Customer First

Precept Financial Solutions is committed to providing the best customer experience you will ever find, online or offline. "Customer First" is not just a marketing message or scheme. It is what we believe. It is our commitment to please, delight and inspire our customers. Below are the highlights of our "Customer First" program:

Our Commitment to Our Customers
All Precept employees are to put customers first in every operation and in every transaction. Highly aware that a customer-centric attitude is the key to achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction, Precept adopts the following resolutions to heighten the quality of our customer services: 

• We seek excellence in customer care --- going above and beyond service. We deliver the highest standard of care that culminates into a "total customer experience"
• We provide customers with the fastest and most thorough answers to their inquiries when they visit our website or call
• We always think and act on behalf of our customers, evaluating our performance by the level of their satisfaction
• We listen to and learn from our customers' comments and integrate them in our decisions, policies, procedures, and business plans
• We assign a dedicated Client Services Representative to each customer for the duration of the contract to personally follow up and assist the customer with account information, questions, and updates

If customers complain about any service we provide, we immediately rectify the particular situation and seek ways to prevent such problems in the future.

The Foundation of the Customer First Culture
Our culture is based on the recognition that we are in the people business, which demands the warmest relationships and friendliest service one can provide. It is in this light that customer care becomes paramount and the cornerstone of our business. Customer care must be supported by the four C's (explained below) in order to become powerful and meaningful:

• Concern --- We sincerely care about our customers' complete satisfaction, and convey that caring in all our interactions with customers. We are concerned about our customers' total well being because debt management ranks among the top three most stressful activities in life. Debt/Financial Problems can ruin marriages, families, careers, friendships, and health. Many people become emotionally distraught and physically ill by their inability to manage the avalanche of bills. Our focus is to help alleviate the burden and create a clear vision for the customer's future.
  
  
• Consideration --- The above concerns become a major factor for showing proper consideration to the inquiries/requests of our customers. In today's bustling business environment and hectic lifestyle, customers relish good, old-fashioned courtesy and genuine kindness. It is this kind of handling that brings us closer to our customers, and it is our worrying about our customer's stresses and strains that makes Precept a better company. Proper consideration for our customer's well being leads us to having a better understanding of each customer's situation, needs and wants
  
  
• Conscientiousness --- What we promise, we do in a timely manner. This is essential in earning our customers' trust and confidence. But conscientiousness does not end there. It extends to paying attention to every detail and doing it right the first time. Quality work always removes stress and anxiety
  
  
• Cooperation --- If one of our employees needs assistance in providing excellent care, we all are ready to roll up our sleeves and pitch in so that our customers' needs are completely met. But more importantly it is the cooperation between the customer and our staff that makes our approach and processes work extremely well. The relationship with our customers is what makes us different and better than competition.

These four words represent the underpinnings of our culture.

Our Customers
Our customers in general are people plagued, beleaguered, inundated, beset, and tortured, by debt. The reasons and causes of debt are immaterial in solving a customer's debt problem. What matters is that the customer has:

• Made the commitment to get out of debt right away
• Made the decision to change her/his lifestyle --- based on a debt diet
• Made her/his mind up about needing the help of a third party --- one that s/he can trust and work with

We work closely with our customers and offer them all the help and support we can. We treat our customers as friends rather than as strangers in need of our service.

Making the Commitment Real
There are many ways to ensure that the customer-centric philosophy is being adapted and practiced by every one in the firm. Here are some of the most important steps that Precept has developed and is currently implementing:

• Imbed "customer first" in the business strategy of the firm
• Develop a firm culture around the same theme
• Train employees on a wide variety of customer care related courses
• Make certain that everyone in the firm is "walking the talk"
• Open wide the communications windows with customers --- provide customer surveys and customer feedback loops

Here is a sample of what is being taught in our Customer Service classes:

When Customers Visit Us

• Whoever encounters the customer first will serve him/her promptly and courteously
• Our first priority is to listen to what the customer wants, even when this interrupts other work we may be doing
• We never make customers wait more than three minutes. If someone is away from his desk, another person nearby will take care of the customer instead

When Customers Call Us

• We answer the phone within three rings or allow the call to go into voicemail
• We clearly identify ourselves by company and personal name
• If the customer's phone call has been directed to the wrong desk, we explain what the customer wants to the person s/he is calling to spare the customer the annoyance of repeating it
• When any of us receives a call for a person who is away from her/his desk, we take a message and arrange for her/him to call the customer back within one hour of her/his return

When Customers Write to Us

• When we receive a mailed inquiry or other document, we register it with a receipt number and hand it over to the appropriate person
• We handle all inquiries/requests as promptly as possible
• If the solution/resolution of an issue takes more than five working days, we provide the customer an interim report either by phone or e-mail --- the customer should not feel as if s/he is in the dark

Broadening Customer Participation
Precept is also interested in proactively increasing communications with its customers. We accept comments from customers by mail, telephone, fax, and the internet (including an online survey). Our customers' input is handled as follows:

• When customers provide us with input in the form of suggestions, we will let them know as soon as we can our opinion and or the course of action we plan to take
• When important policy decisions have to be made, we will hold public hearings, exploratory meetings, and surveys to solicit diverse opinions
• When customers have a complaint pertaining to our service, we will get back to them with a definitive answer within a matter of hours based on the nature of the complaint

Contact Information
If there are any questions pertaining to our "Customer First" program please call:

Phyliss Kennedy at 972-788-8126 ext. 3136, or e-mail her at:
pkennedy@preceptfinancial.com  

The e-mail address for our Customer First Customer Care program is:
customerfirst@preceptfinancial.com