PPB November 2021

Victoria Melchor Program Manager Image Source Houston, Texas W hen Victoria Melchor went to work for distributor Image Source four years ago as an account coordinator, she brought along customer service skills honed by working for one of the most customer service-focused companies on Earth— The Walt Disney Company. “I had the amazing opportunity to work at Walt Disney World as an event coordinator where great customer service was key in creating magic for the clients,” she says. “My department produced corporate and private events. My No. 1 goal going into work each day was to make sure the clients were happy.” Her nominator Cindy Tsuji, senior account executive, is on the receiving end of that customer service and their tempo as a team is especially critical because Melchor is in Houston and Tsuji is in Seattle. “She starts early and stays late,” says Tsuji. “She has the best demeanor with our clients, and they love her. She was born with a sense of urgency and commitment. I have the easy part of just doing the selling. She has the toughest job of following up to ensure everything is delivered to the client as expected. Service can be taught as a skill but when it is embedded within your DNA, it is priceless.” With today’s inventory and shipping delays, Melchor says she has to pay even closer attention to production times as well as product availability when sending quotes to a customer. She believes it is crucial to be transparent with customers on the supply chain challenges to set expectations. “I have seen many estimated restock dates being pushed out. In these instances, it’s important to have backup options to present to the customer so that, in the end, they will have the items needed in time,” she says. In Victoria’s Words What inspires you to go above and beyond what customers expect? Finding the right promotional product is not something we want our customers to worry about as this is what we do. My goal and my team’s goal is to make this part of our customer’s job as easy as possible for them. The customers look to us to come up with ideation, and I strive to learn our customers’ stories, what they do and what their intentions are for the products, so that we can customize what they are looking for and suggest something useful and meaningful. What’s your best advice for others wanting to improve their customer service skills? Make your customers a priority and have patience. Sometimes they may not know what they want or even know what they are looking for. It is important to educate your customers on the process because this will eliminate any miscommunication or misunderstanding. Most importantly, always put yourself in the customers’ shoes and view everything from their perspective. How would you want to be treated if the roles were reversed? What’s an example of the best service you’ve received, why was it impressive and how did it make you feel? When I traveled to Japan with my husband, we were at a restaurant in Shizuoka where the server brought us the wrong drink. We drank it anyway, but she was extremely apologetic about it. She reordered the correct drink and brought it to us. On top of doing that, she also gave us a free bag of cookies for the inconvenience. We were very appreciative of our server for going above and beyond to make the situation right. It is an exchange I will never forget and the next time we visit, we will definitely be repeat customers. FEATURE | PPB Service Superheroes 32 | NOVEMBER 2021 |