Updating customer record for a service location that is under new ownership.

[Vickies]

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Service Titan to look into ways that would make it possible to simply move a service location to a new or existing customer record instead of having to create new duplicate records and changing the customer records back and forth to manipulate the system to be able to move a service location to a new customer record. Properties change ownership, that's just how things are, and as ST is set up now, when a service location changes ownership, we cannot just move that location to the new owner's customer record or to a brand new customer record. You have to create the new customer record and a duplicate service location under that customer record, then change the customer info on the original service location file to match the new customer record it needs to be under and then merge them, but then have to remember to go back and change the original customer record back to the correct information because it not only changes the customer record for that service location it changes it for every service location under that customer, when you only needed to change the customer for one location. It is way too much of a hassle. I have worked with other software that can't do many of the things that ST can do but they did easily allow locations to be moved and customer, "billing", records to be updated for a specific location without changing the "billing" info for every single location that shared the same customer info as the location that you need to change. I hope this makes sense, because after what I just had to go through to make these changes, it was a bit a a headache. BTW. I think ST is great but some of it's functionalities could be simplified.. 

[ACooper]

The easiest solution i have found is to create a "Place Holder" customer. As customer sell the home, change the customer name on the location page to placeholder and it will transfer service history but not payment history. Then when the new homeowner calls in, You go to the location page and change the billing customer from "placeholder" to the new customer account you just created. That way credit card information isnt swapped around or anything like that. 

[BradleyShaffer]

Has anyone else found a better way to do this?... Creating a new profile with a fake address, assigning existing location to new profile, changing location name, making note of change in the history notes (which should be shown automatically, in my opinion, at the bottom of the location page as a full history log). Then opening and 'deactivating' the fake address place holder.                

This is a huge waste of time and confusing in tracking this a few weeks/months/years later. This also ruins reports for marketing by adding fake people and addresses.

[sunshine207]

HI Scott,

So that is my concern. If we change the name on an existing customer (not the location), will the credit card info stay on the customer's account?

[scottf_GBO]

You should NOT change the name on the existing customer... that should always stay the same.  You should only move the location and change its name.  Payment info WILL stay with a customer (even if the name is changed.  Also, if you change the customer name, your records will be incorrect because of the billing history

[sunshine207]

We have this issue too! Our customers often buy each others houses lol. Or, our customer may sell their house and we don't yet know who the new homeowner is until they call us or we stop by when we are at the neighbors doing our 2 per year services.

We created a new customer called "SOLD" with the address next to it. It adds a duplicate location and then we have to go into merge the locations, and deactivate the previous owner. It's a lot of steps because we also put notes everywhere along with emails/phone numbers of previous owners. For a lot of our techs, they remember the property by the customer name so this is helpful to have this info.

Can you answer this question:

If we DO know who the new customer is, can we just change the name, email, phone on the customer location? And if a credit card it stored, will it stay on the new customer? Is this why this isn't the best practice? 

[scottf_GBO]

Short answers... Yes you can change it and no the credit cards won't stay with it (Credit cards are stored on the customer, not location pages)

Go to the location page, hit the edit pencil.  Scroll down to the Customer field... change to the new customer.  A popup will show under the box with that customer.  If you do not click on it, it will not save.  Then scroll down and delete the emails and phone numbers of the old customer.  Hit save.  This location will now show up under the new customer.  IF you created the new customer with the same location address already (this was a new customer you created), your next step is to merge the locations.  IF this address is NOT on that customer, you will need to go back and edit the name of the location.  

Either way, all of the history, pics, and notes on the location will still be there.  BUT none of it will show on the customer page because it was all done for the prior owner.  

Note: If you have an existing customer that moved into an existing customer's home, make sure to update the customer address, too.  Think of the customer page/ info as the Bill to.  The location (even if it is the same address) is different and separate.

Hope this helps!

[scottf_GBO]

@RandiThompson is correct.  Here's another trick we use...

If you have a customer that sells a home and you don't have the new owner's info, where does that need to go?

We created a "Customer X".  We move these locations under this customer.  Hopefully, if our stickers or recommendation was left in the home, the new owner may call us.  Then we create the new customer, and move the location to them.  That way the history and pics all remain with the location.  

We also use Customer X to enter a number to call that is not in our system.  That way the call is recorded and we can call out through ST... just remember to go back later and clear out the numbers.

[RandiThompson]

We just add "was" to the location name and leave it under the old owner till we get new owner info. We also have a "Dummy Customer" at "101 Dummy lane" that we use for random things and testing things lol 

[RandiThompson · Accepted solution]

I agree that the process could be simplified a little BUT I think you might be doing a step wrong. You shouldn't have to adjust anything with the original customer who you moved a property/location out of. Jon Doe owns 4 houses and sells one to Randi Thompson (existing customer) all you do is go in to the one location record that Randi Thompson purchased and change the customer name to Randi Thompson and the location name and contact info will need to be updated as well. But that will leave Jon Does customer and other 3 properties untouched.