01 December 2011
When it comes to service and support there's never any grey areas. Customers don't forget what you said, and never forget how you made them feel.
Nick Frampton: Managing Director, Mills CNC
According to Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine
tools in the UK and Ireland, investing in a well-resourced,
highly-professional customer service and support operation with the
right systems, structures and, above all, people in place is a
pre-requisite to sustainable growth and success.
Mills CNC will sell well over 470 new machines in 2011 (the
company's best ever year in its 39 year history).
A large percentage of the machines sold will be to its existing
customers and Mills, year-on-year, makes significant investment in
its infrastructure and operations to build customer loyalty and
maintain its excellent retention rates. It's a strategy that
appears to work well.
Says Nick Frampton, Mills CNC's managing director:
'We sell great products, and we back this up with great service.
But this doesn't happen by chance. We constantly review and
evaluate our service and support operations to make sure they
operate efficiently and effectively. When we identify areas that
can be improved - we make the investment... which is what our
customers would expect us to do.'
Such improvements could include recruiting new service engineers or
investing in new technology. In a number of cases it can include
both.
Mills employs 71 people, and over 60% of them are involved
(directly and indirectly) in delivering customer service and
support.
The company has 23 regionally-based service engineers that
provide quick, rapid-fire response to customers and over 1 million
pounds of spare and replacement parts in stock at its facility
in Leamington.
Also at Leamington are three technical help-desk engineers that
man-the-forts and, for customers experiencing any machine issues
are, 'the first port of call'. These are joined by two engineers
that manage the spare parts operation, two project managers in
charge of machine deliveries, three PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection)
engineers, six application engineers and four pre-sales engineers
that support customers at the initial machine tool enquiry
stage.
But it's not just the size or scope of the engineer resource that's
impressive.
Continues Nick Frampton:
'We have recently revamped our Operations Centre and the facility
now looks the part - modern, stylish and more
business-like.'
The Operation Centre's new interior decor and furnishings are
certainly attractive, but it's the technology in-place and what it
signifies that makes the Centre so impressive.
'Investment in new technology is critical'; continues Nick
Frampton.
'We have a large 6ft wall-mounted screen that displays, in real
time, where our engineers are and what they are working on. This
provides us with an up-to-the-minute status report on our
operations and how we are performing.
'We always show customers that visit Mills this facility because it demonstrates the importance we place on service and support.'
There's the old adage in business that customers are nine times more likely to tell other people about poor levels of service they experience and that as a consequence it doesn't take long for organisations to be tagged with 'bad service' reputations.
Concludes Nick Frampton:
'Everybody remembers when they experienced great service. And, the fact you remember it is because it's the exception rather than the rule.
'At Mills we strive to make every interaction with customers a positive one...and really will try to go the extra mile to support anyone who has shown faith by investing with us and purchased a Doosan machine tool.'
