Excellent article taken from Transport Topics, Aug. 11, 2009, examining Dispatch vs Customer Service and their operational tradeoffs in freight brokerage.
Opinion: The Customer Service, Dispatch Dilemma –
By Greg Shelton, Dispatch Consultant
As the recession deepens, there is growing awareness in the transportation industry of the role dispatchers play in keeping third-party logistics firms and freight brokerages competitive, particularly in the areas where dispatch and customer service collide. For a deeper walkthrough, see our Earning Potential for Independent Freight Agents.
This article reviews the fierce competition that exists in today’s market and frames the core debate: Dispatch vs Customer Service. More and more Brokerages and 3PLs are striving for higher levels of customer service standards to keep customers. Let’s face it – “keeping customers happy is a matter of corporate life or death”, states Shelton.
Think of it as the evolution of dispatch. Basic survival now depends on a company establishing and observing customer service standards. In a normal economy, hiring more customer service staff might solve the problem, but that’s difficult during a belt-tightening recession. Some companies hire managers from outside transportation to improve efficiency with phone upgrades, call accounting, and clearer escalation guidelines. That outside perspective can help optimize staffing by analyzing call spikes and forecasting schedules. However, there is a real caveat: methods that work in call centers do not always translate to dispatch. A dispatcher’s job is to keep freight moving, and many situations require extra time or a firm hand. If managers apply only call-center metrics — rings, talk-time, and call quotas — dispatch performance can actually decline. Dispatchers may become less self-reliant and less focused on the core goal if evaluation is only efficiency-based.
My favorite point that Shelton makes is “Can one learn to swim by watching someone or by reading a book? Perhaps, but without getting wet, you’ll never know what it’s like.” This means that in order for a company to be successful, those that manager dispatchers need to know exactly what it’s like by doing it. They won’t learn or understand how to fully motivate, teach, inspire, or otherwise manage a dispatch team if they have no idea what it is really like.
The Question, as Shelton puts it, is “Which service did your customer pay for?” Are they paying you for dispatching their loads, or are they paying you for your customer service abilities, which will inevitably become, empty promises.
During this downward trend in the economy, focus on what you do best. Focus your efforts on your company’s Core Goal. And strive for that goal in everything you do. It’s time to simplify processes, re-think programs, and get back to the basics of customer satisfaction.