After two weeks running from department to department to hunt for files, I was frustrated at the amount of time I wasted. Why was it difficult to find a customer’s file? Why was there a place for everything, but nothing in its place? I was the file clerk and if this was to be the daily course of my job for every 8 hour day, I felt I was not going to survive even my first 30 days at this timeshare company.
Problem
Everyone was filing folders on his or her own terms and more than one department and the file clerk was wasting time looking for customer information.
Situation
Every sale to a customer generated a new hard copy file folder which included a copy of the customers signed contract and credit card transaction receipt. There were four timeshare resorts and for filing each resort had a unique color. The file system included orange, red, green and yellow folders separated by resort. The files were kept in ~15 drawers of metal file cabinets that lined the customer service row. Customer service representatives pulled files at will to reference contracts and terms to answer customer questions and resolve issues while on service calls. Several departments used the files during the term of the customer’s relationship – Sales, Contracts, Resales, and Customer Service. Each person was individually responsible for refiling folders when they were finished using the file. As the file clerk I was responsible for finding any requested file that was not in the drawer, and if a file was lost, I would create a duplicate file of the initial contract which was the only document I had access to reprint. When sales were canceled these files were pulled and filed separately in the Sales Department.
Corrective Actions
- For a week I asked everyone to request any files from me and to return the files to me to refile them. I was able to determine how often departments pulled files, and how long they kept them. After the week I hovered during peak call times to pull files that any CSR needed.
- Files pulled by CSRs some times sat for days at their desks and sometimes got lost. CSR’s were not allowed to log off from calls to refile the folders. CSRs agreed to leave the files at their desks and at the end of every day, I refiled all files in the customer service department. I created an inbox as one place for all other Departments to drop off files for me to re-file. This reduced the number of misfiled folders and gave CSRs time to focus on service and not filing.
- Many lost files were in the resales department. The Resale Manager and I decided that she would note the customer’s account for the CSRs so they knew the files the customer was doing a resale. This eliminated the majority of requests for duplicate files. and the Manager made customer notes on the computer that the file was
- Any files that were pulled cancellation of a sale or for name corrections were tracked on a new cancellations/corrections log. Cancellations and corrections were red-labeled and filed in the same drawers with the existing customer files. This kept all files within the same structure while using red labels to distinguish them and saved money since new file folders were not being created.
Results
Now that I was individually pulling files for CSR, I was able to notice how frequently files were pulled for CSR to address customer calls about misspelled names on timeshare contracts. I found a new problem to solve.