“To me, world-class customer service is achieved when a customer receives a service level so special that they want to tell someone about it. It’s a service level that makes a customer’s day better. A customer should feel welcome and appreciated – and that the person on the other end of the line is invested in taking whatever time is needed to assist them.” – Greg Hortemiller, SentriLock Manager, Support
In 1984, the International Customer Service Association, now the Professional Association for Customer Engagement, established National Customer Service Week to recognize the contributions of customer service professionals to their organizations and their customers. The week, celebrated annually the first week of October, was proclaimed a national event by the U.S. Congress in 1992.
Here at SentriLock, we specialize in providing world-class customer service experiences every day. Our Customer Experience Specialists, who are at the frontline in assisting real estate professionals requiring immediate support for their property access needs, make quality their personal commitment and deliver real-time results that matter.
“In today’s world, we find that companies often try to provide automated service, which makes it very difficult to get to a real person for help,” Hortemiller says. “At SentriLock, we staff our Customer Support department so that our customers can quickly talk to a real person. We give our support technicians the title of Customer Experience Specialist because that’s what we focus on – making our customers’ experience quick, easy, and helpful. We want them to know we’re there to help – and that we’re happy to do so.”
The Numbers Don’t Lie
“We’re proud that our commitment can be seen in our monthly service numbers, which means we’re doing the right things for the real estate professionals we assist,” Hortemiller continues. “We’re continually focused on improving our skills and systems so we can continue to deliver world-class results.” Here’s a look at our September 2020 stats:
How does our customer-centric focus make the agents’ job easier?
We recently reached out to a few of our Customer Support members and asked them this question. Here’s what they had to say:
“The SentriLock Support team helps agents by teaching them not only how to use our products, but by giving them tips and tricks they can employ in the future to for troubleshooting.”
– Danielle T., Customer Experience Specialist II
Service tenure: 5 years
“We proactively share information that results in the agent being able to access the lockbox quickly and use the SentriKey® Real Estate app efficiently.”
– Rashea‘ C., Customer Experience Specialist
Service tenure: 4 years
What does world-class customer service mean to you?
We asked some of our team members to share their thoughts on providing world-class customer service, and here are their answers:
“Creating the world-class experience comes down to a few key things: Listening to our agents. Identifying with them and the issues they’re experiencing. Showing empathy and a genuine care to resolve the issue. Being honest up front; if we don’t know the answer, we let our agents know we’re going to find it. Providing clear and concise communication. At the end of the day, I have always said you should remember two words, whether in our call center or in life. These words are “be nice.”
– David C., Assistant Manager, Support
Service tenure: 2.5 years
“Using empathy and active listening to show that you understand their situation. Attempting to resolve their issue or questions quickly, and also sharing information of value that helps them have a better understanding.”
– Kevin A., Customer Experience Specialist II
Service tenure: 8 years
“Creating a world-class customer service experience is a very holistic process. Every team involved in creating, maintaining, and supporting a product has to have the customer experience in mind at all times, and all involved have to strive for making their portion world class. It’s imperative we provide excellent support to our callers at all times. We do this by not putting time restrictions on calls, encouraging our team members to do all they can to address a caller’s situation, and to see all calls through until the resolution, if possible. We get much more positive customer feedback than negative feedback, which tells me we’re doing something right!”
– Chelle M., Assistant Manager, Support
Service tenure: 2 years
“Customer service means doing whatever I can to help an agent be successful. Ultimately, it means helping them sell houses. That includes answering any questions they have or resolving their lockbox issues with a positive attitude. An agent once gave me feedback that they could tell that I was smiling during the call. I want every agent to feel that I was happy to serve them.”
– Debbie K., Customer Experience Specialist II
Service tenure: 5 years
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Need assistance? Call us at 513-618-5800 (877-736-8745 in Canada or toll-free) seven days a week from 8 a.m. to midnight ET. We’re just a phone call away!
Special thanks to Rashea’ C., SentriLock Customer Experience Specialist, for compiling and writing this post.