LG SA uses Heat incident tracking, management system to enhance customer satisfaction

The South African division of Korean home appliance leader, LG Electronics, has installed Heat - a customer service application from FrontRange - to further enhance its ranking as SA`s number one service company.

It is the first of LG`s country divisions to implement such software.

Says LG SA`s national customer care manager, Derek Hunter: "Our enterprise resource management software is more back-office than customer-service-oriented. Developing in-house the kind of customer service and incident tracking and management software we wanted was just going to take too long. So we looked for off-the-shelf options.

"Heat appealed to us because it covered 80% of our needs and is so flexible and user-friendly that we could adjust it quickly, easily and cost-effectively to provide the additional functionality we wanted."

As appliances in need of repair are brought into the LG workshop, they are logged on to Heat and, with the addition of a bar-code scanning facility, are tracked through the various phases of repair. The scanner also triggers a short message system (SMS) that automatically keeps customers informed of the progress of their repairs via their cellphones. In addition, Heat links to LG`s Siemens PABX, providing call centre agents with immediate customer identification for incoming queries about appliance repairs.

Using LG`s rigorous scheduling rules and policies, Heat zones work activity from green to red. When a job moves into the red zone, Heat alerts both the technicians concerned and management. If delays continue, Heat escalates the problem to progressively higher levels of authority. It also automatically allocates repairs to delivery vehicles and tracks delivery all the way to the customer. And, its easily customised reporting facility enables management to see at a glance how the service business is doing.

"Heat has given us that extra control over the business that makes all the difference to customer loyalty," says Hunter.

Jaco van Zyl, project manager on the Heat installation, points out that combining Heat with the scanning and SMS facilities has drastically reduced LG`s need for human resources in customer service while improving customer care at the same time. "The time-consuming but essential jobs, like phoning a customer to tell him about progress on his repair or responding to an incoming query, are automatically taken care of by the system. But customers don`t feel neglected, because LG is still in constant touch with them - and they can see for themselves that LG is working quickly and efficiently.

"Also on the cost-saving side, the high levels of automation reduce human error and the potential for confusion in the workshop. And, once a system administrator has been trained on Heat, he or she can modify it on the fly. So no extra resources are needed to maintain or adjust the system."

Heat and the ancillary scanning and SMS facilities were implemented in less than two weeks, with an expert from Korea helping FrontRange business partners integrate Heat with LG`s ERP application, M-System.

FrontRange MD, Tracey Newman, says Heat is the mid-market leader in customer service management in SA - where it is installed at about 320 sites - because "it enables organisations to shift easily from being reactive to proactive and, thereby, create a positive customer experience every time.

"It also helps organisations drive down costs, because it gives organisations - and their customers - a real-time view of what`s happening and ensures that sales and service people are always on the same page. Everyone is empowered to make the right decision in time to make a positive difference."

Hunter concurs: "Heat keeps everyone on their toes. It`s marvellous."