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Delivering Outstanding Customer Service Takes Hard Work!

December 5^th, 2008 by Kraig Kuipers

Today, by way of the Rackspace Blog, I read a special guest post by Douglas Hanna. As a customer service expert, journalist, and the author of Service Untitled, one of the leading customer service blogs in the blogosphere, Douglas works with and reports on companies from a variety of sectors. Just recently, I learned that Douglas was one of the contest judges who evaluated this year's applications for THE FANATI™ Award.

BRAGGING ALERT: In case you’re new to this blog, in October, 2008, Pangea Foundation was named THE FANATI Award winner. Awarded by Rackspace®, THE FANATI is a coveted honor that recognizes Pangea Foundation’s passionate commitment to delivering outstanding customer service. Pangea Foundation was previously named a finalist for THE FANATI Award in 2007. END BRAGGING.

In his blog post, Douglas first talks about THE FANATI Award contest itself. Then he offers some chewy nuggets about delivering award-winning customer service. But perhaps the chewiest nugget of all is this:

“Work hard for your customers and they will show you their appreciation by referring their friends and colleagues.”

True indeed.

As I’ve said before, I’m proud of each and every Pangean for their efforts to deliver customer service excellence to America’s leading nonprofits day in and day out; that said we all understand there’s room for improvement. So I’m adding Service Untitled to the list of blogs we read at Pangea Foundation. And let me encourage you to do so, too.

But first, why not head over to the Rackspace Blog right now to check out the guest post by Douglas Hanna.

Do you have an approach to customer service that sets you apart? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below (or email me directly: kraig-at-pangeafoundation-dot-org)!

Categories:	Latest News \| Servant Leadership \| Social Entrepreneurship
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Delivering Award-Winning Customer Service

November 4^th, 2008 by Kraig Kuipers

In my last post, I mentioned that Pangea Foundation received THE FANATI™ Award. The 2008 FANATI Award, presented by Rackspace®, honors the one Rackspace customer that has best demonstrated excellence in delivering customer service. As you can imagine, we are incredibly proud of the men and women of Pangea Foundation for their outstanding achievement.

Here’s how we see it: The best customer service professionals cannot be separated from their work. Serving others is not only what they do. It’s who they are.

It’s not enough just to have goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics. You need a servant’s heart. You must believe entirely in the products you’re producing. In the services you’re delivering. In the value you’re creating for others.

Yes… it takes a passion for excellence. It’s a passion that doesn’t just exist on the surface. It originates from deep within.

Of course, you could “get by” without having a vigorous passion for delivering outstanding customer service. But who said “getting by” makes for a meaningful life… right? After all, how do you make a positive impact that way?

At Pangea Foundation, I have the incredible honor of working with a team of outstanding people. People who measure up—especially when it counts. People who have a servant’s heart.

Leaders.

The men and women of Pangea Foundation are “servant leaders”. Engaging in “servant leadership” is an essential part of delivering what Pangeans call Client-Intimate Service™. The servant leadership model advocates that everyone on our team is part leader, part servant. Its primary purpose is to lift up both the people we serve and the people with whom we serve.

As servant leaders, our commitment is centered on the belief that, although we deliver software-as-a-service, our primary role is to empower America’s nonprofits with solutions to magnify their impact—exponentially.

The daily investments we make in creating a legacy of service at Pangea Foundation results in feelings of personal satisfaction and pride that only come from rendering service to others.

But try as we may, we know we’re not perfect. We never will be. We understand that. And yet we want to try to improve. We’ll never stop trying. And we’d love to learn from you.

What are some of the ways you deliver customer service excellence in your organization?

Categories:	Latest News \| Servant Leadership \| Social Entrepreneurship \| Software-as-a-Service
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We Won THE FANATI™ Award!We Won THE FANATI™ Award!

November 3^rd, 2008 by Kraig Kuipers

Kristin and I just returned from the Rackspace® Customer Conference in San Antonio where Rackspace’s Chairman, Graham Weston, announced the winner of the Second Annual ‘THE FANATI’ Award.

I’m pleased to say that Pangea Foundation won! You can read how it all went down by clicking “Rackspace Awards Second Annual ‘THE FANATI™’ Award to Pangea Foundation”.

Rackspace introduced THE FANATI to recognize the customer service excellence of other companies in an effort to promote customer service among all businesses today. THE FANATI honors the one Rackspace customer that has best demonstrated excellence in delivering customer service.

Serving more than 31,000 customers worldwide, Rackspace is distinguished by its award-winning Fanatical Support®. As a two time winner of the American Business Awards’ “Best Customer Service Organization”, Rackspace gets it!

Not only is Rackspace the world’s leader in hosting, the people at Rackspace (called Rackers) are sincerely committed to delivering on the company’s mission to be one of the world’s greatest service companies. As a Rackspace customer for nearly two years, Pangea Foundation has consistently experienced that commitment firsthand. And time and time again, it has made all the difference in the world.

As you can imagine, we are deeply honored to receive this customer service award. We’re not perfect and there’s always room to make improvements. At the same time, this award is validation that we are doing some things right.

So, thanks again to Rackspace. Congrats to my fellow Pangeans. And most importantly thank you to our customers!

It’s a privilege to serve you!

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Members Project: How We WonMembers Project: How We Won

September 9^th, 2008 by Kraig Kuipers

Okay… so our Members Project didn’t win. It didn’t even make the Top 25. But we still won!

(Stay with me...)

During the past month we have experienced the gracious support and enthusiastic encouragement of some of the most incredible people across North America—our amazing clients, our dedicated employees, our trusted technology partners, our loyal friends, and our dear family members. It was truly wonderful and we cannot begin to thank you enough.

Altogether, more than 5,000 people were sent emails about our project. So we were able to build increased awareness of the important role technology can play in the nonprofit sector; particularly the compelling advantages of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Why is that important?

Here’s why: To create large-scale impact that endures, nonprofits need to leverage technology more effectively than they’ve done in the past.

You’ve likely heard it said that “if you don’t know where you’re headed, any road will get you there.” But knowing your final destination isn’t good enough. Imagine if there were no street signs, gauges, or warning lights to guide you toward that destination; no indicators to signal if you’re on the correct path; little to tell you where you are. How long would it take you to get to your destination? Could you get there? Well… that’s what public benefit charities are forced to do without software.

Software provides real-time intelligence, providing better visibility across the organization. Better visibility improves decision-making. And better decisions mean better outcomes for people in need. And it means something else, too—increased funder confidence.

When funder confidence increases, funding support increases. Funders are transformed into investors. And when funders are transformed into investors, public benefit charities have a better opportunity to remain sustainable and serve people for years to come.

While businesses use “Business Intelligence” software to drive success, cost and technical barriers have historically prevented charities from using it to deepen community impact. But Pangea Foundation is changing all that, delivering Nonprofit Business Intelligence via the SaaS delivery model.

Studies show that, not only is the total cost of ownership for SaaS between five and ten times less than it is for traditional on-premise software, SaaS deployments are up to 90 percent faster than deployments of traditional on-premise software.

That’s why the world’s leading companies are adopting and deploying SaaS solutions to solve their business problems. It’s why more and more nonprofits are adopting SaaS. And it’s why Pangea Foundation is so excited about empowering America’s nonprofits with SaaS.

Finally… let me say this: Even though our project didn’t win, I would like to honor all of you who supported us by reminding you of this famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

So thank you one final time for supporting our Members Project, for joining us in the arena, for striving with us, for spending your efforts in a worthy cause. We did not succeed this time. Some would say we failed, but as T.R. said, at least we failed “while daring greatly.”

Categories:	Latest News \| Nonprofit Business Intelligence \| Social Entrepreneurship \| Software-as-a-Service
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Members Project: Top 9%... so far!Members Project: Top 9%... so far!

September 3^rd, 2008 by Kraig Kuipers

Okay… so first I have to admit that I meant to post this yesterday.

It’s been quite busy around here lately. Pangeans across the United States have been working like crazy to deploy software to help people coordinate the Hurricane Gustav relief efforts.