It is increasingly difficult to run a successful business against the current economic backdrop and soaring costs, which is why supporting customers and delivering on brand expectation is crucial. Here, Michelle Kirkham, customer service manager at DoorCo, explores the true cost of poor customer service and on the flipside, the positives that happen when you get it right.

We hear all too often from companies across our sector pushing their customer centric messages, but are they actually delivering on those statements, or just playing lip service to good customer service? It is not very often in business that your customer is calling just for a catch up.

More often than not, that call is for a reason and they need to speak to you. Studies show that, on average, people start to feel frustrated if the phone rings four to five times without being answered.

That roughly translates to about 15 to 20 seconds before callers start to feel annoyed or decide to hang up. When people have a question or worse, a problem, they do not want to wait. So, imagine the frustration when calls are not answered at all.

Beyond the price tag
Organisations are misguided if they think that all people want is a good deal on price, regardless of what comes (or does not come) with it.

In a Black Friday survey carried out by Forbes, it showed that two thirds of those questioned (67.4%) had no plans to shop on Black Friday, a sign that customers are no longer just interested in cheap prices but are instead looking at the overall value.

Customer expectations have risen dramatically; they expect fast, personalised and proactive service, as well as competitive pricing – the complete package. And on top of all of that, they want consistency – they want the phone answered every time.

Open lines of communication
This focus on customer support is what our ‘One brand’ is all about. We are not just about chasing new business, looking after our existing customers is built into our culture, and we make it really easy for them to speak to us!

We pride ourselves on the fact that 99% of all the calls we have received this year have been answered first time by a human, not an automated answering service, and that 95% of all those calls are answered within 15 seconds. In addition, the average resolution time of our customer service team is 2hrs 45 mins.

We also still have traditional sales managers out and about building strong relationships with their customers, ensuring they are happy, have everything they need, and are abreast of the latest innovations available to them to help enhance their business.

But it is not just about sales, they can also connect customers with specialists within DoorCo, so they can get help with marketing campaigns and new sales collateral, technology support and advice, onboarding, ongoing product support, technical, sales strategy, shop floor consulting or help with navigating the uncertain economic challenges.

There is a knowledgeable and experienced team on hand to speak to, and this includes members of our senior management team, that are always visible and maintain a long-standing open door policy to customers and employees.

In short, we offer customers open, direct and immediate access to the people they need to speak to, when they need to speak to them.

Supported by tech
However, in this digital era, it goes without saying that self-service options are also available. The recent enhancements to our One Portal have dramatically elevated our customer experience, enabling better online ordering and the ability to track, communicate and troubleshoot with FAQs in real time.

We remain a business driven by continuous improvement, and we work in collaboration with our customers to ensure we evolve and develop to deliver what they need, whether that is investment in innovation and technology to improve efficiencies, or grow our team so someone is always on hand to help.

Are you calls being answered? Give us a try: 01625 428955.