Wired For Outstanding Customer Service
Celebrating our 70th year in business, Phifer’s high-quality, American made products intertwine with superior customer service. We recently had a customer trying to break into a new market segment. They needed to turn around a production order for a very well- known automotive manufacturer in one week to meet the deadlines placed upon them. We were able to make a custom patterned fabric production run of 700 yards in eight days. Our lead time at that point in the season was six to eight weeks. Normally, an average lead time would never be less than four weeks yet, the Phifer manufacturing team understood the importance and did a great job of getting the order through our system to help our customer.
Family Ties
In 1952 J. Reese Phifer established Phifer Incorporated in Tuscaloosa as a weaver of aluminum insect screening. The company remains privately owned and operated by the third generation of Phifer family with a very traditional approach to business. Today, the business employs over 1,000 associates, about one third who have over 20 years of dedicated service to the company.
The company is the world’s largest producer of aluminum and fiberglass insect screening products. Phifer sells products to distributors throughout the world with offices and subsidiaries located in Italy, India and Asia. Over the years, the company’s weaving expertise has expanded to include a variety of woven fabrics. Phifer’s interior sun control and exterior sun control fabrics offer heat reduction for both commercial and residential shade systems. Phifer also manufactures woven products for specialty markets including pet care, filtration, contract furniture, awnings, flooring, ventilation and cementious reinforcement.
Improving Service And Convenience With Live Chat
From our humble beginnings 70 years ago to today’s global success, Phifer kept one thing constant. True to its family roots, the team’s commitment to its customers remained deeply personal.
In the Spring of 2017 Phifer was launching a new website. In addition to a fresh layout and more user friendly features, the website got a facelift in the customer service department. With the addition of LiveHelpNow software, Phifer delivered an additional channel of contact for website visitors.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, staffing was limited so reducing the number of inbound phone calls was also important. Live Chat quickly became popular with users and the company’s online agents/operators could handle multiple “conversations” at the same time. In any chat session when a question from a customer or consumer is answered quickly, the problem is solved immediately, many times in seconds.
While Phifer does not sell its products directly to consumers, the company often gets questions from product users. Servicing these inquiries is critical in driving demand through the company’s established supply chain network.
Likewise, direct buying customers use the system to ask for support. Live chat also serves as another platform for these customers to receive leads from Phifer, creating more opportunity to increase their business with Phifer.
Real People And Real Results
Using efficient, modern, and convenient customer service tools has certainly helped Phifer’s business. But it would not make a difference if it weren’t for the decades-long excellent customer service tradition already in place. It has always been the company’s policy to have real people answer all customer inquiries, including inbound telephone calls. We want to make sure we can service people where they are most comfortable…..Our Omnichannel approach includes inbound phone calls, submitting forms on our website, direct messages via our social media platforms, and email. Adding Live Chat to our approach has been a popular choice.
From 2019 to 2020 the number of live chats Phifer’s agents handled skyrocketed by 50%, from 2,150 to 3250 annually. Volume leveled out to 3,200 in 2021 as more people returned to work, therefore slowing the demand for DIY projects using Phifer products.
Winning The Customer Service Challenge
These numbers show how Phifer’s team is improving and bringing great benefits to our business. Some of these metrics stand out so vividly, the company continues to win LiveHelpNow Challenge time after time. A competitive comparison of twelve novel metrics from 50 different criteria, the Challenge helps Phifer gauge where we stand among other companies using the same service. Since April 2020, Phifer has won the LiveHelpNow Challenge every month. The customer service team was also one of the 2020 and 2021 annual winners.
None of this would be possible without the incredible support of Phifer’s products from customers and users. For this, we are thankful and we look forward to continuing to service your needs in the future. Check out the Live Chat button on our website and give it a try!
