Resolving Customer Relationship Issues
By Craig Borysowich
Expert Author
Article Date: 2008-08-07
To identify, track, and resolve issues affecting the customer relationship, including problems, risks, and any other form of difficulty that requires resolution.
Method
Make sure that issue identification is integrated into the standard processes for meeting with the team and weekly status reporting.
Use the standard process for managing action items to keep a log of the key issues and the actions required to resolve them, and to track these issues through to closure.
Use problem solving techniques to think through each issue. Capitalize on other company resources to make sure you bring all of the resources and thinking of the company to bear.
Maintain a record of the time spent by yourself and by any other resources called in to resolve these kinds of issues. Find ways to keep the customer aware of this kind of information, to give visibility to this aspect of the value provided through working with us.
Get agreement with the customer on an acceptable issue escalation process. One example might be:
Level 1: Any issue not resolved by the required resolution date will be brought to the attention of the Acceptor and the Project Manager for urgent resolution.
Level 2: Any key issue (i.e., requiring the approval of the customer and/or the delivery organization) not resolved and approved within five business days of the required resolution date will be escalated to the Acceptor's Line Manager and the Project Manager's Line Manager for resolution.
Level 3: Any key issue not resolved and approved within five business days at Level 2 will be escalated to the executive levels in the customer and delivery organizations for resolution.
Comments
About the Author:
Craig Borysowich has over 18 years of Technology Consulting experience with both public and private sector clients, including ten years in Project Leadership roles. His extensive background in working with large scale, high-profile systems integration and development projects that span throughout a customer’s organization allows him to help consulting organizations world-wide to deliver better quality projects more consistently.
|
