North America

Leading The Way In Customer Service

At Brenntag North America’s Customer Service Summit in June 2008, the focus was on best practices in customer services and how, as a team, to raise customer service to a higher level.

Many of the Customer Sevice Managers from the eight US subsidiaries had never met before, but by the end of the third day strong and lasting relationships had been forged
Photo: Brenntag

Superb customer service is a priority at Brenntag, and participants Melisa Steinruck (Northeast), Jamie Smith (Southeast), Brenda Hill (Southwest), Amber Hayward (Great Lakes), Linda Bovee (Pacific), Ramona Smolder/Donna Hewitt (Specialties), Tiffany Snod­grass (Mid-South) and Jay Senterfitt (Coastal Chemical) brought high expectations and great enthusiasm to the meeting. As a team, the managers worked together to define a range of superior customer service practices involving phone etiquette, business and system process improvements and enhanced product knowledge. Facilitators Todd Stewart, North American Director MIS, and Chet Murphy, North American VP Market Development, kept each day packed with wide-ranging topics such as customer stratification, order confirmation, product safety, inside sales, “selling up,” sample requests, e-commerce, employee motivation and much more. Group exercises and individual role playing helped to emphasize and reinforce various parts of the agenda. Additional management team members Gary Critser (Mid-South), Kevin Bagin (Great Lakes), and Nina Basile (Headquarters), provided additional input and feedback related to their respective areas of responsibility. By the conclusion of the summit meeting, participants had developed an impressive list of specific, executable goals to be completed in the following months. They will now pass this information on to the customer service employees in the subsidiaries, the goal being to provide customers not only with exceptional service but with “service that will pleasantly surprise.” It is planned to continue the summit meetings in the years to come. The idea is to maintain momentum as we pursue our vision of making Brenntag the recognized leader in customer service excellence within our industry. Contact: Chet Murphy cmurphy@brenntag.com

 

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