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.
The Kingstar Company
Kingston, N.Y.
TJ Derella, President
Working with insurance brokers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, The Kingstar Company has made a name for itself in the business insurance community. President TJ Derella is committed to exemplary customer service, which he accomplishes with the help of technology.
On being a small-business owner: "As a small-business owner, I have the ability to treat people the way I like to be treated," he says. "I get to create a corporate culture where people are treated as adults. My employees enjoy coming to work."
On technology: "We have a very transaction-oriented business so technology helps us process more transactions with fewer people working on them. That's an excellent formula for profitability," he says. One obstacle Derella faces is finding new employees who will embrace technology. "Even if you have one person who resists change, it can really hamper your overall automation goals."
