This week marked the yearly National Customer Service Week – an opportunity to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and across the entire claims value chain.

The theme this year is ‘The Power of Service’ – which is a relevant theme as customer service is increasingly on the minds of our insurer clients, their policyholders, and our teams as we all deal with the aftershocks of COVID-19. Earlier in the week, Laura Harvey, our Director – Head of Desk in Property Claims shared her insight on how customer expectations have changed since the early days of the pandemic.

Our consulting & technology teams also shared a series of insights on some of the biggest topics in the CX industry:

• The vital role of employee engagement in effective customer service
• The changing world of work and its impact on customer and employee experience
• Effective strategy and focused leadership – the twin pillars of customer experience
• Customer empathy: the often-forgotten secret weapon of effective CX
• Service with disrespect: top tips for handling rude customers

We’ve also celebrated with some excellent reflections from some of our claims handlers on what great customer service means to them:

“Good customer service is important to me, I think it leaves a lasting impression and a good journey for the customer leads to not only customer retention, but for us as a business, it enhances our reputation which in turn means client retention. I always treat people how I wish to be treated.” – Conor Flynn, Adjuster Support Technician

“Customer service to me is the ability to develop a connection with the customer/client and build a rapport. It requires understanding the customer’s needs, supportive training, correct processes and learning from mistakes. It gives us the opportunity to exceed expectations by going over and above to provide the highest quality of service.” – Penny Jackson, Team Manager

“Great customer feedback validates the job we do as our role is to explain policy cover to policyholders in a manner in which they understand. The process of claiming can be unfortunate for a policyholder, however a great experience with a knowledgeable loss adjuster can ensure that the claims process is simple and straightforward. I personally take time out of my day to ensure that policyholders understand the process and leave our conversation satisfied with the service we have provided.” – Tracy O’Keeffe, Express Claims Loss Adjuster

“When I receive positive feedback, it gives me great confidence and satisfaction and means I gave the policyholder a good customer experience and delivered a message, be it good or bad in a respectful and understanding way. It’s always a boost to receive positive feedback from a policyholder as first and foremost, we’re human beings  and to receive that human touch always gives me an extra spring in my step and lets me know I’m doing the right thing.” – Lee O’Rourke, Claims Adjuster

“Receiving good feedback from customers is the icing on the cake. You spend time providing what you believe is good service and doing what you can to fix any problems that arise, and the positive feedback makes you feel that it was all worthwhile and you are appreciated by the customer.  This gives a sense of satisfaction and encouragement to keep doing the job to a high standard.” – Helen Martin, Quality Auditor

“Great customer feedback to me is like sunshine on a lovely day. As claims handlers, we meet and interact with our customers at a time of loss/peril, and we try our best to ensure that we ease the pain or the inconvenience of our customers’ experiences by dealing with their claims in a way that shows we care and that they matter to us. Hearing our customers’ feedback allows us to get a better understanding of how we have handled their claims, identify what we’re doing well and find out what we can do better to improve the level of service we provide.” – Toni Gako-Beresford, Claims Handler

“Great Customer feedback and service to me is something that I hold in high regard as this can contribute to the company’s success and can help develop the brand’s image and awareness. Consequently, I aim to maintain this approach on a consistent basis and ensure that my department can emulate this mentality, bringing about self-satisfaction for all.” – Sebastian Hargreaves, Claims Coordinator

“Customer service is central to everything we do. Great feedback demonstrates a positive customer experience, provides confirmation that our efforts have been well received and encourages us to continue to deliver excellent results.” – Kenny McClure, Senior Manager

“Getting great customer feedback makes me feel empowered to continue to provide a good service to our clients and customers, as you know you are doing a good job.” –Matthew Sampson, Senior Claims Handler

For more information on how our claims solutions team can help your business, please contact us.