L-com Inc.
Company: L-com Inc., North Andover, MA
Company Description: L-com, a global leader in the manufacture of wired and wireless connectivity products, offers unmatched customer service for the computer hardware industry. The company’s product portfolio includes cable assemblies, connectors, adapters, computer networking components, and custom products, as well as antennas, RF amplifiers, coaxial lightning and surge protectors, and NEMA rated enclosures.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Awards Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Department of the Year – Computer Hardware
Nomination Title: L-com Global Connectivity
Tell the story about what this nominated department achieved since the beginning of July 2010 (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:
Over the past year, one of L-com’s goals was to set up a customer service team
in the new Chinese branch of our business. This was a herculean effort, mired by
distance, time zones and language. In order to achieve L-com’s level of
customer service quality, one customer service supervisor spent several months
in China documenting procedures, setting up systems and training new hires. The
result is a fully integrated customer service department in China, linked to
L-com’s customer service management via PrairieFire technology, which allows
messages to be passed back and forth between locations and phone calls and
emails to be monitored.
All of this took place against the backdrop of an increasing breadth of
products. We currently have over 24,000 highly technical SKUs on our web site.
Our customer service department accurately answers customers’ questions
regarding these products every day. In addition, L-com has an active custom
product program. Again, the same group of just 13 customer service reps and one
supervisor fields questions for both stock and custom items. They do this while
entering over 300 orders per day and consistently maintaining an 85/15 (85% of
all calls answered in 15 seconds or less) service level.
The L-com customer service department, located in both Massachusetts and
Florida, achieved their high service quality through rigorous training,
conducted using Skype and Polycom technologies to link up the separate
locations. Through the speed and accuracy of the departments’ order taking, an
order placed online or over the phone can be processed and shipped within a
one-hour turnaround time.
This is possible partly due to the ERP system called EPDS (Electronic Product
Distribution System). This technology links the customer service reps to every
other department company wide. Thus, customer service reps can see in real time
the status of orders throughout the company. They can retrieve invoices and
tracking numbers, check the status of quotes, and make changes to orders all
while on the phone with a customer.
With the technology and dedication of our customer service departments, we are
continually setting the bar higher. In March 2011, we began the process of
transitioning from 85/15 to 90/15 service level. We also revamped the call
monitoring system, changing everything from score sheets all the way through.
We’re expanding and broadening the training program with PowerPoint
presentations and full color handouts to ensure customer service reps have all
the reference materials they need to quickly and accurately answer customer
questions. And we’re continuing to branch out and improve our China customer
service department all while the number of products on our website increases.
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]:
http://www.l-com.com/content/Article.aspx?Type=P&ID=9759
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated customer service organization:
Lester Smock is L-com’s Contact Center Manager. For nearly ten years he has
tirelessly worked to mold the thirteen customer service reps into the award
winning team we now have. Using technologies such as PrairieFire and Voiceprint
Call Recording he has facilitated training in both customer service best
practices and product education.
Chris Cote is L-com’s Massachusetts Contact Center Supervisor. He addresses
tactical customer service initiatives such as re-training and call monitoring
and resolves customer service conflicts.
Karen Clark is L-com’s Florida Contact Center Supervisor. She has worked to
integrate the Florida and Chinese contact centers since L-com acquired them.