“Social CRM for customer service has only recently entered into the realm of contact center infrastructure and customer service software components, where it has been met with significant hype despite a limited number of field deployments,” said Drew Kraus, research vice president at Gartner. “There is strong corporate awareness, including at corporate executive levels, of social networks and their potential impact on corporate brand management and customer service perception. We expect the high-profile nature of social networks and social CRM for customer service to rapidly advance adoption from early adopter to mainstream deployments despite the volatile and rapid evolution of social networks in general.”

SOURCE: Gartner, Inc.
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1570814

Previously using a paper based system to track customer feedback, Jim Seabright, Manager for the FAA Planning and Systems Development Group, said it took weeks and sometimes months to respond to customer inquiries. In 2006, NACO, The National Aeronautical Charting Office, originally implemented Everest. Now a part of AeroNav Services, NACO provides nearly 200 visual flight charts, as well as airport directories and various terminal products, and it is critical that they are able to respond to pilot’s questions or concerns regarding aeronautical charts.

Achieving a dramatic improvement in turnaround times, customers now hear back from AeroNav Services within one to three days. For more information about FAA AeroNav Services http://www.faa.gov

Looking at customer feedback via Everest charts and reports is also a priority for AeroNav Services, which is committed to service quality and safety. Compiling the data for review used to take one to two employees nearly two weeks. In Everest, a member of the team can capture the data quickly and display it in multiple reports and charts for easy review.

The FAA’s IT department estimated that it would take 18 months to develop a system to track customer feedback – too much time to lose valuable data according to Jim. Instead, they were able to purchase Everest, customize it to meet there needs, and train the staff in less than two months. According to Jim, “The first six weeks of imputing concerns in the Everest system, we were already receiving reports and fixing areas where we were not adequately getting back to some of our customers.”

Building upon the success of the original implementation of Everest, the system was substainally reconfigured and expanded to serve the full scope of AeroNav Services.

Founded in 1838, Mauritius Commercial Bank is celebrating the official launch of the Everest Customer Complaint Tracking solution to track and resolve customer complaints across all bank operations.

“MCB launched the Everest software in September 2010 to commemorate the bank’s 172nd birthday,” commented Nicole De Maroussem, MCB Service Quality Assurance Specialist.

The launch of Everest was an important milestone for Service Quality at the bank because complaints are not just problems to be solved, but opportunities to improve. Everest includes extensive real-time reports and charts useful for Regional Managers, Service Quality and Senior Management. The software was deployed very quickly at MCB, just 30 days after it was installed.

The Everest Employee Portal enables anyone who works at the bank to quickly submit a new concern via the corporate intranet. One of the challenges that was met with the software’s built-in configuration was to route newly submitted concerns at the branch level directly to a regional branch manager. Debit and credit card related problems get routed to Card Services and other Concern Types are routed by the software accordingly. A unique tracking number is produced immediately on-screen for each new submission which is then visible in the software’s main menu for the appropriate manager who is also usually the Concern Owner responsible for resolving the problem.

The Customer Portal will function in much the same manner as the Employee Portal, but it is available directly to MCB customers visiting the MCB web site or using the bank’s online banking services.

“Customers already using online banking services value the convenience of self-service tools that save time. With the Everest Customer Portal, customers can quickly report a problem online anytime day or night, immediately get a tracking number for future reference and be done. This is ideal for financial services,” noted Michael Herzog, Lynk Software Project Manager.

MCB is based in Mauritius, an island nation located East of Africa in the Indian Ocean. To learn more about Mauritius, click here: http://www.mauritius.net

Choosing the Everest product by Lynk Software, MCB valued the vendor’s global experience supporting banks and insurance companies all over the world including companies located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. To learn more about Mauritius Commercial Bank, click here: http://www.mcb.mu

A Common Scenario
One of the most common reasons for buying Everest is to replace spreadsheets, old software or a paper-based process. Our expertise comes from over 40 years of software application development. We understand the trade-off decisions considering in-house software development vs. buying a commercial off-the-shelf solution such as Everest.

Resource Allocation
One of the key factors to consider is project resource allocation. Significant issues to consider include:

 The internal resources necessary to create the desired functionality
 The talent and resources needed to maintain and update the system
 The effort required to become a subject matter expert
 The responsibility and resources to keep the system tuned with the latest technical advancements

An internal development team may possess the programming skills and even the lengthy development time required, however the extensive ongoing refinement of Everest keeps it consistently ahead of the pack. With Everest, you get the latest technological advancements, feature enhancements and cross-industry best practices bundled into regular releases of the program. Our focus and software expertise are unmatched because of the simple fact that Everest is all we do at Lynk Software.

Reasons for Change
Is your organization still keeping valuable customer data in various Excel™ spreadsheets or a homegrown Access™
database? Everest is a smart choice for many reasons. Consider the following:

 Multiple spreadsheets make consolidated reporting difficult and very time consuming, while inconsistencies can cause numerous errors
 Internally developed databases require regular maintenance and are usually over-dependent on a particular individual for advanced procedures or troubleshooting
 Data analysis is a time consuming, labor intensive process
 Limited functionality and static system design
 No internal support or completely outdated technology
 Results are displayed or categorized wrong due to inconsistent entries into key data fields
 Does not scale well for an expanded scope across multiple departments or multiple locations
 Evolution of the business including sales growth, expansion, merger, acquisition or re-organization
 Regulatory compliance requirements or industry standards for improving quality

Share on Facebook ]]> http://blog.lynksoftware.com/2010/07/where-are-you-keeping/feed/ 0 http://blog.lynksoftware.com/2010/06/dot-customer-complaints/ http://blog.lynksoftware.com/2010/06/dot-customer-complaints/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:40:47 +0000 admin http://blog.lynksoftware.com/?p=234 BACKGROUND
The Motor Vehicles Division wanted a database driven solution to track public requests about automobile dealers. What they got was a software solution that far exceeded expectations. 

IMMEDIATE RESULTS
ITD selected the Everest software as a replacement for the existing in-house database because it offered the department an opportunity to achieve immediate results.

“The Everest system has already enhanced the efficiency of the department by improving the accuracy of dealership information, streamlining day-to-day processes and providing a central repository of all dealership information,” explained project manager Linda Ford.

 CASE STUDY

IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
The new Everest system does far more  than addressing public inquiries and concerns about Idaho auto dealers, Ford explained. It tracks enforcement actions against dealers, automates dealer correspondence, streamlines processes and generates reports for management; all with greater efficiency and improved workflow.

Information that previously resided in three or four locations, now will be consolidated into one, easy to access repository.

Source: ITD Transporter News Article by Mel Coulter, published March 12, 2010
http://www.itd.idaho.gov

Regards,

Paul Burkhardt
Application Support Analyst – MIS
Velcro USA Inc.

Thank you, Paul. Your compliment was so well received, we wanted to share it with our blog readers. ~Lynk Team

Sorry Works!
In 2005, The Sorry Works! Coalition was founded in an effort to encourage hospitals to communicate with patients and their families about mistakes that are made as soon as the error is discovered. The cause of the error is investigated and procedure changes are intitiated. In some cases, the patient is offered a settlement. The core of this approach lies in the power of an apology. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon – or perhaps it does – to know that apologizing for a mistake you’ve made is the right thing to do.

The University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago experienced this first hand upon implementing a formal apology program in 2006. Since then, the number of claims has declined by 40%. This isn’t just risk management, it’s human decency.

The Everest Healthcare Solution enables a consistent, paperless process for patient complaints and patient grievances. With Everest, the essential relationships between patients and providers are scalable across a large healthcare institution which often includes multiple locations and a network of affiliated group practices.

Once the stacks of patient complaints on paper have been replaced by a paperless, automated complaint resolution system, representatives from patient relations are free to actually visit patients to discuss their concerns, along with more often than not, offering a sincere apology.

The overarching goal, of course, is to improve care and reduce costs.  Duncan Regional Hospital and the five hospital network of  Wellstar Health System capture and track all feedback from patients with the Everest software solution for healthcare. 65% of patient complaints are received by front line employees. It is critical that employees have a way to efficiently document patient concerns in order to promptly resolve them and avoid further escalation.

Making it simple to record customer feedback is the first step. The Everest Healthcare Solution includes a patient feedback portal that is an online form any clinician or staffperson can rapidly fill out at any computer workstation on the Hospital’s intranet. There is no login required for staff to utilize the electronic form so there is no limitation on usage or the volume of submissions. The result is a fast, simple paperless process for capturing all types of patient feedback.  Nurses and other healthcare professionals are busy and need to be able to enter a complaint, concern or service recovery as soon as they walk out of the patient’s room. Once the feedback is in Everest, it can be reviewed by a member of patient relations or the patient advocate to ensure that there is appropriate follow-up and resolution.

Excellent patient care  is the priority for these hospitals, but there are other goals as well. Everest includes real-time reporting and data analysis for ongoing performance improvement, quality management and  identifying systemic issues. Tracking actions with due dates and automatic email reminders is also an important way Everest helps improve accountability and promote full engagement across a large healthcare network especially those who serve patients across multiple locations.

Minimizing litigation risk is also important, and keeping good records is critical when it comes to preventing escalation of an issue.

Finally, management and administration can view this information at any time to monitor trends, view analytics, and discover where to focus hospital resources to achieve the best improvements in patient care.

Learn how the Quality Manager at Accutron achieved a huge 50% reduction in returns as a result of implementing the Everest Software Solution for Customer Service, Complaint Tracking and Corrective Actions with real-time Reports and Charts.

Reports | Action Reports
Extensive standard reporting options for Actions are now available.
http://www.lynksoftware.com/help/default.htm?action_reports.htm

Reports | Queries
Now you can copy or rename a Query.
http://www.lynksoftware.com/help/default.htm?queries.htm

Administration | Imports
Three new import formats are now available.
http://www.lynksoftware.com/help/default.htm?imports.htm

• Concern Type Import
• Defect Code Import
• Sales Activity Import

Administration | Notifications
A new list view format for QuickLink URLs in notification templates will display the list of Concerns by Owner or Actions by Owner for the User immediately upon login.
http://www.lynksoftware.com/help/default.htm?keywords.htm

Administration | Logged In Users
System Managers can now view a list of users who are currently logged into Everest in Administration | Logged In Users. http://www.lynksoftware.com/help/default.htm?logged_in_users.htm