Guides to customers in Escalation

phil Davitt

Hi Everyone, We are implementing a new escalation process, which includes engagement from CSMs, those responsible for the fix (depending on what the escalation is) and our leadership team.

I'd like to give a playbook to the CSMs giving guidance on when you raise an escalation and simple steps they can take when they move the account to Escalation. (For example, to what level do we keep the customer updated/in the loop that the account is in escalation etc.)

Rather than reinvent the wheel, is anyone happy to share what they have done before?

Thanks

Phil

James Conant

Ben makes some good points. SLA's and escalation procedures are codependent and subject to the various functional capabilities of an organization. The types of escalations are somewhat consistent and he provides a good list, but as he states the levels and the corresponding actions vary. For example, Amazon had an escalation policy utilizing the six sigma concept of an andon cord. In a manufacturing plant the andon cord was literally a cord an operator pulled to stop a process when an abnormal condition was detected. Amazon applied the concept within their service organization. If one of the items for sale on their platform resulted in a certain number of complaints (3 in some cases) the service person pulled the item off their site until the issue was resolved. Behind that decision is much forethought about the strategy and related operational design that enabled that capability. 

As you walk through the list of the service issues you anticipate, you'll need to tie the timing of actions to your company's capabilities and strategy. Youll need the input from process owners in the other areas, .....ops, implementation, development, etc.