In 2004, a Metrolink light rail train carrying more than 200 people derailed in Southern California after it hit a car that had parked on the track. As a result, 11 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.
Responding to a televised 800 number, the victims’ families called Metrolink’s customer service number that day, wanting any information on their loved ones. Amidst the chaos, those customer service agents quickly provided valuable information to the families of the victims and handled other commuters throughout Los Angeles looking for information on train schedules and delays. Those callers never knew that they were talking to customer service agents from Alta Resources who were thousands of miles away in Neenah, Wisconsin.
‘It was a shining moment for Alta Resources,” said James Bere, the company’s co-founder, chairman and CEO. “On that terrible day, we were the vehicle for Metrolink to communicate with the public.”
Not only was that day a testament to Metrolink’s trust in Alta Resources, but to Alta’s customer service that was so good, it was “transparent,” Bere said. Because Alta specializes in providing outsourced customer service, it’s most successful when it’s recognized by the customer as an extension of its client. Those clients include such industry giants as Disney, FedEx, SC Johnson, Energizer, Schick and Novartis, to name just a few.
Trust, ethics and integrity are absolutely imperative for his company. Without the client’s trust, “our reason for being is gone”, Bere said. Its clients have trusted Alta Resources with their most valuable resource – their customers, he added.
“Some of the greatest organizations in this country have said ‘Alta Resources, we want you to take care of our customers. We think you can do a better job with our customers than we can’,” Bere said.
It’s not a job that Alta takes lightly. It duplicates the environment of its clients by having the same computer systems, which enables the customer service agents to work with live data. In addition, it provides Alta employees with the same training and requiring the same qualifications as if they were employed by their clients, Bere said.
“You could ask a lot of people at Alta who they work for and they’d probably tell you the name of our client,” he said.
Because its clients trust Alta, they send them more business, Bere said. Alta Resources now has offices in Neenah, Michigan and California.
-Written by, Susan Bach – Published Oct 2, 2005 Journal Sentinel Sunday Edition