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Superior Customer Service:
A Conference Housing Perspective
Toby Brenner, president and CEO of Par Avion Meetings and Conventions, a leading conference housing, travel and registration company, reveals secrets of excellent customer service.
I was recently asked by one of my fellow business school colleagues what the secret was for our company’s client retention. He was aware that we had not lost an account in over 6 years.
I said that customer service is the combination of great people and unsurpassed tools. Technology, systems and the training we provide to our employees greatly influence the speed, accuracy and presentation of incredible service. Management must realize that service starts at the top of any organizational chart and trickles down to the low man/woman on the totem pole.
Focus on Evolving, Merging
Providing unsurpassed service to clients is a constant evolution and merging of all systems, operational as well as technological. It means being proactive as well as reactive. For example, in the past, we had two different departments for housing and travel at Par Avion. Upon surveying our client base we discovered that they were looking for a one-stop shop, and that truly meant one stop. They did not want to be transferred to yet another person to handle their air travel or car rental. So, Par Avion decided to merge the two departments to ensure that all reservationists were proficient in housing, travel and car rental. We noticed that without the transfer of the call to a second person, more clients were willing to use our services to book air and car. Our air and car sales increased and we ultimately used less employee time to complete the multiple tasks.
Empower Your Clients
Excellent customer service also means empowering your customers. During the past few years, we decided to empower our clients and give them more control over the work we perform on their behalf. We have given them access to their event’s housing databases so they can run reports and find real-time information 24/7, using Passkey-enabled technology. Our new telephone system allows our clients to create their own greetings for their conference’s proprietary toll-free numbers. For instance, one of our clients, an international athletic association, uses our telephone system with a top-name athlete to greet their attendees on the phone. Another trade show group has decided to sell their greeting time to one of their large sponsors. One of our Incentive clients, a radio consortium, is using their well-known disc jockeys to keep their award-winners entertained when they call. Not withstanding the latest and greatest telecommunications technology, we have made sure that you can always speak to a live attendant when you call.
Happy Employees, Good Customer Service
Employee turnover can drastically impact a company’s service level. So what does Par Avion do? Our company takes every employee and one significant other on a weekend retreat every year. It is not a training meeting, just a time for rest, relaxation and to have some fun. We also allow our call center agents the ability to travel to events as the onsite coordinator so they better understand the fruit of their labor and have an opportunity to travel to destinations they may not visit otherwise. Surely, our average employee tenure of six years plays a strong role in our ability to provide excellent customer service.
Par Avion offers a complete menu of services as part of its convention housing and travel program, including: site selection, hotel contracting, customer service/call center, attrition management and on-site assistance. To learn more, visit www.paravion-inc.com.
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