Building a Customer-Centric Culture: How Aristou’s Customer IT Support Goes the Extra Mile

In a competitive industry where technical expertise is abundant, what is the true differentiator of quality? 

We’ll give you a hint (or 2) 😉: 

• Companies with a customer experience mindset drive revenue 4-8% higher than the rest of their industries (Bain & Co 2015). 

• According to Microsoft (2016), 97% of customers say customer service is a key differentiator in their decisions.

Answer: The quality of customer support. 

Similarly, IT consultancies that prioritize strong support gain a significant advantage by becoming trusted advisors and partners to their clients. 

The impact of exceptional customer support goes beyond immediate fire-fighting; it also contributes to financial growth, operational efficiency, and client satisfaction. 

As technology continues to reshape industries, the need for reliable and responsive customer support in IT consultancies has never been more critical.

In this special edition of this post, we sit down with one of our front desk support consultant, Anuja Poulose in this exclusive one on one interview. 

We unpack the strategies Aristou’s support team has employed to deliver unparalleled support, a typical workday process, specific challenges we’ve encountered and how we demonstrate our problem-solving skills.

1. What does a typical workday as a customer support staff look like? 

As a support consultant at Aristou, my daily responsibilities is as follows:

1. Acknowledge and Review the ticket: First I log into the support case portal received via email and phone calls and respond to all customer support queries logged as quickly as I can. 

2. Prioritize the ticket: Prioritize the support cases to meet the agreed support service level agreements. Taking ownership of support issues by researching individual issues thoroughly during the troubleshoot phase. 

3. Troubleshoot and Investigate: Provide the resolution to the customer after a thorough analysis of the users issue.

4. Communication and Updates: In this process, accountability to the customer is crucial. I keep the customer informed of the support case progress. 

5. Testing and Verification: In the event of emergencies or special assistance required, I will escalate it to my technical team and liaise with a technical consultant to develop this requirement deliverable solution to the customer. 

6. Resolution and Documentation: When it is completed, I will submit the compiled list of support logs back to management on a weekly basis.

This important step of the customer support lifecycle involves gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s business processes and the project’s implemented process flow, which helps in identifying effective solutions for addressing their issue requests.

2. Share the process or workflow you follow to ensure efficient and timely resolution.

To achieve maximum workflow efficiency, there are 2 things to consider: 

1. Priority of issue

2. Complexity of issue

1) Priority of issue: I prioritize the support case as per the importance and urgency of the issue. If the issue needs to be resolved on an urgent basis, I will check on the issue and try to provide the resolution asap. Otherwise, the standard response time is typically within 2 hours. 

2) Complexity of issue: The process also depends on the level of complexity of the issue. E.g: if an issue logged in is a bit complex, I will require more information regarding the issues, i.e: recreate the issue and understand the flow to be able to provide the solution. 

On the contrary, if the issue is a standard like missing certain setups, we can understand from the primary checking of the issue and then resolve it easily.

3. What measures do you take to anticipate customer needs and provide proactive assistance before the issue arises?

To pre-empt crises and minimize the impact on customers, it is important to adopt proactive measures, assess the risks, and effective communication as tools to create a strong support environment to combat potential crises.

1. Risk Assessment and Planning: 

• Drawing from my previous encounters and support tickets, I will provide concise explanations regarding the setup or functionality associated with past issues.

• This helps to identify potential vulnerabilities, weaknesses, or points of failure in systems, processes, or infrastructure. 

• By doing so, I aim to prevent customers from encountering similar problems in relation to this specific function, ultimately minimizing repetitive issues in the future.

2. Initial Analysis:

• After a support issue is logged in, I will conduct a basic investigation within Business Central

• Identify the root problem and unpack why this issue is occurring or any missing steps involved. 

3. Extended Investigation:

• I advise the user that this issue is because of missing setup, and suggest the right way of doing it

• In the event it is outside my knowledge capability, I will search in the Microsoft Business Central Community to get an idea about the solution and I will test the solution before providing it to the user. 

4. Continuous Learning:

• I will regularly consult the blogs of Business Central Consultant, even when there are no support issues at hand. 

• These articles provide valuable insights into Business Central, which prove beneficial in effectively troubleshooting any problems that may arise. 

• Additionally, I seek out guidance from other consultant colleagues on their experiences for valuable information, or if they have encountered similar issues.

By implementing these key measures, we strive to anticipate customer needs, minimize issues, and provide proactive assistance that enhances the overall customer experience.

4. Describe any specific challenges or difficult customer situations you have encountered and how you handled them, and demonstrated your problem-solving skills?

As a support consultant, I come across some of the support issues which take a long time to find the root cause because in some cases it is difficult to recreate the scenario. 

As mentioned, I will refer to the blogs and articles of the Business Central Consultants and also to check with my friends working as consultants, so they will share some hints so that I will get a new direction to fix the support case.

Also, I will apply this resolution before advising the client so that we can make sure of the accuracy of the solution.

Most of the time I follow the methodology that I tried to gather maximum information from the user regarding the issue. So, it will help me to recreate the scenario to fix the support issue.

Here’s an example of one support issue I felt really challenged me and were great learning curves: 

• Issue: Table locking issue in Business Central 

(-) Problem: When 2 users use business central at a time, user A is using batch posting function to post sales orders and user B is modify a sales order document; so, system will not allow the user B until user A finish the task; if the volume of transaction on the database is increasing; this frequency of happening this issue will increase. 

(+) Solution: So, we report this issue to Microsoft support by recreate the scenario and then they suggest a solution to turn off the setup for auto update the cost adjustment; so, system is actually trying to adjust the cost while doing the batch posting; that’s why user B takes more time to process.

In conclusion, a strong customer support team and process are essential for achieving long-term success. By placing the customer at the center of their operations, companies create a culture of care, empathy, and excellence. 

Exceptional customer support fosters trust, drives customer satisfaction, and cultivates long-term relationships. It streamlines operations, enhances efficiency, and contributes to a positive brand reputation. 

In a world where customer expectations continue to rise, Aristou always strives to invest continuously in strong customer support service to achieve highest customer satisfaction. 

It is not just an option; it is a strategic importance for sustainable growth and economic success. Take your business to new heights with Aristou’s IT support- contact us if you need a second professional opinion or a trusted team to handle your Microsoft Dynamics 365 support queries today!