Continual Service Improvement: No Laughing Matter

By Hassan Elahi, Support Analyst, Marval

“If everything seems to be going well, you ‘ve obviously overlooked something.” Put in a simpler (and less funny) way: there’s always room for improvement - particularly in Service Management.

Customer expectations have evolved dramatically in the past decade, and customer service really can affect a business’ success today. A RightNow report on the impact of Customer Experience showed that almost 9 in 10 consumers stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service. And it may sound weird, but actually only 4% of dissatisfied customers will share their concerns with the business. So if you think that everything is going well in Customer Service, think again: there could be plenty of room for improvement.

On our Service Desk we use SSI, a smart and innovative feature of Marval MSM’s, to accelerate Continual Service Improvement. SSI stands for Suggested Service Improvement and it is a revolutionary way of giving “power back to the people” who are most involved in Service delivery: your Analysts.

Being a Support Analyst myself, I know that the Service Desk team has a most accurate overview of what really goes on with the organization’s Customer Service. We come across hundreds of customers every day, listen to their stories, collect their feedback, handle their requests and record their complaints. We know when an incident keeps appearing and when a change is required. We know how to manage a repeated incident and when it’s time to escalate or raise the alarm. We hold key information that can help the organization improve Customer Service. How is this information used, then?

In most companies, it’s not. Sure, most ITSM tools collect customer feedback, which can be used for improvements; but keep in mind that 96% of dissatisfied customers never raised a complaint!  

Marval MSM is different, as it collects feedback from Analysts, too. It actually provides initiatives for Service Desk teams to be actively involved in the CSI process, raise concerns, identify potential problems, suggest changes and improvements and share first-hand knowledge with their colleagues and the organization. What’s great about it? First of all, the company actually gets the information it needs to make meaningful improvements. Secondly, the Service Team assumes the responsibility of enriching the Customer Experience; they become a crucial part of it. Support Analysts feel they are heard (finally!), their opinion matters and they can make a difference. And of course, Customer Service becomes better on elements that were indeed concerning the customers.

Customer Service is not a laughing matter. With raising customer expectations, it’s become one of the organization’s most crucial operations. Therefore, improving Customer Service should be part of the organization’s strategy towards growth and sustainability. And effective CSI is definitely worth investing in.