Why Your First-Time Fix Rate Is Low (And How to Fix It with Salesforce + AI)

Are your service technicians running around, wasting time on repeat visits? Costs are piling up. Your team is working harder, but results aren’t improving.

For field service companies, low first-time fix rates don’t just slow you down. They hit your bottom line. Every delay chips away at trust. Customers who wait for multiple visits start to look elsewhere. One bad experience can send them straight to a competitor.

At ProQuest, we’re excited about what AI can do here. Our customers are asking for smarter ways to run field operations. They want tools that help them make faster, more consistent decisions. Not guesswork. Not information stuck in someone’s head.

For years, teams have relied on key individuals to know what to do next. That’s risky. If someone’s away, everything slows down. With AI and Salesforce Field Service, decisions are backed by data. You get the right person, on the right job, at the right time.

You don’t have to accept inefficiency. Let’s break it down:

What is First-Time Fix Rate, and Why Does it Matter

First-Time Fix Rate (FTF) is the percentage of jobs your team resolves on the first visit.

A low FTF isn’t just inefficient, it’s expensive.

• More truck rolls = higher costs: Extra visits mean more fuel, technician hours, and admin time.
• Lost productivity: Instead of handling new jobs, your team is stuck fixing old ones.
• Customer churn: If customers don’t trust your service, they’ll go elsewhere, and winning them back is costly.

Why First-Time Fix Rates Are Low

If your team isn’t resolving jobs on the first visit, chances are one (or more) of these problems are in play:

1. The wrong technician is sent to the job: Some jobs need a specialist. Some don’t. If your dispatch team is guessing instead of using data, you’re setting technicians up for failure.
2. Technicians don’t have the right information: Technicians don’t have the right information: Without access to asset history, past issues, or troubleshooting steps, they waste time calling the office or, worst, rescheduling.
3. No access to the right parts: Ever had a technician arrive, only to realise the critical part isn’t available? Now they have to reorder and return. That’s wasted time, fuel, and effort.
4. Poor communication between teams and customers: A customer forgets about an appointment. A tech gets delayed, but no one tells the customer.  Job details change, but dispatch isn’t informed in time. Sound familiar? These gaps destroy efficiency.

How AI + Salesforce Field Service Fixes This

At Agentforce World Tour Sydney, we saw firsthand how Agentforce is transforming field service. A special shoutout to Jaime Mervin, who took the stage at the Service Cloud Keynote to share how AI-powered agents are redefining service delivery.

Agentforce is built to support field service teams. It helps them make faster, more informed decisions and deliver better customer experiences, job after job.

The combination of AI and Salesforce Field Service empowers your team to work smarter, reducing delays, improving job completion rates, and delivering better service experiences.

1. Smart Scheduling with AI: No more guesswork. Salesforce Field Service automatically assigns the right technician to the right job, considering skills, location, job urgency, and even traffic.
   
   Now, AI takes it to the next level with predictive scheduling, analysing historical data to anticipate delays, optimise technician routes, and dynamically adjust schedules in real time to minimise downtime. 
   
   And with Agentforce as your AI-powered assistant, dispatchers can simply ask it to find the best replacement, notify customers of changes, and update schedules instantly. No manual coordination, no back-and-forth emails, just seamless scheduling and communication that keeps everyone on the same page.

2. Digital Workforce & AI-Powered Support: Even the best technicians run into unexpected issues. Instead of delaying service, Agentforce steps in as an always-available AI assistant, helping technicians troubleshoot faster and keeping service teams connected.

• Pre-work brief on the go: No more scrambling to organise work orders or dig through service history. Agentforce automatically lines up and organises all jobs for the day, providing a summary of each task with key details about past service, asset history, and next steps. Technicians get step-by-step guidance, ensuring they’re fully prepared and equipped with the right information to resolve issues efficiently.

• AI-driven troubleshooting: When faced with complex issues, technicians can turn to Agentforce for real-time insights, leveraging past cases to diagnose and resolve problems faster. AI enhances Remote Visual Assistance by analysing images and videos to detect faults more accurately and provide guided recommendations, reducing the need for a second visit.
  
  Beyond troubleshooting, predictive maintenance flags potential failures before they happen, allowing teams to act proactively.

3. Field Service as a Revenue Driver: Agentforce helps unlock new revenue opportunities. AI identifies upsell and cross-sell potential at the point of service, allowing technicians to capture leads effortlessly. Whether it’s recommending an upgraded part, a follow-up service, or a warranty extension, AI ensures no opportunity is missed.
   
   With seamless integration into the sales pipeline, service teams can hand off leads instantly, turning every job into a chance to drive more revenue.
   
   
4. Smart Inventory Management: No more missing parts delaying a job. Agentforce connects with your inventory management systems, ensuring everything is aligned, from service vans to warehouses to suppliers, so technicians always have the right parts on hand.
   
   Beyond tracking, Agentforce predicts demand based on stock consumption, automatically flagging low stock and recommending restocks before shortages happen. This saves time, prevents delays, and keeps jobs moving smoothly, leading to fewer repeat visits and more first-time fixes.
   
   
5. Better Customer & Team Communication: Agentforce acts as the central assistant, keeping customers, technicians, and dispatch fully aligned. With a single view of truth, everyone stays informed. This effectively reduces miscommunication, delays, and wasted effort.
   
   From automated appointment reminders and real-time status updates to instant rescheduling and technician notifications, Agentforce ensures seamless coordination. Customers know exactly when help is arriving, technicians get the latest job details, and dispatch has full visibility, delivering a smooth, frustration-free experience for everyone.
   

How to Measure Success

Aside from tracking first-time fix rates, measuring these key metrics will help you gauge success and identify areas for improvement, ensuring your customers receive the best service possible.

✅ Technician productivity: Is time on-site increasing while repeat visits drop?
✅ Job completion time: Are tasks taking less time from start to finish?
✅ Customer satisfaction (CSAT): Are customers happier with faster, smoother service?
✅ Total cost of operations vs. revenue: Are software, staffing, and service costs balanced against revenue growth and efficiency gains?

Keep a close eye on these metrics and continuously refine operations, optimise technician performance, and maximise profitability for your field service operations.

Don’t Get Left Behind

Field service is evolving. Companies using AI and automation are already ahead. Those who don’t will struggle to keep up. The choice is clear. If your first-time fix rate is costing you time, money, and customers, it’s time to act.

ProQuest is Australia’s leading Field Service implementation partner, with 11+ years of experience and 350+ successful projects delivered. We specialise in helping businesses improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and increase first-time fix rates with the right technology.

With deep expertise in Field Service operations, we understand what works. Our team ensures that every solution is designed for long-term success, driving measurable outcomes that reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction..

Ready to improve first-time fix rates and drive efficiency? Let’s discuss how ProQuest can help you take your field service operations to the next level. 🚀