07/ 29/ 2005
Good customer service is crucial to success in business. There's nothing high-tech about helping customers get exactly what they need from your business. But technology can make the process easier and more efficient. Like the rest of the business world, customer service has been transformed by technology.
The finalists in the Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence in Customer Experience Award understand that coupling the latest innovations with good, old-fashioned people skills can help you and your employees deliver top-notch service.
Cooperative Response Center
Austin, Minn.
Todd Penske, President and CEO
Cooperative Response Center operates on the idea of power in numbers. A true member-owned organization, CRC provides more than 180 customers nationwide with a contact center and certified central station alarm monitoring solutions. President Todd Penske talks about how his small-business serves its clients--almost 2.5 million customers.
On being a small-business owner: "Being in business for ourselves allows us to be innovative, to have a strong employee focus and to strive for service excellence," says Penske.
On technology: "With a tag line of 'focusing on the human side of technology,' we provide a high level of technical access without losing the human element needed to foster great relationships. We've gone out of our way to avoid developing technology that removes the human element. Yet we still arm our customers and employees with information they need in a moment's notice. "
