MELITTA PROFESSIONAL COFFEE SOLUTIONS

"Service is our specialty"

Melitta Professional focuses on customer service

29.03.2023 | MELITTA PROFESSIONAL COFFEE SOLUTIONS

Minden/Hamburg. Melitta Professional presented the advantages and innovations of its in-house customer service at the international trade fair Internorga. "In these times, our services are more in demand than ever," reports Sören Müller, national service manager Melitta Professional. Regular service ensures maximum availability, consistently high beverage quality and a long service life of the coffee system.

Internorga visitors got to know employees and components of the Life Cycle Service, from installation and fine-tuning to support, field service, upgrades and recycling. "Our technicians are also highly trained in sensory skills and are very important partners on site for adjusting the coffee system to the respective conditions and the desired coffee taste," explains Sören Müller. But the support does not end there. Sören Müller: "We are a reliable partner in all respects, observe and understand, follow changes, contribute new ideas and accompany our customers throughout the entire life cycle of their coffee machines."  Discarded machines and replaced components are checked during the overhaul process, refurbished if possible and returned to the market. If this is not possible, they are disposed of in an environmentally friendly and professional manner.

Under the motto "Service is our specialty", Melitta Professional will be providing its customer service team with targeted communication support at the start of Internorga. Sören Müller explains the double perspective of the term service in the context of the campaign: "Service is an important success factor in the catering industry. Good coffee service for the guest does not work without good coffee machine service for the restaurateur." In the images of the campaign, both reference persons of the restaurateurs are given a face, the satisfied guest and a technician or dispatcher from the Melitta Professional service team.

Bundled competencies

More than 400 of Melitta Professional's own technicians work for Melitta Professional in twelve national subsidiaries around the world at the side of customers, including weekends and public holidays in an emergency. In addition, there are technicians from partner companies in more than 50 other countries, who are intensively trained just like their own technicians. Not only coffee machine know-how in theory and practice is on the agenda. Coffee knowledge and sensory technology are also regularly trained at the company's headquarters in Minden. "We can draw on the full, because we have bundled all the competencies that our customers need for a successful coffee business in our own company," reports Sören Müller.

In Minden, Melitta Professional develops and produces its fully automatic coffee machines for the out-of-home market. Here, the experts for digital solutions, tailor-made financing, marketing and purchasing also work hand in hand with the areas of product development, training, sales and technical customer service (TKD). Melitta Professional develops the coffee ranges for the out-of-home market together with its sister company Melitta Europa, which roasts and packages Melitta coffee in Bremen.

Teamwork for coffee enjoyment

The nationwide field service receives valuable support from the back office at the Minden headquarters, as Petra Spier, who heads the team of 15 employees of the TKD back office, explains: "It is very important to us to work in partnership with the customers, from the on-site consultation by our sales force to the deployment of technicians to the telephone and online service from Minden. In the course of reporting a fault to our customer service hotline, technical support on the phone sometimes helps." Otherwise, emergencies must be resolved within 24 hours. "Our goal is to be on site on the same day in urgent cases that are reported in the morning," reports Petra Spier.

The technicians are prepared for all eventualities and have tools and spare parts on board their vehicle. The spare parts service in Minden provides supplies, even overnight if necessary, so that the colleagues in the field are fully prepared for the next assignment. "96 percent of all cases are solved with one visit," adds Sören Müller. Current customer surveys show a high level of satisfaction with Melitta Professional Service, as Franz Ansorge, Product Manager Global Service, explains: "With the global introduction of the Net Promoter Score (NPS), we have been measuring customer satisfaction on the basis of our work since last year and are pleased with the strong first benchmark of 68 to appreciate their expertise and speed."

Even if the operation is quick, emergencies must be avoided. "If the only coffee machine goes on strike at the breakfast buffet or at a conference, the anger is great," says Petra Spier and recommends taking precautions with regular service. To this end, customer service has set up individual packages at attractive and calculable prices. After all, hardly any other message resonates more in the hospitality industry than this: "Coffee is running...! And tastes really good."

Portrait photos by mail from martin.linnemann (at) melitta.de

Melitta Professional

Passion for coffee enjoyment since 1908. And perfectly coordinated solutions for the coffee success of our partners in the out-of-home market. Not being satisfied with the first solution that comes along. But always develop further. Always doing better. Whether it's about the perfect roast, the most innovative brewing unit, technical service or digital solutions. This is Melitta Professional.

With holistic expertise in coffee, coffee machines, customer service, digital solutions and financing, we support our partners according to their individual needs –  worldwide in more than 50 countries, with 12 national subsidiaries and numerous distribution and service partners. Our customers are represented wherever coffee to stay or coffee to go in reliable top quality is required. The industries are as diverse as the solutions for our partners: hotels & gastronomy, community catering & catering, bakery & convenience, café & coffee shop, retail & specialist trade or work & office.