How to Get Best-in-Class Customer Support—a DCL Logistics Employee Spotlight with Director of Client Services, John Crick
One of DCL Logistics’ biggest differentiators is our commitment to a one-on-one relationship with the companies we serve. DCL becomes an extension of each client teams to provide the best service and support possible.
DCL’s Director of Client Services, John Crick explains, “all of our account managers and the people who support their business get personally and emotionally invested in their customers success—everyone here is really committed to building off of that foundation for long term growth.”
John came to work at DCL by way of being a DCL client himself—and he brings the knowledge of both sides of the client relationship to every aspect of his role. He works hard to make sure all DCL clients have streamlined communication and a close working relationship with their account managers, so that they never want to leave DCL.
Communication is the Key to Customer Success
The DCL Client Services team is responsible for taking all order requirements from DCL customers and being the conduit between them and the operations team. John notes, “Communication is really critical for our team. It’s so important that we understand exactly what our customers are trying to communicate, exactly what they need. If something is going to take more than two emails, then our account managers pick up the phone to get to the bottom of it—then hatch a plan of how they are going to execute.”
Where DCL provides value is just being available for our customers. John explains, “It gives them comfort because they all have expectations from their management or their bosses of what they need to do. Our business relies on us understanding the need, and then putting that into action, and then following up on it. In the long-term, I see myself spending more time with our customers and supporting the future of their business.”
It’s not just the one-on-one communication that is what’s important. Having solid internal communication at DCL is just as crucial because it directly supports customer success. Our account managers are a liaison with other departments, John notes, “which means they have this symbiotic relationship with many other groups internally. They are only going to succeed based on the visibility and the communication and the information that they can provide these other groups. It can get really chaotic—our account managers are getting upwards of 200-300 emails a day. But it’s about trusting the process. That solid internal communication is what really enables us to be successful for our customers.”
A Relationship Built for Future Growth
With hands-on experience of both sides of the client relationship, John explains the most important factor needed to create a successful working partnership with DCL.
“It’s being transparent with us about your business, about your needs, about your customers and their expectations. So much of our operations depends on our customers providing us information. Only then can we align the best services, the best products, and get you where you want to eventually go.”
What makes DCL excel at the relationship, John describes, “is the fact that we give you a dedicated point of contact. I have worked with other 3PLs where it was not always necessarily clear who you go to for various things. I think it’s also our flexibility of how we support your business. We are dedicated to say yes to our customers as often as it’s feasibly possible.”
John leads his team in a proactive approach to client services. Since starting this role at DCL he has implemented systems to establish a tighter feedback loop between DCL and it’s customers in order to improve DCL’s services more quickly. “I want to be anticipating our customer’s needs. Sometimes our customers don’t know what they don’t know—some are startups or this is their first time being exposed to logistics—maybe they think that they are doing something, but don’t share with us which can create downstream consequences. We also have customers that have been in this for a really long time and we need them to provide as much detail in order to support their business and meet their needs.”
DCL Provides Proactive Service and Support
The scope of John’s work is vast but simple: he wants to bring the best experience possible to each of DCL’s customers.
He was candid about his future projections for his role, saying he is shifting the account manager culture to be more proactive for their clients. He says, “I want them to become less like customer service—you know, something broke, how do you fix it, move on to the next thing—and more proactive to anticipate those things to set their customers up for success. Truly, I want us to be inseparable from our customers. I don’t want our customers to know how to live without DCL.”
From working with DCL as a client, to now overseeing all client services at DCL, it’s clear that John is dedicated to the best customer service possible. He says, “Once I was exposed to operations and logistics, I became infatuated with it—the complexity, the many moving parts, but mostly the huge impact it has on customer experience. At DCL I love that I am able to make an impact with our over 70 different customers.”
If you are looking for fulfillment and logistics support, or have questions about how to partner with DCL Logistics please contact us here.
Tags: Customer service, Employee Spotlight
