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Do customers email your firm and get no response because the representative is out or busy for the day? Are those sales inquiries forwarded to someone else who can speak directly with the customer? What is your action plan? Have you angered anyone today because no one opened emails? How long do emails go without opening? Do you have unopened emails sitting on computers in your sales department? Obviously, you hope not but need to know that customers are getting the attention you want them to have. One way to indirectly find out about customer service neglect is have the receptionist listen for customer complaints about unanswered calls. You can thwart this problem many times directly at the switchboard. Otherwise without being aware of the problem, you may not know emails are not being returned and customers’ questions are going unanswered. Here’s one option to try.
Setup an IT program to report on unopened emails. You want to ensure all email inquiries into the sales department are being opened as quickly as possible so have the network or IT manager set up a system to check for unopened emails. These can be inquiries from customers and need to be acknowledged as soon as possible.
Forward unanswered emails automatically for others to address. If it is possible, have unopened emails forwarded to another position after a set number of hours. For example, forward emails after two hours, four hours, or the time frame you choose. Customers must be satisfied because they can call someone else to buy goods or services. They have the luxury to pick and choose who they want. If they have an order waiting in house, this takes priority over all other emails.
