Finding good customer service is tough. It is a challenge just navigating maze-like automated phone systems, much less finding a live person who will go above and beyond to help. So when you see exceptional service you want to shout it from the treetops. In this case, I wanted to tell you a little about two of my colleagues at IMS. They are the kind of individuals who do whatever they need to do to get the job done, and going above and beyond is just part of their day. They NEVER-EVER expect any recognition. Today, I want to recognize their commitment to go above and beyond and shout it from the blogosphere!
The first colleague I want to recognize is our office manager, Julie Hammond. Julie has been with IMS for over 29 years and if you ever have any questions, Julie always gets you an answer. After the governor of Michigan issued a state-wide stay at home order in March, most of our employees began working from home. However, because we are responsible for providing products and services to healthcare customers designated as critical infrastructure, we needed to ensure that any tasks that could not be performed remotely continued to be performed by a minimal number of staff onsite. These day-to-day onsite tasks were not necessarily seen by those of us working from home, but Julie and a handful of others on her team remained at the office to ensure those critical tasks continued to be completed.
Julie consistently works behind the scenes to ensure that the processes we rely on to conduct daily operations operate smoothly and efficiently. With the entire office (and nation, for that matter) dealing with a global pandemic, uncertainty about what is happening and what may come next has become a new routine and part of doing business. But the one thing we employees know about IMS is that we know how to persevere!
So, when Julie received an email in the wee hours on a weekend that alerted her to a time-sensitive issue, she got out of bed and drove into the office to take care of it. Could it have waited until Monday? Possibly, but in hindsight, Monday would likely have been too late and the delay would have caused bigger problems. And she never said a word about it (another colleague later told me about it). Julie’s dedication makes a huge difference for IMS and all of its employees.
The second colleague who recently went above and beyond is one of our Service Technicians, Mike Keenan. First of all, let me say our service team consistently goes above and beyond for our customers, but this time was unique. After working all day on-site at a customer location, Mike was wrapping things up to head home when he smelled something burning. So he began looking and asking around.
The on-site staff noticed the smell as well, but were unable to find its source. Someone suggested it might be caused by a tar-like construction product that can smell quite bad. But Mike noticed that the smell kept getting stronger, even through his mask. He continued to investigate, and when he noticed smoke wafting down the stairwell, he knew there was a bigger problem.
Once on-site maintenance arrived, they also confirmed a strong burning smell. Further investigation around a hidden overhang on the roof revealed that the whole space was filled with a dangerous amount of smoke. The maintenance team jumped into action breaking holes in the walls to discover the source of the smoke and found that the roof was on fire! Thankfully, they were able to extinguish it without substantial damage.
Mike was the only person working in that area that day, and the customer was very grateful he took the time to fully investigate the issue. Had Mike simply packed it up and assumed it was construction tar, the outcome could have been far different.
Outstanding customer service is something that IMS takes seriously and our commitment to serve you is unwavering.
