http://www.mpdailyfix.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/7744Am I Really Helping? Jason Moore

I often talk about the difference between Customer Service and Client Fulfillment. I have been an experiencing a great example of the separation over the last several months.

Each month when our Sprint bill arrives, we are invariably in a state of awe.  How do they continually tell us one thing and deliver another.  Each of the last four months a phone call has been placed and we have been sent to the "retention team".

On a Customer Service side, the retention team members are great.  They don't read from a script, they know their business like they should, and they give the impression of really working to make your account right for you.  She even voluntarily gave me her full name, employee ID, and the numbers to push if we continue to have issues.

BUT...

On a Client Fulfillment side, Sprint has failed miserably! Each month, I hang up the phone feeling good (customer service).  Then when the next bill comes, I am back on the phone for another session (client fulfillment).

Taking a client's issue beyond the question that they are asking directly takes another level of effort.  But more so than effort, it takes empowerment by upper management.

Do your front line people have the authority to provide a great Client Fulfillment experience?