Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM APRIL 2016 64 W ho is the most important customer service person in your Company? Is it the owner? Is it the accounting person? Is it the person who handles your customer calls? Is it the person who actually builds the final product that you sell? The answer to this question can vary based on the kind of product or service that you sell. The answer can also vary based on the opportunity that the customer has to evaluate the quality that actually goes into assembling your final product. In manufacturing, customers in most cases cannot actually see their product being manufactured. They don't see the quality tests and they don't see the quality issues that can come up with the assembly and testing of many products. They go to reputable manufacturers to purchase their products, assuming that they take great care in building quality products that are made to last. They don't see the items that are scraped in production and they don't see the number of products that are returned for quality issues. The product is built somewhere else away from the watchful eye of the final customer. These products are bought based on trust and reputation and once in a while Consumer Reports. What about the field service companies? What is your product and how is it evaluated by your Customer? Unlike manufacturing, your product is assembled, in many cases, right in front of the ultimate performance evaluator, your Customer. Your customers view your speed and accuracy in fixing their problem. They stand over your shoulder to see what is wrong. They interrogate your diagnosis and ask for your opinion on the product that you brought. They evaluate the expertise of the technician. I know this to be true because I am one of those customers! Sometimes we forget the big job that the field technicians really have as they manufacture and deliver your final product directly to the customer. When your service van leaves in the morning, how many opportunities will that technician have to impress your customers that day? Try to give them all the tools possible to make them the best advertisement that your company can bring to the marketplace. Have them trained and certified in the areas that will help give your customers, and your technicians, a very positive experience in all interactions. Make sure that they understand the importance of each and every customer and how critical their job is to the success of your service business. Give them all the tools that they need and support them through your appreciation of the work that they do every day. Your success is a direct reflection of their continuing growth and on-the-job professionalism. Please remember that when your technician hits the road in the morning he or she IS your final product. S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T Don Pierson, President CSC RO THE FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN

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