Written by Ellen Convery
07 Oct 2021

What Does Excellent Waste Management Customer Service Look Like?

In the fast-paced and complex world of healthcare waste management, working with a partner that emphasizes superior customer service is critical to ensuring patient safety and clinician excellence. Over the last 18 months, the strain and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the challenges that poor customer service can bring.  Have you been left waiting on the phone for hours to speak to a customer representative? Experienced missed or delayed pick-ups, price-surges, and supply-chain shortages?  These sort of service issues can have a negative impact on your facility’s efficiency, safety, and compliance.  

Here at Daniels Health, we strive to maintain the highest standards in the industry, taking a proactive approach to communication, service reliability, and customer responsiveness. We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, with a hands-on, integrated approach. From our customer service team to our field team, you can count on Daniels to meet your needs with guaranteed communication, pre-determined pricing, and a secure supply chain of sustainable containment solutions. Moreover, with ownership of the entire process, we are best positioned to handle any challenges that come our way. At a time when the unexpected has become ordinary, Daniels is a waste management partner you can count to meet your needs. 

In honor of Customer Service Week 2021, we’re looking at how “the power of service” has helped our partners navigate through challenging times. We are so proud to have a dedicated team here at Daniels Health that enables our company to achieve the highest level of customer service, support services, and quality assurance. 
 


TOPICS WE WILL COVER:

1 / Measuring Success

2 / Customer Service Team

3 / Labor Reliability

4 / Service Reliability 

5 / Why Choose Daniels



Measuring Success with DIFOT Scores 


One of our key performance indicators is our DIFOT score, which stands for “delivery in full, on time.” This communicates our service delivery from the customer’s point of view. At Daniels, we measure a successful delivery as a service that is not only on time but has the right amount and type of containers as expected, unless otherwise pre-agreed with the customer. Because we own every element of the disposal process, we are able to deliver at consistently high, above-average rates, so you never have to worry about missed services.

We can proudly claim that across the United States, our DIFOT score is 98.75%, meaning for every 100 services; we complete 98.75 on time and with full delivery of our products.  

How does that compare to other service industries? In December 2020 for example, UPS, USPS, and FedEx had a combined average DIFOT score of 72% meaning they completed 72 out of every 100 deliveries in full and on time. Maintaining consistently high delivery rates is no easy feat, and it is a key component of our customer experience.    



Customer Service Team 
 

At Daniels, we have a committed customer service team, with a dedicated account manager assigned to each of our clients. Our team helps to navigate supply chain, surplus needs, and service schedule changes to ensure your facility provides the best care to your patients without unnecessary disruptions. We know our customers want to understand our processes and policies, while also trusting our expertise.  

Our customer service team is here to provide proactive communication, support deliveries/pickups schedules, and resolve any issues in a timely manner. They support our customers and staff nationally with projects, data reporting, and communications to enhance individual accounts. You can get in touch with our hands-on customer service team based in our national support office or your local area via phone, email, and live chat.  



Labor Reliability 
 

Excellent customer service does not just start and end with the customer service team. Every area of the business is critical, but none more so than our field services team. That’s why Daniels maintains a contingency plan for temporary labor replacement, ensuring service continuity in the event of labor shortages. And, because we own our own transportation and logistics, we are never at the mercy of third-party disruptions. Our internal training processes and SOPs (standardized operational procedures) enable fast and effective onboarding, cross-functional support, and workforce effectiveness in time of need.  



Service Reliability 
 

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, issues do occur, but our approach is designed to handle the unexpected. For example, if our transport systems have failed (e.g., a truck has broken down), it is usually rectified within the same day and escalated to our national and global support teams, which focus on ensuring healthcare service continuity. In times of supply-chain shortages, like what we’ve experienced throughout the pandemic, we have agile resources and service contingencies in place for increased fluctuations in waste volumes and service scheduling. We maintain a surplus of bins, staff, and fleet capacity to accommodate the evolving changes that the COVID-19 pandemic brings. In addition to our reliable service-based model, our customer inventory is optimally set so customers will have up to 48 hours of contingency stock on hand. 

Additionally, our emphasis on reusable containers means we always have a secure supply of fresh containers to provide to healthcare facilities, avoiding any industry supply-chain shortages – something waste management providers have struggled with throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  



Why Choose Daniels 

 

At Daniels, our team goes above and beyond, but don’t just take our word for it. This is what some of our partners have to say about their experience with Daniels as their waste management provider: 

“I’m glad we [partnered with Daniels] because they are a pleasure to deal with – from the punctual driver through to their helpful customer service” – Sandy Evans, John E. Weinsenberger, M.D.  

“The drivers that pick up our waste are friendly and professional. I cannot say enough on how positive the impact has been for Florida Cancer Specialists since contracting with [Daniels]” - Kelly Albrech, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute. 

“My questions are answered in a timely fashion, and they’re always friendly” – Javier Cruz, Blythedale Hospital. 

We are proud to be recognized as the national leader of clinically designed waste services, providing valuable, sustainable, cost-effective, and, most importantly, compliant protection for facilities. Our local and national customer excellence team is here to help attain your desired waste management outcomes.  If you would like to find out more information on who we are and what we do, call us today.  

 

Talk to an expert

 

Header Style: 
Ellen Convery

Ellen Convery

Digital Content Specialist

Ellen is our Digital Content Specialist and Social Media whiz who has a Master's Degree in Marketing from Queen's University, Belfast. Passionate about sustainability, when not curating content, she spends her time exploring new food spots in Chicago.