The Value of Knowing Your Customers

This article is part of an ongoing series where Quicksilver employees share their perspectives from the front lines of same-day delivery. Here, Customer Support Associate Chrissy Senn reflects on the relationships behind every call.

Knowing Who's on the Other End of the Line

Something I've discovered over my 8 years at Quicksilver Express is how important it is to know our customers, which is a statement that has many layers. We have our regulars who call in a few times a day or a few times a week, new customers just starting out with us, and people joining an existing account who aren't quite sure how placing an order works yet. Throughout each conversation, we get an understanding of preferences, needs, deadlines, and sometimes get a joke or two in there.

Tailoring the Experience to Every Customer

As we get to know how a customer operates and what their expectations are, we are able to tailor things to match exactly what they need, from autogenerated location preferences to saving specific caller and contact information. We use our internal dispatch notes to make sure we're following whatever specific instructions a customer has shared. Something as simple as creating driver and dispatch alerts helps make sure everyone is on the same page.

Being Human Goes a Long Way

Another important aspect is how we know our customers. I believe it's important to show compassion and be human, and occasionally even joke and make small talk. The longer someone works here, the more they recognize the voices and the personalities. There is one specific customer who loves to try to guess his tracking number every single time he calls in an order, and he's usually just a few numbers off! Even something that small makes the day go by a little easier, knowing we have someone who counts on us and genuinely enjoys calling in his orders.

Honesty and Accountability Build Trust

The key to all of it is communication, even when we make mistakes. Honesty and integrity are huge assets in any partnership. Recently, I had to call a customer to let them know we couldn't make their requested pickup window. It was around 4:15pm, they needed a pickup by 5pm, and we simply didn't have the availability to make it happen. They were understanding, and surprised we called, because the courier company they'd used before never would have.

Every Call Is Someone's First Call

Not every call will be from someone we know. Some larger accounts have many people calling in, including people using the account for the first time. That's another way we get to know our customers, by how we handle each call. We see this a lot with medical courier runs. Most first-time callers will say it's their first time, and I always like to reassure them: "I'll walk you through it and we'll figure it out together." Every courier call is different. Our job is to make it comfortable, easy, and done in a timely manner. That's what same-day courier service should feel like.