At a recent Quarterly Manager's Meeting, customer service manager Rodney Vallejo and his “A” team’s performance ratings proved to be a high point. According to president Mike Lewer who expressed his appreciation during the meeting, Rodney and his team are “hitting on all cylinders.”
"Rodney and his team have done a great job processing enrollments, billing and reconciling premiums, paying claims, and providing outstanding customer service,” said Mike. “Our Claims Accuracy goal is 99 percent. We’re at 99.98 percent, and that’s while still paying claims inside a 7-day time frame.”
“When The Lewer Agency’s executive team meets with sponsoring accounts and schools and receives feedback regarding the high level of service we provide to our clients, we know we’re on track,” said Mike. “And when Lewer receives letters and emails, not only from its clients but from its sales reps and brokers, commending our service, we know we have an edge.”
After just three years of managing the customer service team at Lewer, Rodney has become known as “King of Customer Service,” and so we asked this expert just how he has managed to raise the bar. How, exactly, is Lewer growing its fine reputation for legendary service?
Rodney reports that he is just meeting expectations.
“Our customers expect a high level of customer service,” he says. “Schools rely on us to take care of their students. We make it a priority to get to know their needs and preferences. To accomplish this we follow established customer service guidelines.
“Firstly, our customer service coordinators know the importance of establishing a relationship with our schools. This helps us get on board quickly when it comes to understanding their preferences and internal administration procedures,” says Rodney.
“Secondly, our customer service team is aware of how important it is to relate and sympathize with students. We support a group of insured members who may not be very familiar with the benefits that they have been provided or the way the health system works in the United States. We show students how to maneuver through the health system process.
“Lastly, each of our customer service coordinators know it is important to find timely solutions when a student encounters a problem,” says Rodney. “Many of our insured members are either immigrants or international students who come to us for assistance when faced with an insurance-related problem regarding their medical providers, such as a past due bill or benefit code error. We know our job is to be here when they need us.
“In the end,” says Rodney, “our schools appreciate the communication, helpfulness, and timely solutions. Though we hear we’re doing a stellar job often, we never grow tired of hearing it!”
Lewer’s “edge” also comes from its ability to build caring relationships. “Even though I have never met most of the people I deal with in person, we have a great rapport. I feel like I know my clients on a personal level,” says Lynnette Hoover. “The schools have good relationships with their students and that also makes my job easier. They do what they can to help get matters resolved in a timely manner by providing me the information I need to resolve an issue. I have been in customer service for over 12 years. I really enjoy working with this group of clients.”
“It is difficult to single-out a particular favorite,” says customer service representative, Thuy Nguyen. “However, I have had an opportunity to get to know our more established clients in Seattle very well. Our conversations are often casual and comfortable. I like using my problem-solving skills and getting to the bottom of things so I can provide a prompt solution.”
The emails and phone calls commending Lewer service, though never routine, are more frequent these days. The day of this writing, Rodney received yet another email – this time from a client school in Texas. In the email the client wrote, “Thank you for your quick response, Rodney. I can always count on you.” At the end of her email, she inserted a smiley face...
LewerMark customer service manager, Rodney Vallejo, is proud of his "A Team"
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