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Moko’s Principles of Customer Service

A great Moko experience means;

  • A Quality Product: you receive a product you enjoy and recommend to others.

    • What this looks like: our products meet our advertised specifications.

    • Metric(s):

      • <1% of our products have product issues

  • Convenient Delivery: our efficient delivery system gets our products to your door on time, in great condition, and at a time that’s convenient for you.

    • What this looks like: all advertised products are always in stock.  We deliver to B2C customers the next day.  We call to agree on a delivery window of no more than X minutes that works for the customer.  We arrive with that delivery window.  We unload efficiently.   Our delivery staff are friendly, helpful, and efficient.

    • Metric(s):

      • products for 100% of orders are in stock

      • 100% of orders are delivered the next business day

      • 100% of orders are delivered during the delivery window

  • Clear Communication: we proactively and transparently communicate with our customers throughout the customer lifecycle - from advertising, to production, to delivery, to afterservice.

    • What this looks like: honest advertising, training for retailers, proactive communication about delays or challenges, no surprises, we only make promises that we can keep.

    • Metric(s):

      • 100% of customers who have issues receive SMS updates on the status of their issue

  • Painless Issue Resolution: we take ownership for any mistakes and prioritize you to solve your issues quickly.  We keep you updated at every step of the issue resolution process.  

    • What this looks like: we refund or replace for product quality issues.  We give prompt apologies for poor interactions with staff members.  We send regular updates during the issue resolution process.  All issues resolved within 7 days.  

    • Metric(s):

      • 100% of issues are resolved within 7 days

      • We send 3 SMS updates to all customers







Moko Policy: Follow Up


It is the responsibility of every Moko staff member to put the customer first.  We don’t say ‘this is a finance problem’ or ‘this is a logistics problem’ or ‘this is a CS problem’ - it is a problem for our customers.  We work hard to deliver a positive customer experience because it is in our DNA - it is part of who we are at Moko.


It is also key to our success as a business.  Online reviews and word-of-mouth are some of the strongest influences on a customer's decision to buy - or not to buy.  


This means that it is your responsibility to follow up internally to ensure a positive outcome for every customer.  The customer can’t follow up with another department - that’s our responsibility.  


If you’re resolving a CS issue and you’ve not heard from an internal collaborator within 24 hours, it is your responsibility to follow up with that internal collaborator to ensure a positive outcome for our customers.  




The Customer Issue Resolution Process


Creating the ticket

  • Source: we need to know how the customer contacted us.

  • Phone number: we need the customer’s current phone number and the phone number they used to make the order.  The customer’s phone number is their unique ID, we need this information to look up their order in Cradle and Quickbooks.  

  • Customer names: record both customer names.  Record the first name, then the second name.  Make sure to capitalize both names.  If you don’t know how to spell a customer’s name, please ask.

  • Moko agent: this is the officer who has been assigned to the issue.  If there is no agent assigned yet, mark the case ‘unassigned.’

  • Status: all cases are either open or closed.  An open case is any case that does not meet the requirement for a ‘closed’ case, which are described below.

  • Order number: this information is found in Cradle or Freshsales.  Use the customer phone number to find the order number.

  • Product: this gives the general category of the product.  

  • SKU: this is the exact product.  Many customers might not know the SKU for their product.  The order information in Cradle or Freshsales should include the specific SKU.  




Type and Solution


We need to carefully label each issue and each solution.  Labeling issues correctly allows us to find the correct solution quickly.  It also allows us to analyze our data more easily.  


‘Other’

We should rarely use the ‘other’ option.  If we regularly use the ‘other’ option, it makes it much more difficult to analyze that data in the future.  We should only use the ‘other’ option in cases where no other option is accurate.


Any cases marked ‘other’ will be escalated to the Customer Service Committee so we can add the new issue type to our system.  



Issue type

See the policy manual for customer service. 


Issue Solution

  • Finance Solution: this means that finance is one of the teams involved in solving the issue.  Finance solutions include;

    • Payments

    • Refunds

    • Partial refund

    • Credit note

    • Voucher

  • Logistics Solution: this means that logistics is one of the teams involved in solving the issue.  Logistics solutions include;

    • Return

    • Partial return

    • Replace

    • Partial replacement

    • Reschedule delivery

  • Sales Solution: this means that sales is one of the teams involved in solving the issue.  Sales solutions include;

    • New order

  • Customer Service Solution: this means CS is one of the teams involved in solving the issue.  CS solutions include;

    • Internal investigation

    • Internal feedback

    • Contact 3rd party lender

    • Contact 3rd party courier

    • Other



Standardized solutions vs ‘local arrangements’


We are building a business that will someday serve families all across Africa.  Standardization will be essential to scale.  


We avoid making solutions tailored to specific customers.  Agreeing on and successfully implementing SLAs takes time and effort.  Every time we don’t follow an SLA, it creates knock-on effects for other teams and departments.  


We use the standardized issue types and solution types in this manual to allow us to operate at scale and in unison with other departments at Moko.


We avoid ‘local arrangements’ and solutions tailored to an individual customer, whenever possible.  


If you believe you have a CS issue that requires a solution not found in this manual, please check with our direct manager before committing to a specialized solution for a customer. 



Resolution

  • Outcome

    • Resolved: we mark a case resolved when all SLAs involved have been completed.  

      • Example:  if the solutions include a ‘return’ and a ‘refund,’ the issue is marked resolved when both the return and refund have been completed fully, as per the SLA.  

    • Customer dropped: if a customer does not respond to us after 3 days and 3 attempts to contact that customer, we close the ticket and mark the ticket ‘customer dropped.’

  • Closure date

    • This is the date that we marked the outcome.  It should be filled at the same time that the outcome is recorded.




A customer who stops responding


Sometimes, a customer calls or messages us and then stops responding to our messages.  When this happens, we call or message the customer 3 times over 3 days.  If the customer has not responded after 3 attempts to contact them over 3 days, we mark the outcome as ‘customer dropped’ and close the ticket.  


This is not a good outcome.  A customer who reports a CS issue and then stops engaging with us is probably unhappy.  Whenever possible, we want to avoid this outcome.  




Keeping the Customer Informed

No one likes being left in the dark.  We all want to know what is going on.  It is our responsibility to keep customers up to date on the status of their issue.  We have 3 required messages that should be sent to every completed ticket.


We use the messaging service Uwazi to send outgoing SMS. 


  • Message 1: this message is sent after we complete the ticket.  It informs the customer that the issue has been recorded.

    • Hello XXX! We have received your query and our customer service team is going to help resolve the issue.  Your ticket number is XXXX.

  • Message 2: this message is sent after we assign the issue type and solution type.  It informs the customer of the status of the ticket. 

    • Hello XXX I received your query and I will be resolving it with the relevant department. The estimated time of resolution is XXX. I will keep you updated.

  • Message 3: this message is sent after we close the ticket.  It confirms that the ticket was closed.

    • Hello XXX the query you raised with us has been resolved. If you are unsatisfied with the resolution, please contact our customer service team at 0701616161.


Data Policy

Accurate data is key to making good decisions at scale.  Creating and maintaining accurate data is essential.  Moko’s data policy includes 2 parts; accuracy and completeness.


Accuracy: accuracy means whether the data put into the system reflects reality.  Inaccurate data can result in delays in customer issue resolution, loss of time and money, or decisions being made based on inaccurate data.  We should ensure all data put into our system is accurate.  

  • Accidents: accidentally entering the wrong data happens sometimes.  If this happens, report it quickly so that the error can be corrected.

  • Falsification: it is possible that a staff member could intentionally enter incorrect data.  This is called falsification.  Falsification is gross misconduct and can result in HR action.  Never falsify data on any Moko platform!

Completeness: completeness means no activities should exist outside the system.  We should ensure all interactions with a customer are recorded in our system, using the formal channels.  Failing to do this is a type of misconduct called omission.

  • Omission: Omission means customer interactions that occur outside the formal channels. Calling a customer on our personal phones, receiving a call and trying to resolve it outside the system, or failing to create a ticket for a CS issue are all examples of omission.  Omission is misconduct and can result in HR action.  Please make sure we avoid omission!


Work planning and CS Issue Resolution


Customer Service Team

Resolving CS issues is a CS staff member’s full time job.  CS staff are expected to resolve all cases within a week of the case being opened.  Work with your direct manager to work plan weekly issue resolution.


Sales Team

If you can solve the issue in less than 3 minutes, solve the issue.  If it will require you to do some digging and/or take more than 3 minutes to solve, raise a ticket in Freshdesk so that the CS team can handle it.  



The Customer Service Committee

Most CS issues required more than 1 department to solve that issue.  Coordinating those departments is critical to resolving customer service issues in a timely manner.  The CS committee helps us to coordinate departments to solve CS issues. 


The CS committee meets every Thursday.


The CS committee is chaired by Yvonne and includes representatives from production, logistics, customer service, and sales.  


The CS Committee has several responsibilities;

  • Create or revise systems, SOPs, policies, related to customer service.  The CS Committee is the only group that can make these changes.

  • Review any cases where the issue or solution is “other.”

  • Review any cases added to the ‘escalation’ group. 

  • Review any cases that have gone more than 7 days without resolution.

Case Studies


Case study 1: a customer calls in.  She ordered a 3x6 mattress.  It was delivered yesterday.  When it arrived, it still smelled strongly of glue.  The customer is frustrated and wants a new mattress.  What do you do?


Case study 2: a customer sends a whatsapp message.  He says he had a negative interaction with a delivery assistant.  The order was placed using the wife’s phone so his phone number is not in our system.  He stops responding to your messages before you can get his wife’s phone number or the order number.  What do you do?


Case study 3: a customer decided to cancel the order but had already prepaid for the items.  You initiated a refund 10 days ago.  The customer has messaged to indicate she has not received the refund yet.  What do you do?


Case study 4: a sales agent named Douglas receives a call from a customer.  The customer is complaining about another sales agent named Kelvin.  The customer says he ordered a 3x6 but Kelvin put a 6x5 into the system.  Kelvin is Douglas’ friend.  Douglas calls the customer on his personal phone and tries to resolve the issue offline.  Douglas doesn’t want to enter the issue into the CRM because he doesn’t want Kelvin to get in trouble.  What has Douglas done?  What could be the consequences of his actions for the customer, for Moko, and for himself?


Case study 5: a sales agent named Nyambura receives a message.  The customer reports an issue.  The customer’s sofa needs to be returned and replaced due to a production defect.  Nyambura creates the ticket.  Nyambura assigns the issue type and solutions.  Nyambura plans to send the update SMS to the customer after lunch but she forgets.  She does not send the update SMSs.  Is this a big issue?  What are the consequences?


Case study 6: a delivery truck arrives in the field.  We accidentally loaded the wrong product.  The customer ordered a 3x6 and we loaded a 4x6.  The delivery team calls the CS team.  The customer decides they would like the 4x6 instead.  We allow the customer to take the 4x6 instead of the 3x6.  We say we will correct the records when the delivery team arrives.   Is this a big issue?  What are the consequences?