We take a lot of pride in our support. Below is a picture of one of our office walls (sorry for the angle – it is a rather large wall and there is not a tonne of space there!). These 2 sentences summarize why we are here and we work hard to live up to them.

As an organization, we have established certain goals and benchmarks, ways in which we might measure how we are doing in striving towards those 2 sentences. One of the measures we use to evaluate one element of our performance is the % of calls we answer live (i.e. you speak to a live person before you reach voicemail). If we are going to delight you, our customer, we have always felt that we need to pick up the phone. 🙂 As companies have reduced their service levels, seeing it as a cost to be reduced, we have invested heavily in it, seeing it as an investment that will enhance our value to you and, in general, as a company. So, back to the % of calls we are able to reach before voicemail, here are some %’s:

The last 12 months – 87.7%

Our lowest month (January) – 80%

Our highest month (May) – 93.25%

My proudest month (June) – 92%

Our goal – 90%

By way of some explanation, January is a busy month here! All aspects of our operation are hopping (new implementations, online registration setups, regular support, report writing, etc.) and, put simply, there are no additional resources to share. At other times of the year, we are able to shift people around from different areas to ensure very strong phone coverage. June is the month where I am proudest of the team because, as you might expect, call volume spikes (i.e. double or triple some other months) and we put every (and I mean “every”) available person on the phones to help out – just like camp, everyone pitches in! There is a real buzz in the air in the office in June (just like camp) and everyone is incredibly focused on making sure our camps are well cared for.

Our support model is that we want to get to the call and issue as quickly as possible. So, the first person available takes the call – if they can help, that is great. Often times, more investigation is required and we need to get back to you. We have not implemented the support model where you have one dedicated person just for you for 2 reasons primarily: 1) It slows the response time; 2) One person cannot know everything and we have a team with a variety of skills and strengths (matching the right person to the specific item seems to be more effective). Having said that, if you like to work with a particular person on the team, feel free to ask for them when you call in! If they are available, then they can help you out right away, otherwise, they will give you a shout back.

Let me know if you think our system works for you or if you would like to see changes.