Your Customer Service Function is an Important Management Tool

Many enterprises consider their customer service function to be a needed but distasteful function. By so doing, they are missing a very important function that customer service can provide to the enterprise.

The complaints which are received by the customer service function are a mirror of how the organization is performing its functions. Typically the complaints reflect one of two types of error.

The first type of complaint occurs when a mistake is made by a member of the work force. An example of this type of mistake would to send the wrong item to a customer. In this example the enterprise has established the proper methods and procedures, but the individual worker made an error in the execution of the system.

The second type of complaint comes from a situation where the enterprise has not installed a fully functional set of methods and procedures. It is in the collection of these systemic errors that the organization has an opportunity to react to and improve their methods and procedures. By identifying and improving its methods and procedures, the enterprise provides its customers a better and more accurately functioning system.

An example of the second type of error would be the substitution of a higher value substitute to the ordered item This could occur if the original order could not be filled. Failure of the enterprise to specify the reason for the substitution of the ordered item to the customer could be considered an error in the processing system. The other system error which this example shows is that the enterprise did not have the ordered item available when and where there was a demand for it.

It in this latter example where the enterprise can learn from its customer service function. This however requires a reporting system and an analysis the actions needed to make things go more smoothly.