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FOR RELEASE: Apr. 6, 2009
BACK IN THE USA -- Christian Feuer, left, listens in on the conversation
as Orchard Brands Customer Services representative Martha Sampson talks with
a Draper's & Damon's customer from the Orchard Brands Service Center in Warren,
PA. Feuer, Interim Chief of Executive Officer of Draper's & Damon's, recently
made the decision to return the company's call center to the U.S. from the Philippines
because offshore customer service operations were negatively impacting sales.
DRAPER'S & DAMON'S RETURNS CALL CENTERS TO UNITED STATES
IRVINE, Calif.,
(Apr. 6, 2009) - The evidence mounted with each successive call; and as it did,
so did Christian Feuer's certainty that his company made a serious mistake when
it sent its customer service calls overseas in 2005.
Feuer, who was named Interim Chief Executive Officer of California-based Draper's
& Damon's last year, was trying to get to the bottom of his company's declining
sales by listening to his customers place orders with the company's off-shore
call center in the Philippines.
"When I listened to calls answered by our off-shore call center, I immediately
heard a subtle tone of frustration in our customers' voices," Feuer recalls.
"In the end, the sale associates were friendly, but not able to connect culturally
with our customer. One could say they were not 'in tune' with her and could
not help when the conversation went off the normal 'script.' After listening
to a few calls, I realized that we had to make a change."
A deeper analysis of that cultural disconnect revealed that Draper's & Damon's
was losing orders because of it.
"We found any number of abandoned calls which should have ended in orders,"
Draper's & Damon's Vice President Dennis Diemer revealed.
Draper's & Damon's had been acquired by Massachusetts-based Orchard Brands in
2006, so Feuer and his team began sharing notes with executives from the portfolio
company's other direct-market retailers.
"When we compared our order-to-call ratio with our sister companies, we realized
what we had missed," said Diemer - Draper's & Damon's success rate at converting
its customers' calls into orders was markedly lower.
With that knowledge in hand, Feuer had the evidence he needed to support his
instincts. Draper's & Damon's would move its call center back to the United
States.
"The decision was an easy one," Feuer recalls. "Draper's & Damon's moved its
call center off-shore to save money, but what good is saving money if you lose
customers and orders because of it. In the end, our success is not based on
low cost but on high customer satisfaction."
Draper's & Damon's prides itself upon personal, caring service and its trademark
"Happiness Guarantee," the simple promise that "If you're not happy, we're not
happy!" The experiment in outsourcing customer calls to an off-shore center
clearly didn't support that mission, says Feuer.
While Draper's & Damon's management knew that moving its call center back to
the United States was the right thing to do regardless of labor costs, Feuer
and his team were pleasantly surprised by what was possible within the U.S.
"When we asked the Orchard Brands call center group in Warren, PA to quote the
cost for calls, we expected an increase," Feuer said. "But we knew we had to
make the move to live up to our customer commitment. A combination of first-class
management and organization, plus shortened call times, led to flat cost. After
realizing that our sales actually would increase through a reduction in abandoned
calls, we saw that our financial performance would improve from 'Day 1'. Being
able to better serve our customer, improve our bottom line, and add jobs to
the U.S. economy during a national recession made this a win from every angle."
Once Feuer's management team made its decision, Orchard Brands' call center
operations team, which had two years of experience integrating work from Orchard's
growing family of companies, geared up for Draper's & Damon's.
"When we were asked to take the Draper's & Damon's calls, we were excited,"
said Cynthia Dziendziel, Orchard Brands Vice President of Customer Service Operations.
"Within two weeks, we had a plan; and within three months, we hired an additional
50 associates and accomplished the transition. The customer feedback is outstanding."
Draper's & Damon's customers began having their calls answered at Orchard Brands'
Warren, PA center on March 23, and the switch from the Philippines to the United
States is winning rave reviews.
A Vermont customer, Mary S. Kenney, seemed to sum up the aggravation with overseas
call centers felt by many Draper's & Damon's customers and appreciation for
the move back to the U.S.
"Any time I get an answer from overseas, I've come to cease placing orders because
it is aggravating," she added to the Orchard Brands call center associate in
Pennsylvania.
Another Draper's & Damon's customer, Edouard Pinede of California, put his view
on the switch back to a U.S. call center in the simplest possible terms.
"Thank you. A customer wants people who can understand them," he said.
"It really is that simple," Feuer concluded. "Our company lost sight of that
basic truth in its eagerness to cut costs, but outstanding customer service
is back at the top of the agenda at Draper's & Damon's."
About Draper's
& Damon's
The company was founded by Virginia and Simeon Draper in Pasadena, CA in 1927
as "Draper's Studio of Modes." It has grown to 44 stores and three outlets located
in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Texas and Virginia.
In addition, it publishes more than 20 million catalogs per year and maintains
a website for online shoppers. Draper's & Damon's is a member of the Orchard
Brands family of companies, a group of direct order and retail companies catering
to the growing market of consumers over 55 years old.
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