Make Your Customer Service Standout

Featured in Muncie Power Quarterly, Issue 2, 2017

Customer service plays an instrumental role in the customer experience, and at Muncie Power Products this is no different. Ingrained in the company culture and its in-house team, customer service remains a top priority.

With years of experience and extensive product knowledge, Customer Service Manager Karen Alexander is a part of the company’s customer service team helping to carry out these external efforts. Having learned some best practices throughout her career, she continues to implement those she has learned to best serve customers.

One of the most fundamental of these perhaps was originally shared with her by a former teammate, which is that “You control the pace of the call.”

It is important to be efficient, but don’t sacrifice accuracy. As she mentioned, selecting the correct product specifications the first time saves time and money—a tip which applies to those in other industries and businesses as well.

“We don’t guess. If it means pulling teeth to get the info, that’s what we try to do,” noted Karen.

With Muncie Power’s diverse product line, each inquiry is often unique and different with its own characteristics—according to Karen. As a result, for companies like Muncie Power there is really no menu to follow. Instead, questions stem from both how the customer opens the conversation and from the information provided.

Consequently, finding a solution may require asking several questions. As Karen explained, keep in mind that diagnosing a customer service call is kind of like how a doctor diagnoses a patient.

“The doctor doesn’t know how you feel, you have to tell them,” she said.

Having all of the information upfront then is key to reaching the most efficient resolution; however, this may not always be possible, in which case the customer may have to call back. Answering and closing a call like this, or any call, may seem simple but how one does so is important.

“Always use your name when you answer and thank them at the end; reiterate your name,” she noted.

Providing a name is important so that the customer knows whom to request when they call back. Muncie Power customers will not necessarily be dispatched to the same customer service manager, but to whomever is available unless a request is made—as Karen mentioned.

Like employees, products, and services, customers are vital to a company. Be mindful of what is important to the customer and their time. As she has found, Muncie Power customers appreciate being able to speak with one department regarding any product and/or order questions as opposed to being transferred.

“We do it all, you don’t have to wait to go through it again,” she said. “Saves them time not having to wait for the next available person.”

Working with customers, she notes five tips to building relationships, including being friendly, courteous/ respectful, caring, and humorous, in addition to selling one’s knowledge so that the customer trusts one’s judgement and expertise.

In the end, customer service can be a differentiator between one organization and the next—but not without hard work and a dedication to serving customers.