February 11, 2023
We are proud to introduce our new partner, Susan de Witt, a true customer service manager with a passion for her profession. What makes customer service so enjoyable for her? And what makes someone a good customer service manager? Read her story and get to know this amazing professional.
As an employee in a customer service department, you need to be resilient, Susan knows from experience. “You’re caught between two fires. On one hand, you’re dealing with the customer, whom you want to help as best as possible. On the other hand, you’re dealing with your colleagues in planning, production, or logistics, who often don’t appreciate it when you come to them with another special request on behalf of a customer.” Yet, this dynamic is what makes customer service so fascinating to her. “You play a pivotal role between the customer and the supply chain, and it’s a thrill when you manage to align them.”
“The range of tasks varies by company, but it always involves communication with the customer. For example, they might have a question about an ongoing order, want to know when something will be delivered, or place a new order. In some companies, customer service is also called inside sales or order administration, but in terms of content, it doesn't make much difference. A large part of the process is digital or automated. Think of orders received via EDI or chatbots that handle general inquiries. Nevertheless, the human factor remains crucial. Customers often have specific questions that require investigation, and certain information needs to be conveyed personally. Bad news, for example. If there's a significant delay in delivery, you don't send an email; you make a call.”
“As a customer service department, you’re often directly opposed to your colleagues, so everything revolves around communication and trust. Take the planning department, for instance. They line up all customer orders and create the most efficient production plan possible. It’s very frustrating for them when someone from customer service comes barging in, asking to prioritize an order. The big challenge is to communicate this effectively and explain why it’s necessary. As a customer service manager, you need to ensure trust is built, so other departments understand you don’t make such requests lightly. If you don’t explain yourself and don’t show consideration for each other, no one will listen to you.”
“The most important thing is to support your team and ensure they are comfortable in their roles. The work of a customer service employee can be very demanding. Try sitting behind your computer for eight hours with a smile while you’re subjected to the worst kind of negativity. Your main task as a manager is to ensure people enjoy their work. If they’re not happy, your customer won’t be happy either. It’s also important that they can always come to you with problems. I want this myself, by the way, because as a manager, I need to know where things are going wrong. You need to address that. Customer service people tend to push themselves harder when problems arise. As a manager, you need to identify this and address the root cause of such a problem. Don't just run alongside your people, because then you'll end up in a vicious cycle. It's precisely your job to break that cycle.”
“An important one is having the right data available to help a customer. This is partly related to systems, but as a customer service employee, you also need to know which colleagues to approach for specific information. Additionally, processes related to visibility and track & trace are crucial for us. If goods movements in a warehouse or factory are not scanned, or not accurately scanned, as customer service, you can't see the status and therefore can't inform customers. Another process you need to think carefully about is when to proactively inform customers and when not to. You don't want to burden them with every detail, but if you see a large order is seriously at risk, you must inform the customer as soon as possible.”
“To begin with, the best way to assess whether a customer service process is performing well is to ask your employees and the colleagues your department frequently interacts with. You'll quickly notice whether that aforementioned trust exists or not. Trust is the most important KPI for customer service, but that's not all there is to it, of course. You also need to collect and measure data. How many complaints are open on average? How long do they remain open before being resolved? How often are input errors made? These are important indicators, but as a manager, always be careful about drawing conclusions. If people are extremely busy because colleagues are sick and their department is understaffed, don't just casually announce that too many complaints are open. There's often much more behind such a KPI than you might think. You need to be aware of that.”
Susan de Witt is a customer service manager with extensive practical experience. She began her career in the inside sales department of an event agency and from there, she progressed to management positions at various manufacturing companies, including VSI and Draka. Susan recently joined the UC Group as a partner and is available as a manager for interim assignments and consulting.
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