Smart Business Cleveland

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Helping with Hair

Cancer is an awful beast that can devastate hopes and dreams in the snap of a finger, but the pain is stronger when its victims are children, and it's for these tiny, innocent victims that Executive Director Mark Campo and his team at Wigs for Kids work.

True Colors

[...] Erik Bouts came in as the new CEO in late 2007. With several thousand U.S. employees who bring in a significant portion of the $1.35 billion in revenue generated by the North American decorative paints division of AkzoNobel, it would certainly be a challenge to get people on the ship, but it was far more complex than just getting people to trust a new direction. "First of all, you have to understand what the strategy of the new owners is," he says.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Providing Value

At a national accounting conference in January, Gary Shamis, managing director of SS&G Financial Services Inc., told employees, "Now it's time to up the ante and service your clients like they've never been serviced before."

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Solutions Provider

[...] last year, they recognized that customers were eliminating recruiting staff but had increased volumes of unsolicited resumes to manage, so they invested in upgrading their on-demand applicant tracking system and offered it to customers at affordable pricing to help them solve their problem.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Investment Versus Expense

[...] his mentality is, "You don't want our product without our great service," and this outlook has kept the company's products and services from becoming a commodity.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Recognizing with a Referral

In addition to referrals and awards nominations, Skoda Minotti also sent more than 1,050 holiday gifts to customers in December, and it presents plaques to clients who are recognized in local publications.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Ready to Serve

[...] the first guiding principle that employees practice is placing the interest of customers first.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: One Step at a Time

Whether a longtime client or first-time caller, the company's customer service procedures are in place to assure accountability and satisfaction.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Down to a Science

Shamrock identifies a problem and the reasons for the problem, measures occurrences against possible causes, determines the root cause, implements corrective actions, and then monitors results to ensure the action is effective.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Examining Strong Relationships

Reliant needed Insight, an oil analysis company, to run a sample. Because of the nature of the work - the preparation and the analysis - Insight couldn't process the information before shutting down for the weekend.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Meeting Needs

Under the leadership of Greater Cleveland Region President Dan Walsh, Huntington is the only bank that provides such service in the area In this economic climate, every company is out to improve business.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Team Approach

New hires at Herbruck Alder are given a copy of the firm's client services plan as part of their training, and new hires are trained by a member of the client service team to which they are assigned.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Culture of Service

Hattie Larlham's employees help meter a number of programs that help enrich the lives of the people whom the organization serves, including a creative arts program that enlists the help of professional artists to work with program participants, allowing people with disabilities to express themselves through art.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Ongoing Support

Long before Prentke gave away devices for its 40th anniversary, it led the industry in creating a funding department to help disabled individuals acquire the products and services they needed by submitting requests to insurance companies and letting customers monitor the process.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Sweet Swing

The private club business is all about customer service, and Firestone Country Club has long been a leader among private golf clubs when it comes to delivering a high level of service to members and guests.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Made to Spec

Today, customer service is still on the forefront. Because many customers have requirements set by regulations and other industry standards, Research Organics built its manufacturing and quality systems around those guidelines - such as FDA, current Good Manufacturing Practices and ISO 9001.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Dedication to Diversity

FOMMs go through an orientation and receive ongoing training The continuous training through "lunch and learns" and workshops is to enhance them knowledge on museum-related topics and communication techniques.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: A Lesson to Learn

The quality of service that Moga Kennedy provides is what has taken Le Chaperon Rouge Childcare Centers and Schools from a day care center in the basement of a North Olmstead church to a child care center with eight locations and an additional private elementary school.

Dunkin' Donuts Grows by Franchisees

If you recognize that it's about steady, gradual improvement and that ideas come from people who really know the business - I mean, let's face it, franchisees know the business day-to-day better than I do because they're out in stores, they're dealing with our guests, the guests tell them things, they're getting feedback. Along with regularly measuring the quality and consistency of service and products, Travis throws in a few surprises to keep franchisees on their feet.

Shifting Into Gear

How do I get a lot of help around here thinking about that? Because I don't have the best ideas I need everybody thinking about that, from forecasting, to taking risks, to what's the downside, to what are the upside opportunities, to what's really happening in the market. On his most recent field expedition, Willis went to Chicago. Because Matco Tools is centered on the automotive repair business, he met with about 10 shop owners or managers and asked on-point questions:

Philip Pelusi's Style of Client Care

[...] that his chain of 13 Philip Pelusi Salons has expanded to include 20 partner salons and another 60 that carry his P2 brand of products, he's sharing those lessons to help others provide client service.

Driving Growth

Undergraduate degree in business and insurance; master's degree in finance and banking, University of Alabama Jon Diamond Born: Don't Ieave on a trip without your insurance premium paid in full and make arrangements to pay during your trip if a scheduled payment will be due. Make sure to have water and snacks, activities to occupy any child travelers, and an emergency plan, including access to a charged mobile phone, roadside markers and roadside assistance.

Fighting Waste

[...] since Pugh has a lofty goal of making his company the No. 1 landscaping company in the world, he wants to do whatever it takes to reduce waste. Pugh wants to measure such things as how long it takes to unload equipment off the trailer, how long it takes to get from one job site to the next and how much time is spent en route talking about what needs to be done at the next site.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Personal Touch

By staying in constant touch, they catch many problems before they arise. Because they're dealing with clients on a global scale, time is also a consideration.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Service That Rocks

Sure, invoices may list staging, lighting, sound systems and entertainment costs, but customers are really compensating Rock The House for the experience.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Heritage of Service

Family Heritage - led by founder, President and CEO Howard Lewis - excels at selling their premium-priced products because the company places an emphasis on exceptional customer service.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Solving Problems

On top of these efforts, the company has weekly telephone meetings, face-to-face meetings every other week as well as quarterly top management meetings to ensure best practices are being used to achieve agreed-upon goals. Because of these efforts, both companies have experienced double-digit sales increases.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Plugged In

Cox's philosophy is that reliable service and equipment leads to a great customer service experience, and a reputation for reliability needs to start on the day of installation.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: High Iq

Great customer service is a part of the culture at EmployeeScreenIQ, where Jason Morris heads the day-to-day operations as president and chief operating officer.

2010 World Class Customer Service Awards: Better Training

Invacare's customer service representatives participate in formal classroom sessions and graded training assessments each month.