Put someone in charge
Your CSI department might consist of one person working on CSI solutions for your business, or it might be an entire group of people. Regardless of how you decide, those people should be dedicated solely to the pursuit of better customer service.
Hampton Watercraft & Marine (Ranked 13 in 2006) hired a new customer service manager last year and expects to add another person to help with CSI scores this year.
Silver Lake Marine (Ranked 88 in 2006) uses a two-person approach: one individual is dedicated to customer details and the other to customer communication. Together, they keep the dealership’s CSI in check and ensure that customers leave satisfied and stay that way.
SurfSide 3 (Ranked 3 in 2005 and which has since been purchased by MarineMax Inc.) sold about 1,200 boats in 2005, delivering an average CSI score of 96 percent, a number that is unmatched by any dealer of its size.
The company, then owned by brothers Matthew and Paul Barbara, attributed its high score largely to the creation two years ago of its own CSI Department. Additionally, Janice Mottern, Surfside 3’s CSI expert, has performed job and process mapping, which has played a major role in the increase.
“To truly achieve total consumer satisfaction, we have to understand how each of our departments work, what functions each department performs, how issues and complaints are resolved and whether they are done so on a consistent basis,” explained Phil Wolhar, director of marketing. “We need to address the communication challenges that exist within businesses, let alone 12 locations, and strive to constantly better ourselves to guarantee repeat customers.”
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