This is how simple, basic customer service combined with industry knowledge can achieve powerful results.
The below is an interesting example about how a prospect client did not receive basic customer service combined with industry knowledge and achieved a powerful result, but not what the client was expecting!
Last week our prospect client booked a road freight shipment to Austria with their present freight forwarder (who we shall call Mr Forwarder).
The shipment was collected via truck and was to be transshipped. Unfortunately the consignment missed its connection. The client's Austrian customer informed them that consignment did not arrive. Unfortunately Mr Forwarder did not advise the client about the missed connection or the late delivery. to add insult to injury Mr Forwarder advised the client that the final delivery could not be made for another 4 days.
Unfortunately the consignment was needed urgently by the clients customer so they requested to Mr Forwarder that another shipment was booked via airfreight to Austria. when the shipment was delivered out of 5 pieces only 4 were delivered to the end customer and to this day it is still missing in transit and the client has not been offered any form of compensation or even an apology.
Unfortunately for Mr Forwarder YRC Logistics has been visiting this client and had verbally agreed to trial in the near future, during a meeting with the client yesterday we were asked to quote on a DDU Air Freight to California. The GDM called the local Manchester office during the meeting and secured a price immediately in line with the Quote to Win Process.
The client also emailed Mr Forwarder for an ‘Urgent Price’ for the same job and received no response back. After half an hour the client called Mr Forwarder and said that the price was urgent and could they please get back to her as soon as possible as it was for a collection the following day.
After another 45 minutes and nearly close of business, the client called Mr Forwarder again. Her contact told her that they would not be able to get a price to her that day and it would have to be the following morning.
YRCL won their first piece of business from Mr Client as a result.
My summary would be: -
Having a service failure is not good, but how you react is very important. Aside from monitoring the original delivery at the appropriate danger points, the airfreight shipment that followed the failed delivery should have been managed with 'gold plated service' to ensure the client knew where is was at every stage and to make sure it was delivered on time. The client should have felt before the shipment departed, comforted by the shipment planning.
Replying immediately is a common courtesy but in our industry it is also a 'must do'. Nothing else is more important.
Being chased by a client is a disaster, not replying after being chased is inexcusable.
Freight Forwarding has many complications but some areas like replying immediately, managing shipment movements are actually fairly simple.
Aside from excellent (or even good) customer service, I believe that replying immediately to a request from a client, internal or external is just good manners that my dear old grandmother taught me every day some 40 years ago.
Labels: Communication, Minimum Service Standard, Quote to Win, Service
# posted by Andy Martin @ Thursday, April 23, 2009
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