Embedding a Customer Service Culture
Published Tuesday, 3rd January, 2012
BusinessWorks - Embedding a customer service culture
The lewis group has been at the forefront of the debt recovery industry for more than 35 years - a position we have maintained by attracting and retaining clients long-term. Indeed, one of our key clients has been a business partner for almost two decades. Recently too, we have secured six major new clients from the world of banking, retail and the public sector and, while it is clear that a proven track record on compliance, service and performance in what is a highly-regulated and competitive industry is important, perhaps more so is our commitment to a strong, customer-driven culture.
'Treating Customers Fairly' as a principle means recognising customers as individuals and taking the particular circumstances of each customer into consideration when dealing with an account. For us, this includes working with external money advice agencies, charities and care professionals, and with our Financial Solutions Unit – a dedicated team that supports the most vulnerable customers in financial distress – to ensure that their cases are handled with due sensitivity.
Furthermore, the company uses a quality process (in addition to its ISO9001:2000 accredited complaints process) to monitor the treatment of anyone with whom the business is in direct contact. As a result, though the collections industry as a whole is increasingly under regulatory review, we have been able to demonstrate consistently low levels of complaints and excellent customer satisfaction.
Training is vital: a comprehensive induction programme and ongoing training provide our employees with the skills to deliver professional and polite service at all times. Being able to explain the debt collection and litigation process to customers in a clear and straightforward manner is extremely valuable, since engaging in an open dialogue makes it far more likely that a resolution acceptable to both parties will be reached. In addition, the treatment of customers is constantly measured, even down to being a leading key performance indicator (KPI) for collectors against which they are benchmarked and remunerated.
Customers are at the heart of every successful business and we strive to embed the principle of fair treatment for everyone within our working culture. A debt collection agency asking people for money is perhaps not the most likely business to elicit expressions of customer satisfaction, but I am constantly re-assured by the contents of our 'smile file', which contains a host of favourable comments from customers who have written to thank us for helping them to resolve their financial problems.