Customer Service with a Smile: Excellence Always

Our world, and the way technology impacts the way we do business, is constantly changing but there is one constant that stands the test of time: customer service excellence is what makes good companies great, creating icons in the world of business.

Best-in-class customer service starts with having clients’ best interests at heart and is built upon the foundation of a great team – people who set themselves apart, go above and beyond and deliver real value to the customers they support every day.

At Milliken we value each and every customer as well as our amazing customer service associates worldwide, who work inclusively and collaboratively to maintain excellence in nine key categories of care, providing clients with consistently excellent service and minimizing errors. Cross trained teams, daily checks and audits keep work flowing and help to prevent delays.

Carine Van De Velde has worked with Milliken for 36 years. After starting at Milliken Industrials, she found a welcome home at Milliken Chemical as a customer service representative based in Belgium. “As a customer service representative, the most important thing is that you are the first point of contact for your customer if they need information about their material or deliveries. Every order is different because every customer is different, so you have to know which things you have to keep in mind for each customer,” she says.

Carine’s colleague, Angie Navia, is also based at Milliken’s office in Belgium as customer service representative in Supply Chain, Plastic Additives where she supports customers across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Russia. “The global nature of my customer portfolio excites me the most. One moment I might be speaking with our Spanish customers and the minute after I could be discussing matters with customers from the United Arab Emirates or Russia. I love building new relationships around the globe.”

In Milliken’s Pune office in India, Ravindra Uttekar ensures that customers in India and South Asia are effectively supported in all pre- and post- sales activities. “This means ensuring that myself and my colleagues have a good relationship with the Customer Team, Global Supply Chain & Logistics Team and the Asia Milliken Sales Team, providing visibility to all stakeholders to drive outstanding performance.”

With a state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing plant and knowledge center in Singapore scheduled to open in 2021, Milliken is expanding its presence in the important, and growing, Asian market. May Ying Pong is with Milliken’s Chemical division in Singapore where she manages customers’ product orders and other needs. She prides herself on customer communication, “I receive and process customer orders, manage logistics, and ensure that product delivery is on time and professionally undertaken, updating on any challenges to avoid production line problems at a customer’s end.”

In Shanghai, Hanna Huang works in the chemical supply chain department as a customer representative, responsible for handling sales orders, monitoring payments, dealing with customers’ challenges and anything else that falls on her desk. She says she loves her daily dealings with people, “As a company I feel Milliken really encourages employees to be involved, it provides an open platform to share ideas and to contribute to company processes and growth. People are really willing to listen and adopt your ideas if they are reasonable.”

Half a world away Luciano Santos works in the Customer Service and Supply Chain Department as a Foreign Trade Analyst, responsible for taking care of customers in Latin America. He reflects on how the quality of Milliken’s products helps to motivate customer service teams, “Milliken has amazing products, and we need to be extraordinary so those products can be delivered to our customers. This really motivates me to continually improve, and this is when I feel like part of something much bigger.”

Axel Israel also works out Brazil’s Sao Paolo office, connecting the commercial, sales and supply business units, helping to oversee inbound and outbound activities, ensuring a seamless operation. “I am responsible for LATAM customers and I like to help them through the whole process, ensuring that products arrive with them in the best and fastest way. Every day we face different challenges and we always do our best.”

Another colleague, Sarah Alves, is constantly looking for the best solutions for Milliken’s customers if any problems arise. “I’m currently working on a project to create a satisfaction survey with the aim of adding value to the company through customer insights, highlights and feedback,” she says.

Jessica Smith and Angela Griffin work for Milliken in the United States where, like Sarah Alves, Jessica has been involved in a specific project to improve customer care, “In 2020 I led a focus group team ‘To Improve our Knowledge of Customers, Products, and Business to Elevate the Customer Experience’. It was an exciting opportunity to learn something new whilst helping our many different customers,” she reflected.

Angela Griffin has supported clients in North America for 14 years and also works closely with other regions. Her perspective to customer care excellence exemplifies Milliken’s approach and shows why the company will be a customer service leader in years to come, “I love building personal relationships with customers so that they know I am here and will do all I can to help fulfill any and every need they may have. I hope through this they realize they are more than just “a sale” to us, that they are an important part of our daily work lives.”