Matina Koronis-Koester says she’s a little old-fashioned when it comes to customer service.
That means when someone calls digital partners inc. a person is going to answer the phone. There is no automated system here.
Koronis-Koester, founder of the authorized B2B reseller of Apple products, says she still heeds the words of one her first mentors, Dr. Susan Ellis, who was an instructor of sales and management at Drake University and today is on the faculty of Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia.
“Customers will always tell you how they like the product or service,” Ellis says.
So to build a relationship, a company has to have several points of contact within a company, not just one. This is done, Koronis-Koester says, “By making sure my team gets to know their team. We’re really a bit old-fashioned obsessed when it comes to customer service.”
Although she may have the initial contact with a company, Koronis-Koester says a team approach helps ensure customers are being served well. That means her workers are linking up with the customer’s team so they get needed information.
“We want to make sure we are covering all the bases,” she says.
Koronis-Koester says accounts are discussed on a regular basis to ensure that nothing is being missed. She acknowledges that her company is not always the cheapest option but it can compete with national companies because of its high level of customer service.
“It’s a good practice to triage every situation and every customer is going to be different,” Koronis-Koester says. “It’s a matter of training staff to make sure that they are consistently delivering that level of service.”
Believe in method acting
She says her staff quickly learns how important customer service is to her.
“I tell them to think of the best customer service experience you’ve had and the worst customer service you’ve had, and think of that every time you’re talking to a customer.”
Referrals and word-of-mouth advertising are how DPI has gotten most of its customers, and Koronis-Koester says she never wants to neglect current customers to get new ones.
“Adding a new customer is great, but we want to keep our existing clients — and keep them happy, and there is nothing better than that. Always work to make it right.”
And Koronis-Koester says she knows why people are so appreciative of great customer service: “It is not the norm in business today.”
