How Bad Management can Sabotage Great Customer Service

At Orbis we often need to travel for meetings or project work and like many companies we fill this need by renting vehicles. We have been primarily working with one "enterprising" company and the staff at the individual offices have been very helpful - they are accommodating, flexible, and generally pleasant.

But we've had less success working with the corporate side of the company. The process of establishing our company account has been uneven at best. At times we've received inconsistent answers to questions, but at other times it's difficult to get any response at all.

I recently reached out to the corporate representative for our area to address some of these issues. After multiple messages she finally responded - we had a pleasant phone call during which she agreed to follow up with some information about our account. 

A week passed, but no response. So I followed up and the representative claimed she thought she had emailed the information (if she did, I never received it), but promised to resend it (still nothing).

On our call she claimed that she was happy to have our business, but she's doing practically everything she can to lose it. To be frank, I would have already moved on, but this company has the only rental cars available where some of our staff are located. Nevertheless, we're considering all other options.

Frontline employees are often the face of customer service and can receive the bulk of attention when things go wrong between a company and those it serves. But if the corporate management isn't aligned with the frontline staff, it can severely damage the customer relationship, despite the staff's best efforts.

Ask yourself - as a business leader - are you treating your customers how you would like your employees to? Are your habits aligned with your corporate values? If not, you're doing more damage to your company than you know.

Insurance - Are you covered?

Many small business owners prefer to focus their energy on the external aspects of their business, rather than be caught up in the day-to-day minutiae. After-all, isn't the saying "Work "on" your business, not "in" your business"?

While it's true that leaders at small businesses can fall into the trap of working on tasks better delegated to other employees, or subcontracted to outside experts, it's easy to take this mindset too far, and simply ignore important things, until it's too late.

Take insurance coverage for instance. For small businesses, this can be a major expense, but coverage for general liability, workers compensation, auto, and professional liability are essential. Many times these, and other coverages are required by contract terms, and may protect your company from being ruined by an otherwise straightforward claim.

Small businesses in particular, however, are vulnerable to the assumption that previous coverage remains suitable for the future operation of the firm. New, or fast growing companies can quickly outgrow current coverages by adding new staff, buying new equipment, or expanding into new locations, or adding new services. This growth, while positive, can expose your company to additional liability and unexpected costs.

Here at Orbis, we're reviewing our current coverage with our insurance broker to identify any gaps in coverage, something we've done on an annual basis each spring. I recommend any small businesses do the same - very fast growing firms (>100% annual growth) may need to review more often.

Don't let something that should protect your business become a threat. If it has been over a year since you have reviewed your current insurance coverage call your agent or broker today.