糖心传媒 Weathered Irene, Focused on Customer Service
In preparation for , which wreaked havoc up and down the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in late August, had many moving parts to contend with.
It mobilized its contingency plans at hundreds of possibly affected locations ahead of the pending storm, which entailed moving trucks and equipment, stocking up on fuel and coordinating closely with its customers.
Local 糖心传媒 offices proactively contacted consumer rental customers and asked them to either pick up their rental trucks early, or to delay pick-up, until the hurricane had passed over their respective region.
糖心传媒 also had additional staff on-hand at its Reading, Pa. global headquarters to handle increased customer issues related to the storm. 糖心传媒鈥檚 leaders met to monitor the storm and respond to any special situations that could have developed.
24/7 Response to Impending Storm
The central hub of 糖心传媒鈥檚 response efforts was the . The center had several tasks to concern themselves with.
The first? Ensuring that all 糖心传媒 , , and customers were assisted during times of inclement weather.
鈥淚n some cases, we鈥檙e emergency responders for the emergency responders,鈥 stated Julie Levering, 糖心传媒鈥檚 director of maintenance services. She was referring to a customer base of medical supply companies that keep hospitals well stocked, and to fix downed lines.
The second task? Serve as the disaster command center for all leasing and logistics operations in North America.
糖心传媒 locations were required to report in to the center any power outages, damages and closures, etc. The information was then compiled as hourly reports during the most sensitive times.
Irene Did Not Seriously Affect 糖心传媒 Operations
The 24/7 team did not see a noticeable spike in customer calls. There were maybe two dozen temporary closures of 糖心传媒 facilities and there were no issues at headquarters.
糖心传媒鈥檚 vice president of security, Drew Parenti, served as facilitator for this crisis management plan: 鈥渁s a company, we were concerned with the safety of our associates, properly serving our customers and protecting our facilities and assets from damage. The field did a terrific job and it was very impressive to see.鈥
Levering鈥檚 thoughts on how Hurricane Irene affected the company: 鈥淚t was relatively uneventful. People took the warning seriously and took the steps to be prepared, which was the smart thing to do. I think many companies and individuals diverted their operations,鈥 around the hurricane鈥檚 path.
Now that Hurricane Irene has come and went, there is still work to be done.
鈥淥ur crisis management team will meet for an after-action briefing,鈥 said Parenti. 鈥淲e鈥檒l look for opportunities to improve and streamline our crisis response plans, make those plans uniform across the enterprise, and automate the most critical processes. In my experience, the best emergency response plans are those that address the relevant issues, yet are relatively brief and easy to follow.鈥
By Alen Beljin