2021 Customer Satisfaction: How You Rated Cisco-Eagle’s Service
We ask questions so we can improve
We constantly work to improve our performance and ask our customers to guide us.
Every year, we publish the results so that you can see what others say about working with Cisco-Eagle. 2021 is the second full year of the pandemic and has been challenging from an entirely different perspective than 2020. Supply chain issues affected everyone, including Cisco-Eagle and our supply chain for material handling and automation projects.
What questions do we ask?
- Please rate Cisco-Eagle’s ability to handle your request/order in a timely & efficient manner. Four factors: Unsatisfactory, Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Very Satisfactory
- How would you rate Cisco-Eagle’s pricing as compared to the competition? Four factors: Unsatisfactory, Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Very Satisfactory. Comments not enabled.
- Please rate Cisco-Eagle’s website overall. Four factors: Unsatisfactory, Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Very Satisfactory
- How likely are you to recommend Cisco-Eagle to others? Three factors: Not Likely, Undecided, Very Likely
- How likely are you to purchase from Cisco-Eagle in the future? Three factors: Not Likely, Undecided, Very Likely
- How can we improve your experience with Cisco-Eagle? Comment box.
Above: conveyor repairs are just part of our service offerings. From your first phone call to the moment your order arrives on the dock to the moment it’s installed, we strive to improve.Â
Without resources, great service is impossible
Improving service is something companies should invest in. In 2021, we took that to heart and have invested significantly in providing our employee-owners with the resources and information needed to provide the best possible service.
I once watched a major fast food chain’s employees walk every customer who left the building to their cars while holding umbrellas over their heads during a heavy rainstorm. The employees couldn’t do that without the resources: umbrellas, rain ponchos and adequate staff. Customer-focused organizations strive to provide the right tools and resources.Â
When you see excellent service from a company, it’s often based on careful forethought, measurements, processes, training and resources. Our employee-owners are service-oriented but absent the information and resources needed, great attitudes only go so far. Companies that don’t equip their people with information and resources probably can’t provide great service.
The directive: we must improve service
Cisco-Eagle operates under a series of strategic directives. Our most important directive is all about service:
Strategic Directive #1: Cisco-Eagle will develop, implement and constantly improve a consistent customer service process across all locations and groups. This process will map the customer journey, identify specific improvements and strive to always improve.
How we upgraded our service resources during 2021
- Specific employee-owners were assigned to customer experience duties. This group continuously monitors various contact channels (website chats, lead responsiveness, phone conversations) and recommends improvements that upgrade customer experience.
- We defined a Cisco-Eagle sales process, which has customer experience at its core. It helps tie together several critical customer experience factors.
- We made significant changes to telephony and other communications technology that help us be more responsive.
- We deployed tools and reporting to help us communicate and coordinate better on large project implementations.
- We built a robust database of shipping and post-order information that lets us track shipping and provide information faster than ever before. This system automates critical customer updates so that shipping times, arrivals and other critical information is always available and automatically provided to customers.
- We continued to monitor customer request responses to improve our performance. Our responsiveness score is 94, which is an increase of 8% vs. 2020.
- We consolidated all customer sales & service functions into one team that reports to the National Sales Support Manager.
We calculate a cumulative satisfaction rating by using the average of our five brief questions. During 2021, this cumulative rating increased 6% vs. 2020, from 89% to 95%. Our all-time cumulative rating increased by 3%, from 92% to 95%.
Question #1: Order/request handling: 94% (2% improvement vs. 2020)
This is a critical metric. When a customer requests something, we want to respond faster and more thoroughly than anyone else in the industry. Our investments as listed above help us respond quickly to all types of requests. During 2020, we improved to 92% over 2019’s 86%, so another year of improvement shows sustained effort in this critical aspect of service.
Comments
“Missy was extremely helpful! Answered all my questions and double checked the order. Very professional! Thanks!”
“Processed quickly but long lead time.”
“Susan responded to my request to learn more about your products. She is coming to Phoenix in early January 2021 to meet with me and my team and visit our site and help us identify possible solutions.”
“I expected a better delivery time.”
Question #2: pricing: 96% (89% in 2019)
As you probably know, 2021 has been a year of pricing instability and increased raw materials costs. Prices have increased across the board for conveyors, racks and storage systems that rely on steel, plastics and other materials, which has forced up pricing for the equipment our customers rely on. We raised prices, as did all vendors in the material handling space, but still managed to improve the rating by +8%. Since we maintain live online prices for tens of thousands of products and implement large projects, we focused on faster response and better communications to help soften the impact. We’ve never been a “low cost” provider, so achieving all-time high ratings during this inflationary and difficult environment is gratifying.
Question #3: Rate our website: 96% (93% in 2020)
We see our website as much more than a “digital brochure”. It’s a portal for customers to browse, learn and find answers. During 2021, it’s been difficult to maintain accurate e-commerce pricing in real-time, but we have made that a priority. Aside from the website itself, we have maintained and upgraded communications channels that operate through it, primarily chats and phone communications. Customers rated our website 96% satisfactory in 2021- an all-time high, and an increase vs. 93% in 2020.
No comments were made about pricing in this survey timeframe.
Comments
“Easy to navigate and lots of information. Great videos!”
“Needs more photos related to smaller jobs. Great pics of large-scale projects.”
How likely are you to recommend Cisco-Eagle to others?: 97% likely (88% in 2020)
This question is a simple yes/no, so 97% of our customers told us that they would recommend us, based on their experience. This was the largest positive change and an all-time high percentage for the question. The greatest compliment any customer can provide is a recommendation and we’re grateful for customers who endorse us.
How likely are you to purchase from Cisco-Eagle in the future?: 92% likely (87% in 2020)
We improved from the 87% positive rating we achieved last year to a record 92%. All-time this question rates at 90%.
“Very pleased with the service and would recommend Cisco-Eagle.”
“If you can improve your delivery time in your articles or items you sell will be good.”
How can we improve your experience with Cisco-Eagle? (comments only)
We believe it’s important to solicit criticism in order to improve, so we ask for it. During 2021, customers provided us with valuable advice for making their time with us better, which we take to heart and incorporate into our planning and strategies.
- Shipping: this was the top comment category. During the supply chain crunch of 2021, shipping was impacted as much–perhaps more–than raw materials costs. It takes more time and costs more to ship this year through all shipping channels (package, flatbeds, motor freight).
- Responsiveness: The speed with which we can respond to questions, inquiries, orders and other requests is always a top priority for us. Even in an era of supply chain and labor challenges, it’s something we can impact directly.
- Salesperson/representatives: Our sales group was commented on during this survey quite frequently, and almost always in a positive light. Their ability to solve problems has not been lost on our surveyed customers, whose comments for this question were all positive (even when we asked for criticism).
- Website: Website quality continues to be important to customers, who both complemented and criticized our site.
Comments
“Everything was pretty streamlined and handled exceptionally!”
“Improve the delivery time.”
“Everything was smooth answered my questions in a orderly manner answered the phone every time I called experience was good overall.”
“Make sure the orders get processed when they are placed.”
“I cant think of anything. The quote was provided very quickly and follow up for modifications were the same. This opportunity is contingent upon winning the deal and that is in process.”
Customer reviews and ratings
Alongside our ongoing survey process, we also solicit live customer reviews and ratings through our website and an independent third party, TrustSpot. This is available only to confirmed customers and is linked from our website on every page. Customers can rate our performance from 1 to 5 stars and leave a brief review. We aren’t perfect, as you will see when you peruse our ratings, but take all criticisms to heart and work to improve those situations.
As of this writing, our average rating is 4.5 of 5 stars on 429 reviews. For the last year, the ratio of high ratings (4 or 5 stars) has held its historic average. We always respond to negative reviews and work to correct any issues with them.
About Cisco-Eagle
Cisco-Eagle provides solutions for the movement, storage, retrieval, control and protection of materials and products throughout manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal. Solutions involve the application of material handling equipment such as conveyors, carousels, rack, shelving, mezzanines and other important elements. More complex solutions may incorporate a higher level of controls, automation equipment and distributed intelligence. Cisco-Eagle’s exclusive AisleCop® forklift safety system is deployed for safety operations at scores of top companies nationwide. The company serves customers in all U.S. states and over 70 other countries.
The Cisco-Eagle Advantage: Exceptional Service by Employee-Owners
Additionally, Cisco-Eagle offers its exclusive repair, service and maintenance department, which can execute emergency service, scheduled maintenance, plant reconfiguration and installation through our Field Services division in our areas of service.
Scott Stone is Cisco-Eagle's Vice President of Marketing with more than thirty years of experience in material handling, warehousing and industrial operations. His work is published in multiple industry journals an websites on a variety of warehousing topics. He writes about automation, warehousing, safety, manufacturing and other areas of concern for industrial operations and those who operate them.