Vendor or Partner? What a Real Commitment to Service Looks Like

A Blueprint for Becoming a Trusted Partner

It seems that when companies tout their commitment to service, it comes across as more of a marketing talking point then something that is a living part of the corporate culture.  After you strip away the fancy slogans and repartee, how does a true commitment to service and the customer manifest itself?

By definition, the word service means, “an act of helpful activity.” So in its simplest form, the purpose of a service organization is to help the customer. We believe that there are 3 important ways that we can demonstrate our commitment to service and provide the help our clients need:

• Do what you promise
• Do the “right thing” even at the cost of profitability
• Be proactive

The last item, being proactive, is where the real work is done to make sure service is evolving and expanding to meet the needs of the customer.  That can be accomplished through communication, metrics and technology. 

By actively listening to customers and service technicians, we can identify new components of service that can be added to our portfolio so that we can better serve our customers. With technology and analytics, we can see service areas that require more attention and allocate new resources to address those needs.

Through metrics, we recently identified a need and were able to quickly hire a dedicated technician to assume a new role that focuses on preventative maintenance of implemented solutions and installation of new products. 

This allows us to make sure the tools that our customers invest in are kept in top operating condition and provides a consistent installation and training process for new products.

And when we noticed that a good portion of our customers’ issues could be solved via a phone troubleshooting conversation with a technician, we saw an opportunity to expound on that concept. 

After finding the right technology tool for the job, we launched our remote access capabilities and can now perform a variety of issue resolution and maintenance functions remotely, in a fraction of time, and with minimal impact to the financial institution.

For us, a true commitment to service means more than just showing up and fixing a machine.  It means keeping a watchful eye and engaging our customers so that we can adapt to meet their needs and maintain a superior level of service.