries to explain what caused your furnace to fail, what does it sound like? Technical jargon? Straight-up gibberish?
Try as they might, some things just can’t be easily translated into layperson. The good news, though, is that your America’s Preferred Home Warranty (APHW) customer service representatives (CSR) will have a pretty good idea what your furnace technician is describing—APHW brought one in last week to train them in person.
“APHW wanted to make their CSRs more familiar with what they hear about on the phone,” said Andy Miller, a service manager for Lammers Heating & Air Conditioning in Jackson, Michigan, adding that this knowledge will help streamline the claim process for customers. “It simplifies everything. Now when we say something like ‘igniter,’ they can visualize it and move things along faster.”
Andy came with more than 14 years of experience in the field. He reviewed all the inner workings of standard (and not-so-standard) household furnaces with the CSRs, encouraging them to ask questions along the way. He also covered common malfunctions and proper furnace maintenance.
Lammers Heating & Air Conditioning has worked through APHW’s claim process with their own customers many times before, and Andy was quick to express appreciation for the company. “I feel like they’re above par, because they train their employees, the claim process is streamlined, and because their billing and payments are prompt.”
He was also encouraged by the attentiveness of the classes he taught. “They asked a lot of good questions that I wasn’t even expecting,” Andy said. “They were very responsive.”
Andy wanted to thank APHW for asking him to visit and educate their CSRs. “Thank you for the opportunity,” he said. “I’m glad I could help them work more easily with contractors and smooth out the process.”
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