by Beth Thomas-Kim, Director, Customer Service
Finer service is more than just being responsive, empathetic, and efficient. It’s how employees view their role in the delivery of that promise. I asked my team what they thought finer service meant. Their responses included, “going above and beyond,” “taking the burden off the customer’s shoulders so that doing business with Vinfolio is easy,” and “bending over backwards to ensure the customer’s experience is a positive one, especially when things don’t go as planned.” I couldn’t agree more.
We provide as many ways as possible for customers to reach us; phone, email, and live chat sessions. Email, however, outpaces phone calls in terms of the frequency of contact methods. Phone calls, by their very nature, demand immediate attention. Unlike many other organizations that rely on automated call handling technology, calls coming into Vinfolio are answered immediately and personally. We have zero hold time before reaching a customer service associate. Additionally, our response time for email contacts is very impressive given the percent of our total contact volume. Response time averages 43 minutes for email. Most companies promise a response within 24 hours.
But, let’s go back to the issue of turning a negative experience into a positive one. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Recently, a new customer made a purchase through our online store. There was a problem with the wine he purchased and when we sent a replacement, it too was unsatisfactory. Complicating things was a misunderstanding regarding a charge. Things weren’t going so well. The customer was angry. It took some time and patient communication, but in the end we resolved the problems and his latest email ended with, “Thanks a ton. You are wonderful.”
I encourage you to share your comments and if there are opportunities for us to improve your experience, don’t hesitate to post them here, contact me personally at beth@vinfolio.com or call us toll free at 800/969-1961.
