When working with parents, we emphasize on the quality and return on investment aspect of the program whereas with the student, they want to know the quality and convenience of the program. We also have a lot more phone and personal contact with parents then with students as a lot of students actually prefer continued contact by email rather then phone so we adjust as requested. A simple act of following their specific contact request can go a long way for Customer Service.
Kimberly,
Excellent insights. Knowing your "external customers" offers you the opportunity to tailor experiences to their specific needs at your institution. What are some of the ways that you customize the experiences one of these external customers may have at your institution?
Shannon Gormley
I would have to agree that the most important "external customers" are the externship locations we have throughout the country. We work in conjunction with them to ensure the best hands on experience possible, whether it is in the grooming salon setting, vet clinic or hospital. Another source I would consider an external customer other then the student a lot of times are their parents or the various WIA or Rehab counselors we work with. They too can offer referrals to other potential students who are looking to go to school in the animal industry.
Janeane,
Great insights. The greeting can do a lot to establish a positive customer service experience and postive connections with your customers. What specifically do you do to make sure your external customers leave your school 100% satisfied?
Shannon Gormley
"External Customers' at my school include prospect student, students, families of students, and vendors. The ways I serve them is to make sure they are greated in a friendly manner, I make sure they fill out their application without any difficulty, and I make sure they walk out of the school 100% content.
Thanks for sharing how you work with your external customers, Cory. It sounds like you stay pretty busy making sure that these individuals are properly cared for, which is wonderfule. I especially like that you have established check points throughout a student's schooling to check in with them and assess their needs, concerns, and progress to goal. It looks like your institution is all about developing positive relationships within and outside the organization. Keep up the good work!
Shannon Gormley
Some of the external customers at my school are the students, future employers and the community.
Our students, past and present, certainly are external customers. I serve them by constantly acknowledging them whether its with simple greetings or meeting them throughout their time here at checkpoints. Our school, and me in particuliar, meet with each student at their 25% point, 50% point, 75% point and upon completion. It is my goal at these intervals to address needs and concerns and to help guide and support them through.
Future employers are another major external customer. My position also entails not just externships but also job placement. I am constantly out in the public visiting sites in hopes to get students into companies where they can continue learning but ultimately to get them hired. Most externship sites actually use the externship as an opportunity to train and "test them out" and then hire.
Another external customer is the community. As an advocate for my institution it is a constant effort to build community relationships. Charity is a big player here. Our school, encompasses a "Challenge for Charity" which is quite gratifying. It goes a long way in showing we do care and are willing to go the extra mile.
The students, future employers, and the community are just a few of the external custoers amongst our school and are vital to our success.
Thanks for sharing, Lucy. These are definitely important external customers that are important to include in your customer service efforts. What do you do to help these customers have an exceptional experience?
At our campus our external customers are the communities and varity of employers.
These are all great ways to recognize your external customers and give back, Christina! Thanks for sharing.
We have many external customers. One of our main things is having advanced workshops for our graduates. We also aid in many non-profit events providing services from our graduates. We also donate in-house services for many charity events.
Excellent approach, Adam. Providing this level of service to anyone who inquires about your school and what you have to offer is a great way to set yourselves apart from the rest. Keep up the good work.
We see our external customers as ANY individual, regardless of cause or need, that has a reason to interact with us at some level, whether it be via the web, through a personal intercation, such as a phone call, or an in person experience, or via e-mail.
Any of these customers require something from us, and as a result, require that we pay attention to them, understand their needs, and then work hard to provide whatever the information, or service is that will satisfy that need, once identified.
I live in the community where I work so I am always advocating information about my employer. I try to make sure The information I give is the correct information that I receive from the right source.
Great Brenda. Yes, those sites would be an example of some of your external customers. Have you ever experienced a time when a site did not feel "in the loop?" How did you or your team handle this?
A big part for our facility is Extern Sites, we can provide the students the knowledge and skills they need to use, however with out the student completing their clinical hoursthis would not be possible for certification. So these sites are very valuable to us. We make sure we have we have great communication with these sites because these are very vital to us.
Interesting mix, Raymond. How does the delivery of customer service differ with each?
ESOs for the military, HRM professionals, employers,
I get the feeling that you consider anyone you deal with outside of your institution an external customer, Rochelle. That's great! What do you do to ensure you're serving your external customers to the highest degree?
Our external customers are People we deal with face to face or over the phone. As well as our students and future employers.
