In the fast paced world of technology, with automated phone attendants, voice recognition, voicemails, and electronic data interchange (transferring of information) many service companies are making use of these types of options as cost cutting measures. The question is — is this in the best interest of the client?
Though it can cut costs to a company, what has been lost is the fact we are still in the people business. We do business on a person to person basis, not company to company basis and certainly not computer to computer basis.
Nobody makes a phone call hoping to get an automated attendant or leave a message on a recording device…they want to discuss their concerns, find a solution, and move on to the next undertaking in their busy business day.
At Pacific Customs Brokers, our business model is providing our clients PREMIUM client service, so when it came time to invest in a new phone system, we sought out technology that could be “dumbed down”.
In our business of international trade, automated phone attendants are a costly mistake. On the surface, money can be saved by automating vs paying an employee to answer the phone. But with automation, opportunities are missed to engage your client, learn more about their business activities, and add value to the services provided for your client.
To separate our service from our competition, we hired and trained in-house receptionists to answer the phones 24 hours, 7 days a week. We also removed the voicemail function on all customs operation desks. It was our thought, that when our client”s truck is arriving at the border or their emergency airfreight shipment of replacement parts was landing at the airport, the oh so famous voicemail recording, “your phone call is very important, please leave a message and I will return your call after my long weekend,” was not the response our client needed to hear.
We also realized that a live reception team answering the phone 24/7 was not going to be enough either. To provide PREMIUM service to our clientele; we offer a Customs Brokerage service made up of a team of skilled staff that can properly walk the tight rope between trade compliance and common sense in this industry. Our team takes the time to listen, ask pertinent questions and recommend solutions to a wide variety of trading issues such as free trade agreements, duty rate application, regulated items and import taxes.
We believe our clients appreciate having a real person who can assess each call for urgency, importance, direction, and priority of their shipment. We put people before technology and are keenly aware that it is the people we do business with that contribute to the growth of our business. We have all the technology and automated processes that most brokers have available, but our focus is providing PREMIUM, personal client service with experienced people who will go the extra mile to get the job done.
Tags: Canadian Customs Brokerage, carrier, Customs Brokerage, transporation, US Customs Brokerage
Wow! It took long enough for this to sink in. Since I am on the phone 90% of my worktime, I run into thousands of companies, world-wide, who seem determined to self-destruct, starting with their presentation on the initial contact most people make, the phone.
Since discussion and ridicule of the automated phone problems are now universal, I would make one suggestion to the officers of any company: try calling in to your company with a problem which cannot be answered by punching in a code, and see if you can find one person who (a) is not on voicemail, (b) will listen to your question carefully enough to understand your need, and (c) has enough intelligence and concern to either answer or refer the call to someone who can.
I keep hearing from more and more people, many far younger than I, about how rude people are. A lot of that must be because of the constant frustration in our daily lives trying to reach companies we need to deal with to solve our financial, medical, educational, and shopping problems. We just decide there is no way to reach someone who can communicate, or, by the time we fight our way through the loops, we are so angry and weary that we have lost patience.
Companies are spending millions and millions on advertising to attract clients, who are completely turned off when they attempt to make contact. It’s like pouring gold into a bucket with a big hole in the bottom.
So thanks for this little article!
Bonnie Ventura
I couldn’t have put it better myself. Our company has the same policy as yours and we get compliments from clients for being there when they need us. We went with your company for exactly that reason. The other multinational company ( Schenker) lost our business because they NEVER returned my voice mails. Go figure.