As part of the on-going LEAN work we’re carrying out here at Fero, and in answer to some of the feedback we received from customers in our survey, we’ve taken a good hard look at our customer service and made some significant changes. The aim is that the right people talk to each other on any given project that comes our way. It’s meant making more people available to our clients, throughout the company.

It is about putting the right people in to the right conversations. Our customers know a huge amount about what they are requiring and we must always provide expert advice and consultation.

Engineering steps out of the darkness

In the old days we kept our engineers at arms length from our customers, preferring to let them get on with things and work hard in the back office. That’s all changed now. We need our engineers to be able to talk to customers’ engineers; talking the same language means a much quicker result. We now encourage our engineers to join us in meetings which might involve those more technical conversations. Plus they’re only a phone call away and more active, intrinsic players in project teams. The key is the Right Conversations with the Right People, resulting in getting the job done faster, issues resolved better and clients feeling happier.

Account Management adds value

Our account managers still are the key representative of our business to our customers and will head up project teams, ensuring that we are working constructively towards better solutions. Little has changed there, as most of you were happy with them, their professionalism and their understanding of your business. It’s this last aspect though that we want to develop, enabling them to get right inside their clients’ businesses and be proactive in suggesting improvements to manufacturing processes. They need to be adding value to your business and be seen as part of your team as well as ours. Over time, we’ve found that this partnership approach works best for all parties and it’s a relationship we’re trying to develop with all our customers.

Customer Service Reps

We’ve created a number of roles that focus on customer service, taking responsibility for and answering those more general questions around deliveries, accounts, general logistics and timings. They work with the Account Managers to ensure projects run smoothly. They cover off some of the day-to-day project details allowing our Account Managers to spend more time out and about learning about your business and adding greater value.

So, we would like to say THANKS. Without your honest feedback, these changes might not have been made. Hopefully you will all soon see the benefits to your business as we roll out this new approach to all our clients.