Build Your Own Model Home and Serve Customers Better

All of us learned from as early on as our first Hot Wheels set (the one where the cars just didn't rip across the tracks like in the commercials):  Not everything works like the box says it does. 

At ETA, we decided that the only way to guarantee that the products we were offering worked was to implement them in our own office.  We're a business similar to those we serve, with an accounting department, a sales department, storage needs, messaging requirements, remote workers, training, etc.  In the end, the best way to evaluate vendors is to make sure that equipment delivers on all its promises with an efficiency that we'd be proud to advocate (no "gotchas”).  Additionally, we wanted to get our people familiar with the systems from soup-to-nuts, so we to incorporated these solutions into our infrastructure. All the telecom systems, messaging, video and web conferencing capabilities and networking we use throughout our offices are the same solutions we provide to our customers.  We call it "Model Home."

This solves several challenges.  1) We know from experience how reliable the products are.  2) Our technicians and help desk staff actually use the systems, so they know how to address questions.  And 3), when a potential client asks, "Can you show me an office where this is in use?" we know right where to point them, without imposing on an existing customer.

It's a simple case of putting one's money where one's mouth is, and it's fairly well ignored in the sales world.  Most organizations could probably find ways to apply their goods and services to their own office environments and procedures.  It's easier to make numbers than to make happy customers, but only one leads to long-term, mutual success.

We would like to challenge each of you to implement your services or products in your own business.  You’ll learn more about what your customers experience, you may be able to identify problems and fix them before your customers notice them, and you’ll become a stronger company for it.  Through this practice, you’ll serve your customers better!

Learn more about ETA.

Gift of Life Uses ETA to Help Save as Many Lives as Possible

Gift of Life Donor Program is the federally designated non-profit agency that coordinates donation and transplantation in the Eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. 

Gift of Life Donor Program works with close to 150 area hospitals and receives 45,000 – 50,000 calls per year, all reporting patient deaths that may become potential organ or tissue donors to support the more than 5,000 people in our region awaiting life saving organ transplants. The agency deals with precious gifts of life, and its phone system carries a huge burden in the process:  The sole way a hospital can report a potential donor is via Gift of Life's 24-hour 800 number (1-800-DONORS-1).

Upon moving to a new facility, Gift of Life needed effective technology, but more importantly, it needed a vendor who could comprehend the importance of the tasks at hand and know what kind of infrastructure would best accomplish them.  The agency needed simplicity:  IT Director, Jason Soley wanted to move away from dealing with separate contacts for his local carrier, long distance service and telecom hardware vendor.  Additionally, Gift of Life was looking to enhance tracking within its 24-hour call center, the Transplant Information Center, and how efficiently calls were being handled.  

Expert Technology Associates' Dan Rehrer consulted with executives at Gift of Life to review its business goals, current carriers, phone bills and existing technologies.  ETA was able to serve as a single point of contact for Gift of Life’s multiple carrier vendors, understanding and addressing issues between the three companies—who, without a mediator, had experience difficulty resolving problems. 

"A single point of contact is key," said Soley.  "Whenever there's been an issue or an emergency, ETA has been there and has taken care of it."

ETA also uncovered an opportunity for significant savings.  By bringing the client’s teleconference capabilities in house, a small, upfront investment in hardware would pay off in just months. ETA determined that investing in conferencing equipment would be a more cost-effective alternative to the third party bridge line, returning the investment in eight to 10 months.  In-house conferencing capabilities now save Gift of Life approximately $1,000 per month. 

"Of all the vendors we reviewed," Soley said, "ETA is the one that understood what we are doing.  Because of that, they were able to provide the services that worked best to support our mission."

You can learn more about Gift of Life at http://www.donors1.org.

Learn more about ETA.

Dave Weiss – The follow through superstar!

For any service request, Dave sees that the issue is resolved, no matter how daunting the task at hand may be.  He is focused on delivering an excellent level of service that ETA customers have come to expect.  Whether it is at a customer site or on his cell phone driving to his next service call, Dave provides customers with solutions to their issues quickly and effectively.

Dave Weiss, one of ETA’s senior technicians, started with the company in April of 2004.   He has been working in the telecom industry for over ten years.  It shows with the expertise and guidance he provides customers with each and every service request he takes on.

In his tenure at ETA, Dave has built a reputation with his customers and fellow employees alike of someone who truly takes care of the customers he serves.   He is known for his great follow up and unique ability to make customers feel appreciated.   This level of service has led has led to many smiles and “Thank you, Dave!” emails.

Do you have a question for Dave? Email Dave here.

How to Ensure the Best Customer Service Satisfaction Ratings

Ignorance is bliss, right?  Unfortunately, in the business world, ignorance can kill your revenue.  When customers have a less-than-satisfactory experience with your company, every good experience is out the window.  People remember painful experiences more than happy ones, when it comes to customer service.  Because of this, it’s important that everyone on your customer service team (anyone that comes in contact with customers, really) is well-trained and coached on how to provide remarkable service every time.

If your customer service reps do most of their communicating over the phone, a great way to ensure they follow through on delivering remarkable service is to monitor the calls:

1. Create an evaluation document for customer service reps that includes the recording date and time of the call, what the call was about and your evaluation of that call.
2. Start by listening to 10 calls made by each rep in the first week.
3. Complete the evaluation document and review it the following week with each rep.
4. Give the reps a few days to practice implementing your suggested areas for improvement.
5. After a few days, listen to 10 more calls and re-evaluate each rep.

Continue this process until you listen to 10 calls made by each rep that meet your expectations.  Unfortunately, the work doesn’t end there.  Periodically, you should select calls to listen to at random.  Provide immediate feedback to the reps if there are additional areas that need improvement.  Similarly, recognize and applaud their contribution and successful calls.  This is critical to reinforcing a desired behavior.  Without some expression of appreciation, the enthusiasm and hard work required for further improvement is likely to diminish.

To learn more about how to record calls and evaluate customer service at your company, contact ETA.