Serendipitous Windfall
Posted in Home and tagged with hellopeter, service on 11/10/2010 11:01 am by adminLife at MiWay is progressing really well. We have managed to weather the credit crunch storm, built a strong desirable brand, gained critical mass and all our operational processes are running like clockwork. The most pleasing of all, is the fact that the business has reached break-even on a month-by-month basis. All this has been achieved in a highly competitive market and in tough economic times.
We have reason to feel satisfied indeed. The most amazing part of our journey so far, however, has not been the obvious profit drivers of premium income, expense ratios and loss ratios, but rather the unexpected bonuses that flowed from some of the unique features we built into the design of the business model. The serendipitous windfall I want to focus on is the special relationship we have with our clients and the benefits that flow from that.
When we sat down to plan and design the business model, we recognised the fact that we live in the age of the consumer as well as the age of the internet. This has profound consequences for any business that plays in the service industry, because the consumer today has much more power than 10-15 years ago. Due to consumer websites such as hellopeter.com, the consumer of today is armed with the power to reach thousands, if not millions of internet users with his/her complaint/compliment. The implication for service organisations is obvious: there is no place to hide anymore. If you mess up, the whole world will read about it on the web. The days of sweeping bad service under the carpet, is over. The flipside of the coin, however, is that world-class service gets rewarded by clients posting compliments on those same consumer websites.
With this in mind, we decided to embrace the reality by being pro-active and allow our clients to post comments, good or bad, on our own website where the whole world can read it. We did this for two reasons: firstly, to give management quick feedback on where the bottlenecks and problem areas were – unhappy clients are often the greatest source of learning – and secondly, to drive the right behaviour amongst our staff. Our advisors quickly realised that poor service is punished by a complaint, whilst good service is rewarded by a compliment. And, of course, it is much more desirable that your friends and family read positive things about you on the web rather than negative things!
It took a lot of courage to take that step. I am not aware of any other company in SA who make their client comments transparent to the world. Just imagine the consequences if it blew up in our faces? After all we were just a start-up, with all the associated growing pains, which made us especially susceptible to errors and lapses in service standards.
We were in for a surprise! We created a service culture second-to-none. Our people are driven to deliver the kind of service that would solicit compliments, not complaints. We have by far the highest compliment ratio on hellopeter.com. I specifically mention this website, because it is totally independent and widely used by consumers. It also provides a “league table” that allows quick and easy comparisons with our peers. At the time of writing, MiWay enjoyed a 75% compliment ratio on a 12-month rolling basis. Our closest competitor was sitting on 41%, whilst the industry average was 29%! This is truly amazing, and certainly a victory for transparency and good old service excellence. Refer to the League Table (to the right) to see the current standings.
The lesson to me is that although it might require courage to do the right thing, it is often rewarded beyond expectations. Another truly amazing fact, is that as far as I know, MiWay is still the only company that allows their clients to post comments, good or bad, on their website. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
We are very aware of the fact that we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. We have to live up to these high standards set by ourselves every day.
We appreciate the willingness of our clients to share their experiences of our service with the world via the web. It inspires us to continue going the extra mile and to set new standards.
Kind regards,
October 14th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Dear Sir
What you say as the Senior Authority of Miway is always catching an eye. I am impressed, so to say. I wish to bring this to your attention. I am dissappointed in the way my claim was handled back in January 2010. My claim was rejected based on false and malicious EXPERT / FORENSIC reports. My Claim no: 41045. I have written an e mail to “claimscomplaints@centriq.co.za” on Tuesday and no response so far. I have proof that the report that was generated and used to make judgement was false,fabricated and malicious and more so damaging to serve the interest of individuals. It was reported in part that the vehicle was damages [engine seased]… and I had to abandon the car for so many months contemplating on how am I going to afford to repair it until my cousin advise me to make time to check the engine and the take it to engineering / motor machanic for repairs as that could be cheaper. We were so suprised that the engine turn manually and then we went straight to remove the sump for repairs [allumium welding and pressure test] that cost R250.00. We then replaced it then refilled the oil and the vehicle started.
No words can describe how I feel about this. I am now awaiting the response from Miway so I can plan my wayforward. I am sure as the CEO you will understand how damaging this can be. It is not my immidiate intention to refer this matter or sensationalize it but to resolve it emmicably.
You are welcome to inspect the car at my residence before I take it back on the road. Only few thing need to be taken care of [windcreen, dent an the bumper repair of the wheel and replace the tyres and a full inspection / service by the approved Honda dealer] all this I will do in the next two weeks as I am very busy for now.
I will forward the entire correspondence to you if you can provide me with your details. Alternatively check my details in your records and contact me to deliberate on this matter.
I WILL APPRECIATE YOUR UNDEVIDED ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
Kind Regards
Patrick
October 19th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Dear Mr Mogale,
Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Whilst I empathise with your predicament, I also have a duty to apply the conditions for cover under the policy fairly and consistently. I am awaiting feedback from my claims people, whereafter I will respond officially.
Regards,
Rene
October 20th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Dear Mr Mogale,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to look into the matter.
I have looked into the matter in detail and discussed the issue raised in your mail with our claims people. For the record though and to avoid any confusion, I would like to reiterate the claim was rejected on the basis that we were not supplied with the true and complete information / dishonesty. The process of determining whether a claim is valid or not involves us determining firstly whether the incident falls within the ambit of the cover provided, secondly that the policy conditions have been adhered to, and lastly that the incident as described occurred, and lastly to determine the extent and cost / extent of the damage. During the process of validating your claim, various discrepancies came to light, which we tried to clarify while processing the claim. However, the alleged scene of the accident, which you showed to our assessor, and the damage present on the vehicle did not tie up, leading us to believe that we have not been supplied with the true and complete information and our rights have therefore been prejudiced.
We appointed a technical expert to ascertain the extent of the damages to the engine, and you have previously been forwarded copies of this report. We have reviewed the report again and see no grounds for allegations that the report supplied was “fabricated and malicious” as you put it. If you do have proof of wrong doing then we will gladly look into the matter, however as mentioned earlier the basis for the rejection of the claim was not based solely on the expert report. If as you say the sump was repaired and oil added that the engine turned freely, then we are also at a loss to understand how the engine appeared seized when the vehicle was checked.
I also note that you have been in contact with Centriq, in June 2010 and again in October, and we have confirmation of their responses to you on both occasions. They have informed you that they are unable to fault the decision taken on your claim and have advised you of your rights to take action should you still not agree.
I really do sympathise with your predicament but feel that we have acted fairly and consistently in making our decision on your claim.
Regards
Rene
April 28th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Hi there, Ive just started using MIway for only 2 months to date & everytime I call for a query, I have absolutely excellent results. I have not regretted it signing up with MiWay whatsoever; Im sooo glad I chose MiWay. Im goin to be unemployed for the next 8months so the first thing I wanted to do was cancel, But with the Very Helpful Tebatso, she has decreased my premium so affordable to me so I wont be cancelling now. Thank you very very much MiWay. I really appreciate it. I honestly cannot be happier with Tebatso & MiWay for helping me out. Keep up the good work!!!!