Safelite Solutions
Company: Safelite Solutions
Company Description: Safelite Solutions provides complete claims management solutions for the nation’s leading fleet and insurance companies.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Use of Technology in Customer Service
Nomination Title: Safelite AutoGlass®: Utilizing Technology to Deliver Peace-of-Mind
Tell the story about how technology has improved your customer service initiatives since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
On a local interstate, a driver has the misfortune of getting a windshield
crack. The errant rock from a truck bed has left a pit the size of a silver
dollar. The driver—recalling the familiar “Safelite Repair, Safelite Replace”
jingle they heard on local radio earlier in the day—calls Safelite AutoGlass®.
Upon dialing the company’s 800-number, the driver reaches a courteous
representative who walks them through the process of verifying insurance
coverage and scheduling a prompt mobile repair. The driver, a single mother, is
rightfully concerned about the safety of allowing someone to her home in order
to complete the repair.
As the nation’s leading provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement
services, Safelite AutoGlass® encounters this scenario thousands of times a
day. The trusted provider of high-quality mobile repairs to more than 95% of
the U.S. population in all 50 states, they touch the lives of more than 3.8
million each year.
Safelite® takes a unique approach to customer safety and security. Upon the
confirmation of a mobile repair appointment, the company requests an email
address. Through this process, they collect nearly 60,000 emails each month.
The company then sends the customer an email containing the name, picture and
background information of the technician who will be sent to complete the work
on their vehicle. The email also contains other pertinent information such as
appointment time, claim number, vehicle information and insurance claim data.
The customer has one electronic reference document containing everything they
need to know about their appointment.
This process was born of a desire to better serve their customers. Thinking of
the convenience of getting an appointment reminder and offering the customer a
feeling of security, the company created a proprietary system to manage and
send this data. Using this system, managers upload a photo, bio and background
information on each technician when hired. The system currently holds and
manages approximately 3,400 such records. Linked to the company’s scheduling
system, it automatically routes an email to the customer once a technician is
assigned to the job. Customers may opt out of the communications at any time.
But many value the feeling of safety and peace-of-mind the emails give.
In 2009, the company sent more than 2 million such emails, averaging more than
170,000 each month. By the end of 2010, approximately 60 percent of all
appointments scheduled will have this type of confirmation email sent.
Safelite® is currently investigating the feasibility of providing customers the
option to receive the information via SMS text message. The company is also
considering providing an online tool to track a technician’s location on the
day of service.
This simple email, in combination with the industry’s most extensive
background/driving checks and drug screening, provides customers with peace-of-
mind and a confidence that goes beyond the work being performed. It enables
customers to feel safe and helps build trust; making Safelite® the ‘natural
choice’ for vehicle glass repair and replacement.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated customer service organization:
Since joining Safelite® as an IT project leader in 1989, Scott Vance has been
instrumental in shaping the company’s information technology approach and
strategy. In his 21 years with the company, he has worked his way up through
the ranks from manager of applications development to director of applications
development to associate vice president of applications development. Using his
bachelor’s of science degree in computer technology from the University of
Akron, Vance has helped define the way Safelite® uses technology to serve its
customers.