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Editorial from the June 2007 issue of Managing Automation

Keeping Your Customers Waiting?

Posted on Monday, November 19, 2007 10:46:46 AM                                  Digg This Article   Add to Delicious

Abstract:Manufacturers can do better than the cable company on customer service by using service management software to coordinate activities and share information.
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Almost everyone knows what waiting for the cable guy is like.

You call for service, and the cable company assigns you a date and a window of time spanning several hours when you can expect a technician to come to your home. You clear your schedule to be on hand on the appointed day. The day arrives and you wait — and wait. Sometimes the technician doesn't show. After the designated time frame has elapsed, you put in another call to the company, and the person who answers your call sounds clueless. The process then starts over again. While you may have gotten a good deal for the cable itself, when it comes to repairs or maintenance, sub-par service seems to be a necessary — or at least widely accepted — evil.

In the business-to-business sector, however, some vendors are striving to give customers high-quality service after the sale. Unlike in the consumer cable market, rival vendors may be waiting to secure the business of frustrated customers, so such initiatives become even more imperative.

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