Do You Offer Customer Service or Lip Service?

Wikipedia describes Customer Service as: “the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.” Most companies are great at the before and during part of a purchase, but they fall down on the ‘after the purchase’ service. In the packaging machinery industry, the real need often comes after the sale. The new machine is now in place and the customer is counting on it to run properly. They purchased the machine to fulfill a specific need and want it to continue to do so for many years to come, not just for the immediate future.

In order for a machine to keep running for years, it needs proper operation and maintenance. Many of today’s production plants have scaled back their workforce to eliminate most, if not all, of their maintenance personnel. They are counting on their operators to keep their machines running properly and efficiently. The operators often don’t have the time, proper knowledge, and/or inclination to follow proper maintenance procedures. Here is where the OEM can step up and offer real Customer Service.

Create Maintenance Plans that allow the customers to purchase just the right amount of service to keep their machines in good working order. If they have well-trained operators that take excellent care of their machines, they may only need OEM service once a year or once every other year. If, however, they lack the internal capabilities to keep their machines in great shape, the OEM should offer them a ‘custom designed maintenance program’ that gives them just what they need in terms of training, machine maintenance, and/or repair. Set your goals to offer real customer service, not just lip service.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading packaging machinery manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at www.neminc.com.