Friday, November 21, 2014

Customer Service: Helping Consumers and Driving Change

Amanda Cavanagh
Director, Research and Business Development


Customer service.  What does that term mean to you?  How do providers establish best practices for customer service?

Customer service falls in to two basic categories: good or bad.  Let’s be honest.  A poor review is much more interesting to read than a good one.  If misery loves company, then maybe the sour taste from our last bad customer service experience helps us relate to others in the same boat.

For our disability rights community, accessibility to customer service can be challenging.  Is the “Contact Us” page on your website visually accessible?  Is the 800-phone number and supporting call center audibly accessible?  Is your customer service location accessible?  It would be easy to chalk up these challenges as poor customer service.  Instead, we need to look beyond the challenges and see the opportunity to serve our customers.   

As financial management services (FMS) providers, we serve two distinct customer groups.  First, and foremost, program participants are our primary focus.  We manage payroll, taxes, human resource and administrative functions for our participants.   By removing barriers, we enable participants to succeed through dynamic, accessible, and individualized living opportunities.
Through our fiscal services, iLIFE helps people reach their goals and live independently.

In addition to serving people enrolled in long-term care programs, iLIFE also serves programs themselves.  We collaborate with state, federal, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) leaders.  We have the responsibility to spark ability rights discussions, inform policies, and work with these leaders to serve our communities every day.

In that spirit, exemplary customer service must help people in the moment and contribute to larger causes and changes.  While poor customer service does not make customers happy, it is an opportunity to improve things for the future.  The feelings of a job well done, the positive impact we have on our community, and the life changing lessons we learn from our customers should drive this commitment to delivering quality customer service.

Poor reviews might make for interesting reads.  However, good reviews tell the greatest stories.

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