What is your organization’s philosophy of customer service?
For more than 85 years, Grant Thornton’s service philosophy has been providing personalized attention and delivering the highest quality service through hands-on involvement by our partners and managers to our public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton has a reputation for integrity, objectivity, and professional excellence which is built on solid relationships with our clients.
How does your organization make customer service a competitive advantage and price less relevant?
To deliver a distinctive level of client service, we provide a relentless focus on personalized attention, responsiveness and accessibility. We feel our approach to serving clients is a distinguishing factor in building relationships.
We have built our client service priorities around a five-point model which we refer to as The Grant Thornton Experience. This model ensures easy access to us and our resources, with an emphasis on value for fees, quality and the highest level of personal attention. These five points include: (1) Understanding and meeting their expectations through regularly planned discussions (2) Delivering quality service; (3) Providing valuable ideas and recommendations; (4) Demonstrating a personalized focus on them; and, (5) Showing a passion for what we do.
How have you created a culture of customer service in your organization?
While we strive to deliver the Grant Thornton Experience for our clients, we also implement the Grant Thornton Experience for our employees through continuous programs such as extensive training, incentive compensation, mentoring, coaching, and a focus on work/life balance.
The training covers industry, business and accounting issues, and courses to promote professional development, elevate leadership skills and customer service through specific techniques and objectives.
How do you go above and beyond?
As part of the relationship with Grant Thornton, our clients are asked about their experiences. The Service Quality Measurement process, led by an independent, third-party, assesses our clients’ satisfaction and loyalty. We annually send a brief survey to our clients, asking key contacts to evaluate our performance and their overall service experience. This feedback enables us to: Tailor future service delivery to their preferences and priorities; increase efficiency and value; understand what we are doing well and how to improve; resolve any issues; and strengthen our relationships within their organization.
Grant Thornton’s overall client satisfaction rating in this program consistently exceeds 8.5 (0‑10 scale) – the benchmark for world-class service. While ratings are important as an objective metric, developing open, trusted relationships is what matters most to us.
How to reach: Grant Thornton, www.grantthornton.com
