Building relationships

Every company wants to meet the expectations of its customers. Most organizations even strive to do what they can to exceed customer desires.

Robert Troop wants his employees at The Shamrock Cos. Inc. to go even deeper than that. Troop, the company’s CEO, believes the best customer service is delivered when you have a personal understanding of your customer and can then work collaboratively to find a solution.

Troop’s goal is to get employees to create strong and lasting business partnerships with each one of their customers so that Shamrock can meet current needs, anticipate future needs and be ready for anything else that may come up in between.

Employees in all departments take part in the Raving Fan Feedback System, which is an intricate method of analyzing service quality, turnaround time and customer relations. Using an electronic Raving Fan Feedback form, employees report any product or service that does not meet the Raving Fan standard. Once the problem is identified, the next step is to figure out all the possible reasons that could have caused the problem, which one actually caused the problem and then implementing a corrective action.

The RFF system has evolved from the spotting of major events, such as an incorrectly produced form, to simple service issues, such as how a phone is answered or the appearance of an invoice. On-time performance has increased from 96 percent to 99 percent since the program was implemented, and the average manufacturing turnaround has dropped from 15 days to seven days.

Beyond the actual act of service, Troop wants employees to be cognizant of their attitude and always be looking for ways to make Shamrock customers feel special. Doing so creates energy, promotes good will and provides for a constant flow of positive feelings.

How to reach: The Shamrock Cos. Inc., (440) 899-9510 or www.shamrockcompanies.net