The first thing that crosses people’s minds when they think of customer service is troubleshooting problems and making things right. At Laser Precision, we see the process of keeping our clients satisfied as a two-part discipline. The reactive response to customer issues is vital, of course. But we believe it is even more important to take proactive measures to keep negative situations from happening in the first place.

Prompt Response

Our operations are very complex and sometimes, despite our best efforts, jobs don’t go according to plan. When this occurs, Emma Adams, who heads up our customer service efforts, believes that answering a customer’s inquiries takes top priority. “The customer needs to know that an investigation is underway and their concerns haven’t fallen on deaf ears,” she said. “We also keep them in the loop at each stage of the process until the problem is resolved.”

Anticipating the Unforeseen

While it may be a cliché, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is a good way to describe our efforts to keep an eye on projects so they move fluidly through the shop from order to delivery. Actively monitoring jobs as they go through the system allows us to spot potential trouble areas and take any actions required to ensure the situation is resolved before delivery times are affected. We advise the customer as soon as a glitch is discovered so that they are aware of the nature of the problem and what we are doing about it. Sometimes they can work with us to adjust the delivery time. “Early communication is essential, even if we don’t have the perfect answer right away,” Emma said. “No one likes last-minute surprises.”

Internal Communications

Often it not an error, but a request for expedited service that puts the customer service team into action. Emma often partners with Matt Keller(Quality Control), Perla Pedroza(Logistics), plant managers and other departments to resolve these issues. Emails are circulated to make sure “all the troops are rallied” and a cohesive effort is being made to get the order out ahead of the original schedule. “When a customer is faced with a production issue and they see their order is on its way, they are very pleased,” Emma remarked.

A Team Effort

We could never maintain our high level of control and protect our superior on-time delivery record if each and every one of our employees did not consider customer service a part of their job description. Each department has a continuous improvement program to spot ways that a process can be done more accurately and efficiently. After all, doing things right the first time is the easiest way to give our customers peace of mind.