Customer Service Plans are Vital for Direct Farm Marketers & Agritourism Farms
Agricultural Economics & Community Development
Eric Barrett
Associate Professor
Ohio State University Extension
Canfield
Abstract
Customer Service is an integral part of business success for all direct farm marketers and agritourism farms across the country and around the world. Customer service begins with the farm management team. It must be learned and implemented by every staff member at the farm. Through analyzing customer service literature and gaining additional insight relating to the positioning of business for success using customer service, a framework was developed to help farm direct marketers and agritourism farms with their customer service plans. This process starts with preparing best practices for customer service focused on the farm’s values and brand. This preparedness includes training and implementation at all levels of the farm business. The second step is the actions of responding to issues with customer satisfaction in every aspect of the business from staff members to direct interaction with customers. This includes delegation and authority on common issues. Third is active recovery from challenges with customer service to uphold the farm’s integrity, brand, and image. Finally, improvement is the final stage of the customer service plans. Farms work on continuous improvement, learning from challenges on a regular basis to continue the commitment to awesome customer service. This presentation will share the new model for customer service implementation on farms, teaching materials to be used in programming, as well as success stories from piloting the program on Ohio farms and research from implementation.
Authors: Eric Barrett, Robert, Kate Hornyak
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Eric Barrett Associate Professor, , Ohio, 44406
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Robert Leeds, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43015
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Kate Hornyak Program Coordinator, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43015