Whenever a company begins to look at quality from the customer's perspective, a whole new world of opportunity and customer satisfaction can open up - and probably decrease customer complaints. But don’t be too confident just yet. Because these potential revelations can also shine a spotlight on the proverbial can of worms.
Consider these 7 ways to improve quality control customer service:
The right attitude from your QA customer service is really a good foundation to start with. No one likes change for its own sake, and many don’t like it at all, but recognising that change is necessary will help your organisation thrive. Everyone needs to be emotionally and mentally on board to implement and continually evaluate new or newly implemented quality processes.
Whether due to inconsistent communication or simply errors in procedures, mistakes are a reality in today’s business world. Most of the time it's the QA customer service that needs to deal with these mistakes.
The key is to recognise non-conformances before they become a major problem. Knowing when and how they happen and being able to correct them quickly and seamlessly is critical to making your customers less angry.
Mistakes undoubtedly impact your customers. Incorrect shipping addresses, mislabeling, or suppliers who simply do not take your customers as seriously as you do will keep your complaint department on its toes (if only there was a way to work together with your suppliers in a system effortlessly). Just make sure you have implemented a digital complaint management system that fits your business.
Enter, stage right, the best solution to identify an NC before it becomes a larger problem.
A reliable CAPA Management process for capturing product or service quality defects and their initial identification is essential for any organisation as part of a comprehensive quality management program. This could be, for example, simpler, cleaner designs that reduce the occurrence of defects in a product, or in a service-oriented industry, simply introducing a more functional and user-friendly phone service. Good enough is no longer good enough in the eyes of your customers. And guess who'd have to deal with them? Yes, your QA customer service.
Quality assurance is a noble goal, whether it is perceived as such or not. In some ways, this leads back to commitment, but more than that, the behavior of management and staff in day-to-day operations can seriously influence your customers’ decision to stay with you or turn to your competitors.
Attitude is king. That's why it’s really important not to focus on shortcomings, but to have the attitude of a company that is committed to its employees and its customers to achieve the best for everyone.
Let’s get this straight. Quality monitoring is not a reproach. Instead, replace it with performance management, invest in training management, and top-level communication focused on achieving the best outcome for customers.
Try something different. Involve your team and they may find their own ways to monitor quality. The importance of quality will become second nature to people who are engaged and connected. The impact on your customers will be tangible.
This can be scary for many organisations. Imagine that people can voluntarily tell you what they think. That’s crazy, isn't it?
Not that crazy. Otherwise, how would you know what the opinion of your company is out there? Your employees will probably see the feverish look in your eyes and run to the nearest fire escape if you ask them. Take a deep breath and implement a process for letting your customers have their say. It could be enlightening if you know what they think, just by something simple as surveys.
Have you had a look at the way you manage your QHSE system, lately?
Do you even have the right quality processes in place to move your company forward on this issue?
Using software solutions with advanced analytics can lead a company not only into headache-free compliance but also into the brave new world of great customer service.
If a company is serious about its efforts to give quality assurance the attention it deserves, the first step seems to be to deploy a set of processes and monitoring capabilities. Whether you are a manufacturer, distributor, or service provider, you need to put your quality assurance to the test, not to mandate perfection or unrealistic expectations, but to improve it. Improvement for your customers is the ultimate goal. Without your customers, you have no business.
Bizzmine's QHSE software makes your processes more efficient. Curious to see for yourself? Book some time with one of our consultants and discover how that could look like for your organisation.