Case 11-3
1.) The purpose that CUP Vorstand (board of directors) creates Customer Care Center (CCC) is to reduce the increasing defection of customers, which is caused from dissatisfaction with the firm’s services. CCC is necessary to CUP due to following reasons.
First of all, by setting the CCC, the CUP can reduce lapse rate. The CUP has a high lapse rate before setting CCC. According to the interviews with defected customers, many of the lost of customers are due to CUP’s own fault, and they could be avoided by better services and better training. In CCC, people who respond the call could effectively answer a variety of questions, which could reduce the bureaucratic responses. Moreover, CCC could eliminate source of errors and eliminate process steps in the future. It can solve 90% of customer problems on the first call, and resolve the remaining 10% problems in one day with a follow-up call. All these can increase clients’ satisfaction and reduce the lapse rate.
Secondly, CCC could help agents of the CUP. The CCC is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which can make sure someone is always available to customers. As a result it could be a backup for the agent when customers can not connect to their agent at night or weekend. Moreover, CCC informs all its communication with customers to the agents. It could also contact prospective customers for agents.
Third, CCC could also help the product lines. Although the personnel in CCC might not as experience as the clerks of production lines, their response could still be good enough to satisfy the customers. This is because at least 70 to 80 percent questions are routine and similar, and do not need an expert to answer the questions. The “over engineered” answers from expert might also annoy the clients. Besides that, a special team with extended product knowledge in CCC can solve the rest 20 to 30 percent expert questions.
2.) Establishing performance measures for the Customer Care Centre is important. We not only need
First of all, by setting the CCC, the CUP can reduce lapse rate. The CUP has a high lapse rate before setting CCC. According to the interviews with defected customers, many of the lost of customers are due to CUP’s own fault, and they could be avoided by better services and better training. In CCC, people who respond the call could effectively answer a variety of questions, which could reduce the bureaucratic responses. Moreover, CCC could eliminate source of errors and eliminate process steps in the future. It can solve 90% of customer problems on the first call, and resolve the remaining 10% problems in one day with a follow-up call. All these can increase clients’ satisfaction and reduce the lapse rate.
Secondly, CCC could help agents of the CUP. The CCC is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which can make sure someone is always available to customers. As a result it could be a backup for the agent when customers can not connect to their agent at night or weekend. Moreover, CCC informs all its communication with customers to the agents. It could also contact prospective customers for agents.
Third, CCC could also help the product lines. Although the personnel in CCC might not as experience as the clerks of production lines, their response could still be good enough to satisfy the customers. This is because at least 70 to 80 percent questions are routine and similar, and do not need an expert to answer the questions. The “over engineered” answers from expert might also annoy the clients. Besides that, a special team with extended product knowledge in CCC can solve the rest 20 to 30 percent expert questions.
2.) Establishing performance measures for the Customer Care Centre is important. We not only need