Agfa Consumer Imaging Takes the Lead in Customer Care in the Retail Digital Photofinishing Industry
September 08 2004 - 9:01AM
PR Newswire (US)
Agfa Consumer Imaging Takes the Lead in Customer Care in the Retail
Digital Photofinishing Industry New Customer Care Center provides
mass and independent retailers with comprehensive array of sales,
technical support, training, and other services RIDGEFIELD PARK,
N.J., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bucking the outsourcing
trend, Agfa Consumer Imaging, a leader in digital photofinishing
products and services for mass, independent and specialty retailers
and professional photo labs, today announced the launch of a
full-service Customer Care Center providing comprehensive sales,
technical support, training, and other services for the company's
fast-growing base of customers in the U.S. and Canada. The new
Customer Care Center, located in the Minneapolis suburb of
Plymouth, Minnesota, provides a convenient, single point of contact
for retailers leveraging the Agfa suite of in-store processing
products and services to capture a lucrative share of the expanding
digital photofinishing market. Implementing state-of-the-art call
processing technology, the Customer Care Center responsively serves
Agfa's customers in all interactions they have with the company
after purchase of their Agfa solutions. Customer Service
Representatives (CSRs) quickly and accurately take orders for
consumable materials; including film, paper and chemicals, as well
as replacement parts, and they knowledgeably arrange credit
opportunities with customers. Technical support representatives use
remote diagnostics to provide Agfa equipment operators at customer
sites with expert guidance in resolving issues and, when necessary,
they escalate issues to a field service technician and schedule the
service call. The Customer Care Center is also responsible for
coordinating equipment installation, preventive maintenance, and
conducts equipment operator training. "Customer care is our top
priority, and with our new Customer Care Center we are taking this
critical initiative to the next level," said Bing Liem, President
of Agfa Consumer Imaging North America, and Sr. Vice President,
Agfa Corporation. "By enabling us to engage with customers in an
ongoing relationship, our new Customer Care Center is at the center
of our efforts to achieve customer satisfaction and build loyalty."
"We are raising the bar in customer satisfaction by providing an
end-to- end, 'one voice' customer interface for order entry,
technical hotline support, and a variety of business-critical
account maintenance functions," said Joe Borgstrom, Director of
Operations, Agfa Consumer Imaging. "The result: a strong boost to
our professional, mass and independent retailer customers in their
efforts to deliver the highest possible quality with quick
turnaround, while keeping overhead low and margins healthy."
Borgstrom recently joined Agfa North America from Agfa's Consumer
Imaging Global Operations group based in Europe, in order to head
up the expanding North American operations. Borgstrom noted that
the Customer Care Center is implementing a number of innovative
processes and an advanced infrastructure geared to maximize
customer satisfaction. These include: * Creation of distinct teams
of CSRs and tech support personnel dedicated to serving
professional labs, independent and mass retailers. * Implementation
of a customized call allocation system that enables customers to
remain in contact with the same Agfa representative throughout the
process. * Siting of CSRs and tech support under one roof to
facilitate close communication between the two groups, making it
easy to transfer a customer from one to the other during a call,
when appropriate. * Resolution of issues using remote diagnostics,
allowing a technical support representative to examine and
manipulate a customer's Agfa equipment. * A full complement of Agfa
d-labs on site, enabling a tech support representative to follow a
customer's description of an issue with an actual machine, and thus
to be able to respond more effectively. The Customer Care Center is
headed by Jeff Binder, North American Customer Care Manager, who
joined Agfa in February. More than 30 of Binder's 35 years of
experience in managing customer service and technical support
operations in call center environments was gained as manager of
customer care for 3M's Imaging Systems Division. "Coming to Agfa
represents a tremendous opportunity in creating a comprehensive,
top-flight customer care operation," Binder said. "In our new
full-service Customer Care Center, Agfa has clearly pulled out the
stops in its initiative to stay competitive by putting customers
first." "Jeff Binder is an experienced professional with expertise
in managing technical as well as customer service organizations,"
said Borgstrom. "He brings a wealth of knowledge in these areas,
and has a solid performance record in managing a large customer
care operation providing a multiplicity of services." Retailers
applaud Customer Care Center performance The Customer Care Center
is already winning kudos from retail customers who are leveraging
Agfa offerings to provide the public with exciting new digital
services. "The technical support we have received is first-rate,"
said Gina Dery, president of TNT Color Lab, Inc., Ringwood, N.J.
"The Customer Care Center staff is extremely well-versed in the
operation of our d-lab.1 equipment, and they are able to walk us
through the few issues we've had, enabling us to stay up and
running without any serious hitches." Said Gennaro Raimo,
President, Bernardsville One-Hour Photo LLC, Millburn, N.J., "Our
experience with the Agfa Customer Care Center has been tremendous.
We dial one toll-free number for everything -- for tech support,
ordering, credit, and contract-related service. We place orders
about once a week for our two locations, and it's been very
convenient and useful in helping us to keep our business running
smoothly." About Agfa The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's
leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets
analog and digital systems, intended for the photography industry,
healthcare, micrographics, motion picture and graphics markets.
Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active
in 40 countries and has 120 agents throughout the world. Together
they achieved a turnover of 5,100 million Euros in 2003. Product
and company information can be found on Agfa's home page on the
World Wide Web at: http://www.agfa.com/. DATASOURCE: Agfa Consumer
Imaging CONTACT: Wynne Ahern, Communication Strategies, LLC,
+1-510-663-3213, ; or Dan Unger, Agfa Consumer Imaging,
+1-201-373-4293, Web site: http://www.agfanet.com/
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