Member Article

‘Do you know who you spoke to before?’

’Not knowing your customer and having to ask questions like these is totally unacceptable in modern day customer service’ says BancTec’s Manjot Dhendsa. Manjot examines how customer service can be quickly and easily improved through case management.

Poor customer service is a big pet hate for so many consumers. It often seems, the bigger or more complex the organisation, the worse the service. By no means, however, does this need to be the case. For large organisations, a case management solution will solve these issues.

The most frustrating situation for a customer, is one where they phone up an organisation and the representative at the other end cannot see the case history or customer profile so cannot effectively assist them with their query or issue. Asking questions such as ‘have you spoken to someone before’ and ‘do you know who you spoke to last time’ are totally unacceptable in modern day customer care. Modern case management workflow solutions allow for the management of thousands of individual case files every day with limited resources, ensuring all of this data is already readily available.

One area which has struggled for success in customer service is the banking industry. Banks are highly dependent on their customers’ loyalty, in fact, research by BBC Watchdog in 2012 reported that people are more likely to divorce than change banks. Therefore, losing a customer because of poor customer service must be avoided at all costs. With websites such as MoneySavingExpert regularly surveying bank customer service experience, the pressure to satisfy banking customers is higher than ever.

Speaking to press earlier in February 2014, Robert Toguri a partner at Ernst and Young Enterprise and Intelligent Services argued that since 2008, the financial sector has been lagging behind in the collection and analysis of big data. Prior to 2008, banks were leading the way, with data warehouses holding massive databases, but as the technology has developed, and customer numbers and demands have increased in complexity, many have failed to move with the times argues Toguri.

The public sector has also faced much criticism in this area. The movement of public sector cases online, especially within the NHS has caused controversy, with the concern that data will be made public and therefore go unprotected and end up in malicious hands. Large numbers of people have objected to this migration, failing to see the full benefits it will bring to efficiency.

The reason for this migration online is in order to improve the way the health service communicates with and helps its patients, providing staff with access to relevant patient files when and where they are needed. Opponents do not necessarily realise the massive improvements adopting such a regime can have for the health service, and the public sector as a whole.

The bottom line we need to focus on is that case management increases efficiency. Doctors will be able to access patient files whenever and wherever they need them, and patients will no longer turn up to see a new doctor and have to explain their entire health history.

From the customer perspective, adopting a case management scheme will mean as soon as a customer comes into contact with the organisation, all of their customer information is immediately accessible. For example, if someone calls up to complain, and they previously posted a complaint on twitter or via email, the representative will be able to see this and respond without the customer having to fully explain their issue.

Large organisations must fully adopt case management systems in order to effectively communicate with their customers as well as to avoid compliance issues. These organisations risk damaging their reputation if they fail to manage customer cases effectively and communicate with their customers in a compliant and effective manner.

By Manjot Dhendsa, Product Marketing at BancTec

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by BancTec .