EMC Patents VoC Reporting, Aims to Cut Analysis to Minutes

Jennifer Bodzinski, Director of Customer Quality for EMC, joined CMIQ after her recent presentation at the 3rd Annual Customer Experience Summit.

EMC Patents VoC Reporting, Aims to Cut Analysis to Minutes

Several years ago, EMC – a leading technology solutions provider – found itself at a crossroads.

"We had an ego before the bubble burst," said Jennifer Bodzinski, Director of Customer Quality for EMC, during her recent presentation at the 3rd Annual Customer Experience Summit. EMC was known for the having the best products, the best service – and the prices to match.

"When the bubble burst, we had to change some things," Bodzinski said. How could EMC add value to their services beyond the product itself – "to engage our employees, customers and partners," Bodzinski said.

Bodzinski, who runs the VoC and quality reporting program at EMC, explained how the company adjusted its methods of evaluating Total Customer Experience (TCE) in her presentation titled "Bringing Valuable Insights Front and Center with Innovative Feedback Management & Analysis."

The first step – she explained – was to sit down with each department and honestly assess the metrics used to assess TCE. The team evaluated each with the question, "Are we actually measuring impact to the customer?" In many cases, the answer was no. EMC determined the expediency of call resolution through queue time, not time spent with an actual agent.

A year-long vetting process produced a dozen key metrics – down from "tons" – to measure TCE, separating VoC metrics from operational metrics in the process. EMC also engaged customers through surveys to discover more about the end-user experience. The outreach yielded results the company had not considered. EMC had formerly prided itself on quick shipping, but survey’s revealed frustration on customers’ behalf about the deluge of small boxes – 250 in one example – and piles of manuals that resulted. Customers indicated they would trade a few days delay in delivery for a streamlined shipping process.

The entire process has left EMC at the forefront of analyzing feedback and VoC. Their analytics methods even received a patent and the company continues to move forward as it will roll out Green Plum, the next step in data collection, in the coming months.

CMIQ caught up with Bodzinski – the type of engaging person who says "folks" instead of "people" – to discuss EMC’s path to its current VoC metrics and to get more details on Green Plum. Check out the full interview in the video above.