Most problems occur repeatedly for a reason. Using hot tickets helps you quickly resolve problems. You will soon discover that they also help you track problems. Once you identify recurrent problems, you can start looking for causes and finding solutions.
To develop hot tickets, first create a checklist of the most common errors you have when delivering your product. Once an error is spotted, a hot ticket is created and the problem is checked off or written in using the space provided for those unusual and original problems.
On the back of the form, the employee should document how the customer’s problem was resolved. It should also document when the customer was contacted and if the employee feels the owner should be contacting this customer.
Impress upon employees how important it is to take the time to fill out hot tickets accurately. They will help ensure that all customer problems are resolved quickly.
The tickets will also tell you what problems are recurring. Review them at the end of the week. If the same problem arises multiple times during the week, you will know that it is time to investigate the cause of the problem.
There are dozens of reasons why people make mistakes. Hot tickets help you find the root causes of your most frequent mistakes. Problems have specific causes and specific solutions. Make sure you have systems in place to track them.
(I first read about hot tickets in a book by Jay Goltz called The Street-Smart Entrepreneur. While it was published in 1998, this is still a good book that you should buy. It is available on Amazon.)