Why customer service makes our business thrive

We’re celebrating another very successful 12 months. In a tough economic climate for most businesses, we’ve managed to exceed last year’s turnover yet again.

Hard work pays off, undoubtedly, but in any sector – whether it’s finance or flower-arranging – you need a competitive edge.

While many businesses may believe that such an advantage comes from tech upgrades and updates or flash-bang new products backed up by whizz-kid brands and marketing, our success is based on something much more traditional which is available to everyone.

It’s all about people and a very human approach to customer service.

Again, this is a term that’s bandied around corporate meetings and sales pitches, but we take it very seriously.

To us, it means respect and courtesy to all parties, reassuring concerned clients but also listening to the person who owes them money so they will engage in the process of finding a resolution.

It means efficiency in responding rather than time-wasting, often picking up the phone to talk – and listen – to people, rather than relying solely on email exchanges in order to keep the process moving

It means providing jargon-free answers to complex questions which might otherwise overwhelm people unfamiliar with legal or financial language.

It means being tightly focused on finding a solution for the client which retrieves money owed, enabling them to get on with running their businesses.

Our good customer service is backed up by our deep knowledge of – and experience in – the processes involved in chasing down money owed.

Which databases to consult to ascertain a debtor’s background, for example, what credit referencing agency to use and how to identify the cases that can only be resolved in court.

It’s also something our clients pick up on again and again:

“I worked with Phil Elliott Associates for two years in the steel industry. My experience with the team was fantastic, collection rate was exceptional, coupled with regular updates … I couldn’t ask for more as a partner” – Michael Mclintock

Everyone talks a good game of customer service.

This includes the delivery folk who leave parcels at the wrong house or throw them over the garden gate. It also encompasses all those businesses who say your call is important to them while making it virtually impossible to talk to a relevant human on the phone.

They all have flowery mission statements that drone on about exceeding consumer expectations; this often means little more than asking you to complete customer satisfaction surveys or providing a rudimentary box-ticking exercise designed to encourage online ‘likes’.

The sensitive nature of what we do – often chasing up late payments on behalf of firms who sometimes need the money to stay afloat themselves – means we have to put people at the centre.

The secret – if there is one – is simply regarding everyone with honesty and respect in a way that you would like to be treated as you go about your business.

Think of those times you’ve felt overlooked by someone who purported to be there to help you.

And then do the exact opposite.

It will pay dividends for your reputation and your bottom line.