Improving Poor Communication with Customers

NikkiQSM

Quite Involved in Discussions
#1
All -


The company I work for provides medical plastic compounds - in pellet form. These products are sent to extrusion houses where they are extruded into medical catheters.

The issue we are experiencing is mostly communication, in my eyes anyways. Customers will call in, or email asking the status of their product, "Is it going to ship today, tomorrow, etc.?"


Customer service wouldn't know for sure though. Depending on the product, extra testing could be required. Sure, they could open up the file and see that it needs this or that for testing, but they don't understand how long the testing can take. QC is expected to do all this and test other jobs currently running.


Originally Customer Service was told to speak to Scheduling for updates on products running, being rejected, etc. But the woman in charge with Scheduling, (yes she has an assistant as well), is always so buried, that she can not answer every question emailed to her. And of course, she may not know as well what is going on in QC or on the Production floor at that time.


Eventually, Customer Service was bugging Scheduling so much that they were told to email her. But she gets a million emails a day!


Because of all these road-blocks, Customer Service replies to the customers' with the most vague responses. "It's being worked on." "It's on the schedule". "It's being reviewed right now."


Never any explanation of why the job is late (if it is) - In those situations, with a late order, Customer Service just replies that the job has shipped. No other information why it was delayed.


Looking at all of this - what is your thoughts on improvement? A person who is just in charge of tracking jobs? Just over-all better communication? Thoughts please?
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#2
Re: Poor Communication w/ Customers

Good day Nikki,

Having a production and testing schedule should allow for the capability to predict shipment dates. Is there a production and testing schedule in place? If so, can it be charted in a way to forsee what will ship to whom and when, so even the lowest level employee can look at the report and give an approximate answer?
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#3
All -
The company I work for provides medical plastic compounds - in pellet form. These products are sent to extrusion houses where they are extruded into medical catheters.

The issue we are experiencing is mostly communication, in my eyes anyways. Customers will call in, or email asking the status of their product, "Is it going to ship today, tomorrow, etc.?"

Customer service wouldn't know for sure though. Depending on the product, extra testing could be required. Sure, they could open up the file and see that it needs this or that for testing, but they don't understand how long the testing can take. QC is expected to do all this and test other jobs currently running.

Originally Customer Service was told to speak to Scheduling for updates on products running, being rejected, etc. But the woman in charge with Scheduling, (yes she has an assistant as well), is always so buried, that she can not answer every question emailed to her. And of course, she may not know as well what is going on in QC or on the Production floor at that time.

Eventually, Customer Service was bugging Scheduling so much that they were told to email her. But she gets a million emails a day!

Because of all these road-blocks, Customer Service replies to the customers' with the most vague responses. "It's being worked on." "It's on the schedule". "It's being reviewed right now."

Never any explanation of why the job is late (if it is) - In those situations, with a late order, Customer Service just replies that the job has shipped. No other information why it was delayed.

Looking at all of this - what is your thoughts on improvement? A person who is just in charge of tracking jobs? Just over-all better communication? Thoughts please?
One of my earliest posts on this topic contained the following:
"When I say the janitor could conduct the tour, I meant it literally, right down to retrieving data or documents from the computer and presenting copies to authorized recipients. Obviously, we didn't give it to a customer's competitor. We had tracking to identify who retrieved documents and when with a failsafe (enter the customer code and software automatically denied info unauthorized for that customer.)

Heck! By the year 2000, customers were able to query our computer directly and draw down raw data or reports without ever physically coming to the site."
Four years ago, I wrote the following
Customer relations are what make or break a deal. All things considered, a customer would rather deal with someone he considers a friend and partner than one he considers an adversary. A friend warns you of danger so you can avoid it; an adversary secretly chortles when a danger he knew about creeps up and smacks you.

In my career with a number of companies, I always worked for a company that was NEVER the lowest price bidder on anything we sold. However, we prided ourselves on convincing our customers they got the best VALUE from us.

I remembered I wrote about customer relations being so important, we made sure everyone, down to the janitor, was "customer-centric."

Accordingly, I did a search here in the Cove of just my posts that contained BOTH the word "customer" and the word "janitor."

It might be interesting to read these posts (no particular order, but I think they are in chronological order, from newest to oldest) to see how my organization actually handled customer relations. We were extremely successful and sometimes got business where we were the highest quote for the initial price for a product, but still managed to convince the customer we delivered the best value.

I have written, too, about how we turned the quoting process upside down, but that is grist for another thread, even though it still hinged on customer relations.

Thus, here is a list of some posts describing my actual customer relations activity.
Would you leave the Quality Assurance profession given the option? Post 81
Would you leave the Quality Assurance profession given the option? Post 78
Would you leave the Quality Assurance profession given the option? Post 43
Do Quality Systems really "run themselves"? Post 22
Seeking Print Shop Quality Measures/Survey Post 7
Non UKAS certification bodies - reasons for their avoidance required. Post 17
GM stock price skids to 20 year low - Shares slipped as low as $18.33 Post 58
How to Beautify a QC Manager Office? Post 3
Whatever happened to a string tied around a finger. Post 5
Whatever happened to a string tied around a finger. Post 9
turns out they are NOT in reverse chronological order after the first 4 links.:bonk:
 
S

ssz102

#4
does your products have not labor hour? if have, you can got a production schedule for per lot product, means product cycle

meanwhile, prepared a procedure from receiving material to shipping products by ralating dept, so that you get more exactly production cycle to reply your customer about currently production status

BTW, enhance training to your customer service person about how to reply to customer and the skills
 

insect warfare

QA=Question Authority
Trusted Information Resource
#5
Hi Nikki,

I noticed you posted in the ISO 10002 forum...does your outfit have a copy of this guidance document? It should provide you with some direction on handling customer complaints, however I do not own a copy and cannot cite it.

This appears to be largely a communication block hindered by an inefficiency in the customer notification process. Maybe, since email seems to be the medium in question, consider the possibility of creating re-usable email templates that will allow this person to quickly generate an email with each product status to however many customers she wishes. If she is using Microsoft Outlook, making email templates is a relatively simple process and takes up little time, plus she could schedule them for automatic release.

Even better, she could create an email template with voting buttons utilizing a number system (1 Poor thru 5 Excellent), sort of like a survey, and even though I don't particularly like surveys, here they could provide a little feedback on how the customers are perceiving things on their end.

Just a couple of ideas...let me know if this is what you're looking for.

Brian :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

Mikishots

Trusted Information Resource
#6
All -


The company I work for provides medical plastic compounds - in pellet form. These products are sent to extrusion houses where they are extruded into medical catheters.

The issue we are experiencing is mostly communication, in my eyes anyways. Customers will call in, or email asking the status of their product, "Is it going to ship today, tomorrow, etc.?"


Customer service wouldn't know for sure though. Depending on the product, extra testing could be required. Sure, they could open up the file and see that it needs this or that for testing, but they don't understand how long the testing can take. QC is expected to do all this and test other jobs currently running.


Originally Customer Service was told to speak to Scheduling for updates on products running, being rejected, etc. But the woman in charge with Scheduling, (yes she has an assistant as well), is always so buried, that she can not answer every question emailed to her. And of course, she may not know as well what is going on in QC or on the Production floor at that time.


Eventually, Customer Service was bugging Scheduling so much that they were told to email her. But she gets a million emails a day!


Because of all these road-blocks, Customer Service replies to the customers' with the most vague responses. "It's being worked on." "It's on the schedule". "It's being reviewed right now."


Never any explanation of why the job is late (if it is) - In those situations, with a late order, Customer Service just replies that the job has shipped. No other information why it was delayed.


Looking at all of this - what is your thoughts on improvement? A person who is just in charge of tracking jobs? Just over-all better communication? Thoughts please?
Customer service should have very clearly defined metrics to be reported on scorecards. When these are reviewed with upper management, what you are experiencing should also be very clearly shown in the metrics.

Accountability is the key; it appears that the delays are occurring because the metrics are not effectively captured, and therefore visibility into the bottleneck is not happening. Then root cause analysis can occur to identify the real reason behind this situation.
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#7
Customer service should have very clearly defined metrics to be reported on scorecards. When these are reviewed with upper management, what you are experiencing should also be very clearly shown in the metrics.

Accountability is the key; it appears that the delays are occurring because the metrics are not effectively captured, and therefore visibility into the bottleneck is not happening. Then root cause analysis can occur to identify the real reason behind this situation.
I don't necessarily agree on the term "accountability." If I did, then I would have to agree the "willing workers" in Deming's Red Beads "game" were accountable, when they were not. The system [devised by managers] is almost always the main factor in root cause, not any individual.
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Proud Liberal Improving low p-value Statistical Analysis Tools, Techniques and SPC 13
S Improving Quality inspection gate in one piece flow manufacturing process Manufacturing and Related Processes 0
Sidney Vianna ISO 9001 News Tirelessly Improving the Brand Integrity of ISO 9001 - Working Group under ISO TC 176 ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 42
B Improving Behaviour Safety through Fun games Occupational Health & Safety Management Standards 2
T Training courses for improving 'Coaching and Mentoring skills' within Europe Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 1
N Improving my Quality Qualifications - What certifications, seminars, classes, etc. Career and Occupation Discussions 2
B Improving Safety Culture within an Organisation Occupational Health & Safety Management Standards 8
M Improving Quality in an Extrusion Blow Molding Company Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 2
T Best Career Improving Actions? Career and Occupation Discussions 3
L Improving the Quality of Work ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 20
S Excuses for Not Improving Quality Philosophy, Gurus, Innovation and Evolution 12
G Logo or design that would represent Spirit - Improving our Culture Quality Manager and Management Related Issues 1
B Customer Queue Problem - Improving Distribution of Service Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 12
M Improving Purchases and Sales Sheets Manufacturing and Related Processes 1
Marc Customer Service - Three Stories About Improving Customer Service Funny Stuff - Jokes and Humour 3
M Improving Employee Involvement in Company Sustainability Sustainability, Green Initiatives and Ecology 14
A Conducting a DOE in Minitab - Improving Surface Finish of an Impeller Using Minitab Software 10
A Benefits of Improving Lead Time on Closing Supplier Corrective Action Requests Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 3
L Improving Internal Training Systems Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 4
Q Improving Technical Writing skills for CAPA Nonconformance and Corrective Action 7
M Interested in improving the FDA 510(k) system? 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 7
D Improving coefficient correlation result Statistical Analysis Tools, Techniques and SPC 1
R Improving Data Entry Accuracy Service Industry Specific Topics 12
A Green Belt Project for Improving Internal Process Auditing and Metrics Six Sigma 5
R Improving 13485 third-party audits - getting your feedback for our training program ISO 13485:2016 - Medical Device Quality Management Systems 3
8 Simulated Factory - Assistance in simulation of a factory with a view to improving it Lean in Manufacturing and Service Industries 3
M Improving the Effectiveness of a 100% Control that uses a Bore Gage Inspection, Prints (Drawings), Testing, Sampling and Related Topics 7
F Improving your suppliers to work according to ISO/TS IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 3
Ajit Basrur KPI (Key Performance Indicators) for "Improving Customer Communication" ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 10
C Improving Small Diameter Cable Length Measuring Techniques - Process Improvement Preventive Action and Continuous Improvement 3
R Improving our ISO 9004 score with respect to Natural Resources ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 8
T Improving current Audit Practices-Need feedback Internal Auditing 19
R Improving IMDS reporting RoHS, REACH, ELV, IMDS and Restricted Substances 2
Sidney Vianna Improving gas mileage with acetone? Myth? Coffee Break and Water Cooler Discussions 4
K What tips do you have for improving my career? Career and Occupation Discussions 8
Y How to handle difficult customer - Improving my communication skill and techniques Service Industry Specific Topics 5
Sidney Vianna Is the competence of third party auditors improving? Registrars and Notified Bodies 119
K Improving Aerospace Auditing Skills AS9100, IAQG, NADCAP and Aerospace related Standards and Requirements 1
Sidney Vianna "Improving Aerospace Auditing Skills" Workshop General Auditing Discussions 3
R How can one know if a supplier with good performance is continuously improving? Supplier Quality Assurance and other Supplier Issues 8
C Current Receiving Inspection activities - Reviewing, revising and improving Inspection, Prints (Drawings), Testing, Sampling and Related Topics 2
C Improving the Quality of Leadership Registered Visitor Articles Archive 21
A Reducing The Amount Of Time Spent While Improving The Effectiveness Of Meetings QS-9000 - American Automotive Manufacturers Standard 4
A Seeking Suggestions for Improving Corrective Action Nonconformance and Corrective Action 8
B Suggestions on Improving Containment Methodology Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 6
H How do we prove that we are improving the continual improvement process? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 23
Marc Measuring and Improving Quality - Choosing Measureables Quality Tools, Improvement and Analysis 3
S Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) - Scrap element of calculation includes lost margin? Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 7
qualprod Addressing poor commitment in people Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 23
qualprod Best criteria to measure Corrective Action effectiveness - Poor Maintenance ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 10

Similar threads

Top Bottom