Customer Service Worth Recognizing...

At Universal Chain , we've chosen to make 2019 the year of customer service. As we embark on this journey, a couple thoughts to get us started:

  "The quality of our work depends on the quality of our people"

  "Patience is a virtue......."

 We've always prided ourselves on our customer service and on the fact that our team embodies the UChain culture everyday. 3rd Party logistics can be a thankless job: you are part of the Distribution Center, but not always a part of the Distribution Center team. It takes a special leader & team to deliver outstanding customer service on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. 

 How is it possible to improve upon an already established Customer Service vision?

 First, we needed to acknowledge that our Customer Service can be improved - "Legendary" may even fall short of the ultimate goal, so I'd like to think about moving towards Recommendation Worthy Customer Service. Legendary Customer Service doesn't define the goal, but Recommendation Worthy Customer Service presents the goal. Think about a recommendation from a family member or good friend - you are more likely to try that new product, restaurant, or service if someone you trust or admire gives you the recommendation. It is the same with a the 3rd Party business. If our current customers won't or can't give us a recommendation, why would another customer want to add us as a partner? 

 To support the Recommendation Worthy Customer Service goal, we've established a Customer Service Hotline where customers, carriers, brokers, etc. can call with examples of great customer service & areas for improvement. Each month, we will acknowledge & reward one of teams for their contribution towards our goal. Not a new concept, but we want all the feedback & we are putting ourselves out there to hear the good...and, the not so good. If you don't do that, then you weren't really interested in improving.

 Second, we can only improve our Recommendation Worthy Customer Service when we understand & support our most important assets - our people. Everyone contributes to the goal - it's a bottom up, top down approach. 

From the new hire to the 20+ year veteran, setting the expectation & communicating the vision & results has to be part of our daily interaction with all segments of the business.  We can hit the goal 90% of the time, but if we fail in one part of the process, then we have failed ourselves & our customer. Clearly communicating expectations, following up on results, and recognizing the team who made it all happen, help enforce a customer-centric culture. 

 Will we have instances where we fail? Certainly! But how we react to the failures will set the tone & move us forward. Acknowledging failure and finding a root cause that leads us to a new solution, will create a framework for future success when the same situation presents itself the next time. When we have failures, we must support the team - getting back on the horse immediately is key. In this economy, it is far more productive & rewarding to focus on retention and retraining, than on recruiting. Giving team members latitude to solve issues at their level, leads to MVP team members & Recommendation Worthy Customer Service!

 If you are already a UChain customer and partner, we look forward to 2019 and your comments on our goal to reach Recommendation Worthy Customer Service. If you aren't a UChain customer--it's just a matter of time before you are exposed to our team and the advantage we bring to 3rd Party Logistics! 

 Happy New Year to you and all your hardworking teams out there!