The Role of Customer Service in Shipping

Customer service is at the heart of operations for any service oriented company. In the shipping industry, we generally to take customer service very seriously. A good company will have managers who are continuously checking in with customer service representatives (CSR’s) to ensure there are no outstanding customer complaints and all company policies are being followed. The problem is that not all CSR’s are created equal. In fact some people can be very unprofessional when called out on mistakes or when a customer asks for the manager. This is obviously unacceptable and it leaves people wondering what they can do as customers to make sure this does not happen to them again.

If your company is a shipping line or a freight forwarder, customer service will be your first line of contact with customers. You need to make sure that anyone contacting your company knows that you value their business. This is why it is so important to have clear customer service policies. Customers should not feel like they are trapped when they contact your business. Whether quoting freight rates and transit times or tracking a shipment, there should be open access for customers to reach the right personnel. This also means having an easy way for customers to access managers when they are not satisfied with a CSR. While this can be particularly hard for shipping managers, CSR’s can make the biggest impact on your customers so it is extremely important that they are following company guidelines. It is essential to keep this in mind when hiring CSR’s. After all, poor customer service can be the downfall of any business, especially in the shipping industry.