One Company, Many Locations
The Challenge:
If you run a sizable company operating in multiple locations, the problem at Warren Caterpillar probably sounds very familiar. Executives at the Caterpillar dealer for West Texas and Oklahoma did not really know if their customers were satisfied. They had no sense of how many sales they might be missing or losing at any of their 16 stores because of problems with customer service or products. The only way they had of judging their performance was the occasional compliment or complaint from a customer.
Warren Cat implemented ServicePerformance® in early 2007 at four store locations. It used ServicePerformance® to start a scorecard, including a measurement which shows how well the company is faring with customer satisfaction by store and by service department. Because of the initial results, the company expanded the ServicePerformance® program to include all locations.
Improving Communication with Customers
“ServicePerformance® has improved our communication with our customers,” says Jim Nelson, dealer principal and president. “Often we feel like we communicate well, but sometimes we really don’t.” As a result of ServicePerformance®, “We put a new communication process in place and we’ve also looked at our invoicing process,” Nelson says. “We’re trying to do a better job of quoting up front so there’s nothing going wrong at the back end.”
Nelson also has praise for LinkConnect, the online support system for ServicePerformance®. “We get immediate notification about any issues that come up with our customers,” he says. Warren Cat aims to respond to any problem within 24 hours.
By providing concrete data, ServicePerformance® has given Warren Cat the tools to provide a good experience for every customer. “We’ve seen a lot of increased focus with the LinkConnect capabilities, and the managers can go over surveys specific to their areas. We’re not just waiting for The Daniel Group to put together a report, but with LinkConnect we have everything (immediately) available to us,” according to Jim Nelson.
Nelson is very happy with the changes and benefits that ServicePerformance® has provided. “It’s led to a shift in the company culture,” Nelson says, with executives realizing that “if we put the focus in customer service experience, it will lead to profitability.” ServicePerformance®, he believes, is “well worth the investment.”
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