Customer Service Shows Up Green… For the Environment and the Bottom Line

According to a recent article by Peter Healy of the Advocate, Pitney Bowes, of postage meter fame, clams to have saved almost $3 million in fuel costs over the last couple of years due to delivering better service.

How did they do it? They consolidated customer service calls. In other words, they solved more calls in one service visit, avoiding a second or third trip to a customer’s location.

According to the article, John Thaler, Pitney Bowes’ director of process excellence, environmental health and safety plugged the numbers into a US Environmental Protection Agency software program. The company saved approximately 1,504 vehicle trips, which means a savings of 932,009 gallons of gas. At $3/gallon (now $4), that is just under $3 million in savings.

Furthermore, for those who are environmentally green minded, less trips reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 8,211 metric tons nationwide.

Look for cost savings opportunities through customer service efforts. Be careful as sometimes an increase in efficiency can hurt a customer service effort. Pitney Bowes showed the opposite. They delivered better service and in the process helped the environment and their bottom line.

Sometimes good customer service makes sense – and cents. Or, should I say dollars.

Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep's speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com – Web: www.hyken.com – Click here for information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs (www.TheCustomerFocus.com).