The Issue

Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market® is now the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods. Paramount to the Whole Foods Market corporate philosophy is their commitment to customer satisfaction. They aim to turn customers into advocates of Whole Foods Market. They are committed to dealing with customers efficiently, knowledgeably and with flair. Whole Foods Market – Fresh Pond, like every Whole Foods Market location, operates its own independent call center to handle the large volume of calls the store receives. These calls are used by customers of the branch with sales or customer service questions that are critical to the branch’s ability to provide said customers with quality customer service.

Customers who drop a call because of dissatisfaction with a long hold time directly impact the fiscal well-being of this Whole Foods Market branch because they were not given exemplary service, and thus are not likely to become advocates of Whole Foods Market. Conversely, if a hold time is not too long and is presented in an enjoyable style, this affords the branch an opportunity to promote store events to a captive audience. Prior to becoming clients of Spectrio, Whole Foods Market – Fresh Pond used Muzak for their OnHold™ Messaging. They discovered limitations with the Muzak system:

• All stores throughout the Midwest region had to use the same message
• They were limited to one message change per quarter (four per year)
• The update process necessitated each store being mailed a tape to manually install into their system.

This Muzak system cost $300 for installation and $75/month.

The Spectrio Solution

A six month trial of the Spectrio On-Hold Messaging system was able to offer quantifiably improved customer service over Muzak in several ways:

• Messages used information about events and promotions specific to their location.
• Updates to the messages as frequently as the store desired. Modular approach allows time-sensitive material to expire on a pre- determined date, without changing the general tone or content of the main message.
• After the initial installation of the messaging device into the phone system, all message updates are made by remote upload.

The Outcome

Over the course of their six month trial period, Whole Foods Market – Fresh Pond received positive feedback from both customers and regional leadership. Dave Lannon, President of Whole Foods Market Northeast Region, was initially a “big opponent” of the idea but now “really loves” the SPECTRIO system, and even instructed other corporate leadership to “call into Fresh Pond and get put on hold.” Lannon said he wants to “go wide” with the SPECTRIO system, and roll it out to their other locations. SPECTRIO currently services over 65 locations and counting!

“The latest interface is very user-friendly. But, if you ever have a problem or need help, the ‘real people’ at Client Services are very quick to respond.” Chuck O., Marketing Team Leader

“SPECTRIO has provided me with consistently GREAT customer service. Their new web portal has made it even easier for me to change my messaging in a timely manner.” Marshall K., Marketing Team Leader “As a marketer in a retail environment, time is of the essence. I need to be able to make quick changes without a lot of hassle and that is why I enjoy using SPECTRIO’s Message On-Hold Web Portal. With a few clicks, I can get things done fast and easy and I know my customers are getting the information they need, in the moment, while on hold.” Lynay S., Marketing Team