Great People Incorporated’s main problem is the lack of a customer service improvement process. First of all, the gathering of the feedback is done after the contract is closed. This is an indication that there may be minimal communication between the client and the firm throughout the life of the contract. In order to continuously strive to meet customers’ expectations, it requires consistent communication with customers and understanding what are their demands.
Secondly, because the survey is done only after the contract is closed, the only incentive for customers to provide feedback is because of the bonus paid out for each completed survey. The information gathered may not be accurate and reliable because clients are doing the survey after the contract is closed. Lastly, the intention of the survey is focused around following up with past clients and to provide information for Accounts Payable department; it neglects the transactional aspects of customer service.
The reason why the problems occur is because Great People lacks customer service standards and processes to measure, monitor, and control to ensure that standards are being met. For example: who should be involved following up with customers, how the information is gathered, what information should be collected, who deciphers the data, is management involved, and what is being done once the gaps are identified. In addition, performing the assessment after the contract is closed may not be the most optimal time to engage customers. Moreover, key-performance indicators (“KPIs”) are missing; it does not allow the firm to measure and keep track of how the company compares to industry standards.