Providing Customer Service in El Paso

ChapterTerra Grande District Meeting

May 1-2, 2015El Paso, Texas

ELP-JRZ Chapter• ELP population: Over 831K

• JRZ population: Over 1.9M

• 300 + Twin plants Operations across the Border

• Fort Bliss - 2nd largest military installation

• APICS ELP Chapter - Over 32 years operating

• Bi-national, Bi-cultural, Bilingual

• Key BOD long-time members provide good stability

• 7 CPIM Instructors• 2 US Instructors• 3 Bilingual Instructors• 2 MX Instructors, 3rd one in progress

• 3 CSCP Instructors

• At least 6 can do Principles

The Experience

• “Create a Customer experience that goes above and beyond of what the participants expect, from the moment they walk into the class location, to the very last moment of the class”.

Jorge Olmos, CPIM Master Instructor

The Location

• We use our Student members to assist us ensuring all arrangements are properly taken care of, before participants arrive. They can take the class for free as a reward.

• Despite the opinion of some that believe that tables and chairs are enough to provide a good learning environment. It is my personal opinion that with a more complex and demanding marketplace, this may not be true for all participants. They have other options….

• Take care of the details: location must be clean, carpet recently vacuumed, well lit, temperature appropriate, and the table covers clean…

• We always have extra paper-pads, pens, pencils,

The Location• The room set up is prepared as requested, and set up complete

before participants start showing up

• Coffee is fresh made, is hot, and tastes good. Nothings welcomes your guests like a good cup of coffee for a morning class

• In our MX classes, we offer meals both in the morning and for lunch, we try to provide decent meals, beside the usual coffee/drinks breaks

The Participants

• Be prepared for all: “50% of them came because their bosses sent them”• “50% came because they read Supply Chain Management in the

course description, and was part of their job requirement• The rest - less than half really knew what they were coming for, or

they are your friends!• In reality, not everyone knows about APICS or our Certifications, so be

prepared to handle this, and use it to our advantage• They are the generation of technology. If you have kids, you know

exactly what I mean. Being attentive, not using their cells or tablets during class, reading, or doing homework is not in their nature.

The Instructor

• The top seller in our Chapter to sell classes. We depend on this resource success/ failure to promote our offerings

• The usual recommendations:• Be on time• Professional appearance• Projects authority, yet, is not a dictatorship• Is prepared. Students can tell he/she knows the Subject matter (still is modest)• Stays updated of the BOK, and current events, trends, etc.• Maintains the discipline, will not let the “little rascals” to take over control of the

group

The Instructor

• The participants lapse of attention has changed. Be fully aware of it• Be aware from the first moments of the diversity of the class, the different

levels of experience, and identify who:

• Will help you make the class flow• The funny guys• The Shy ones• The ones that know it all• The ones that distract the class• The ones that are new to the BOK• The Cyber kids

• Once you know where you stand, use these differences to build/complement your delivery. Most of them, regardless of what group they represent, can contribute to the class if you are sensitive to these differences!

The Instructor

• Your voice is a key. You will be surprised how many instructors lose their audience in the first 5 minutes of the presentation because, they cannot maintain the attention of the participants (low voice-difficult to hear, monotonous, etc.)

• Good Instructors/Presenters feel immediately when they start losing their audience’s attention, and act upon it

• Sometimes the topics in the CPIM material jump from one topic to another unrelated one, with little or no transition. A good instructor knows how to “fade-out and fade-in” into the next topic

• Very important, correlates the BOK to its practical application in the Industry, can use examples people easily relate to, and what is the real life application of the material

The Instructor

• Insert materials from other sources/references, to complements topics that will enrich the understanding of the topic for the participants, specially topics described in a very light manner in the PG’s

• And why not, improvise using proper humor, to break tedious topics, or when the attention is going down, without taking the attention completely off the subject. Properly used, good humor re-energizes the audience!

The Class Administrator

• The liaison between Customers and our APICS Chapter. Not a BOD member, paid resource based on results

• Critical role. Has probably as much or more contact with the Customers than the Instructors, and certainly, much more than the rest of the Board!

• Must represent the Chapter with Professionalism. This resource is the Chapter face to the Customer

• Supports our Customers & potential customers e-mail requests, and maintains our business network (LinkedIn). Stays in front of the HR-Training key people to present our offerings. Invite them to come our opening class to see what is this all about

The Class Administrator

• Markets the classes, arranges location, coordinates with Director of Education, orders materials, and for us, “smuggles” them across the border, and if there is

sometime left, collects our receivables, organizes the participant recognition events, and meets periodically with

potential Customers and Education director to review potential classes. Not a small job!

• On top of all this, this resource always keeps the personal touch: brings pens, pencils, erasers, markers, and all sort of supplies, in case students may need anything, including candies, chocolates, etc. when the afternoon hours start taking a toll!

Some items that make our classes have a distinction among other local options

• We provide reasonable meals to our participants, within a negotiated cost, and make the selections as if they were for our guests!

• Recognize students who demonstrate subject knowledge, and whose participation enriches the class experience (gift certificate in each class)

• Recognize the groups who have formed and completed the complete CPIM/CSCP modules with a special event during the last class of the course (formal meal, group picture, post picture in newspaper)

Some items that make our classes have a distinction among other local options

• Walk them through the membership process, and assist them with personal follow up with any questions or suggestions• Organize post-class exam preparation sessions for those planning to take the

certification exam• Recognize participants who have taken and passed a CPIM module ($25 per

module)• We are focused in building relationships, even for those coming for 1 class

only • Presence with the local Chamber of Commerce, to participate in their events

• When a participant is a subject matter expert, let him/her present a small section and share some of their experience with other participants.• Always make time to promote coming PDM’s, specially when the topic

relates well with the material being presented in the class• Often times participants express issues in some areas, whereas others

are strong in that part, and weak in a different one. Great opportunity for plant tours to do non-competitive benchmarking, and networking

Some items that make our offerings have a distinction among other local options

• Phone applications: for the dictionary, flashcards and the APICS Magazine.

• Post job offerings/internship opportunities coming through Chapter contacts or inquiries

• Prepare and provide personalized brochures at the beginning of the CPIM cycle with APICS info and membership form.

• Social responsibility. We give back to our communities.• Christmas Donations • Collaborative Partner with the University of Texas ELP, Universidad Autonoma de Juarez, and the

Tecnologico de Juarez• Support Student Chapter Members• Speakers for the Student chapters, other Non-for Profit organizations and the MX Chamber of

Commerce

Some items that make our offerings have a distinction among other local options

CPIM 2013

CSCP 2013

Publish in the newspaper

CSCP 2014

CPIM 2013

CPIM 2014

CPIM 2014

CPIM 2014

Competition makes us stronger, but never underestimate the competition!

Change is unavoidable….Pain is Optional!

Thank you!

Jorge O.