Good

Customer Service at Datatronics - A Comparison

(STUDENT HANDOUT)

Customer Service | E-Z RP | Datatronics |

Philosophy | Customer service enables better products | Customer service is a cost to be managed down |

Service reps | Highly skilled, knowledgeable and promotable | Low skills and high turnover |

Link to developers | Customer service reps are directly linked to the development group so that frequent customer complaints get fixed and reps are made aware of new product releases | No linkage to development teams. Customers can complete complaint form but not reps. Reps are often the “last to know about new releases” |

Organization | Dedicated call center where reps deal only with one product | Centralized call center where reps deal with all products |

Tiered support | Second tier support available | Minimal second tier due to its expense |

Training | Extensive | Minimal, on the job |

Hiring criteria for service reps | Skills plus interest in business and communication ability with business people and customers | Basic abilities |

Performance metrics | Goal was satisfied customers | Minimize time on call, time between calls |

Technology | Telephone | IVR “Pamela” |

Key Issues

* The approach to customer service differs dramatically between Datatronics and E-Z RP. At E-Z RP CSRs were a valued part of the business and IT teams. They were trained with product and business knowledge, were able to provide feedback and suggestions to the development team, and had career path opportunities to move into other parts of the organization. In contrast, at Datatronics customer service is seen as a necessary evil and it is managed as a cost center, with constant pressures to reduce costs and little innovation. CSRs are not considered part of the team, are demoralized, and turnover is high.

* Datatronics’ attitude to its customers is “my way or the highway” while E-Z RP took pains to be flexible and responsive to customers and to...