Christina McCarte, of AMJ International, sponsor of the 2022 FIDI Conference in Cannes, speaks to FIDI Focus about the central role looking after your own employees has to play in great customer care
FIDI Focus: What is your definition of customer care?
Christina McCarte: Customer care is a business’s ability to engage its customers by listening, understanding, and creating services to address their needs.
Businesses must provide effective communication, quality and accountability. Each of these are essential before, during and after the move. As a FIDI-accredited mover, AMJ covers these areas well.
Effective communication has played a particularly vital role during the past two years. This allows our customers to know we care, stay informed and updated throughout the door-to-door process.
FF: Can you tell us more about the role of FAIM?
CM: FAIM supports the quality of care and service, from how we present our organisation, staff and crew to the packing materials and services we offer. We rely on overseas partners.
FIDI helps us to maintain the highest standards and provide the same quality of service among partners from more than 100 countries.
FF: How – and how much – should you communicate with customers?
CM: The pandemic has challenged the international moving industry and our customers alike – from visas and immigration, booking flights to meeting COVID requirements and finding a home at destination. However, when open communication is maintained with customers, it’s easier to offer solutions and allow customers to prepare for delays and other obstacles.
FF: How does looking after your employees help with this process?
CM: Employee care and customer care go hand in hand. When a business takes care of its employees, its employees take care of its customers.
When a company is inclusive, empowers and educates its employees and gives them a voice, you find solutions that benefit everyone and the business overall.
Providing a great work environment is important. Employees provide customer care and quality – and to do this well, they should see it in the business they are working in.
Accountability is essential, too, and I think both employees and customers are looking for this. This is about saying to employees we understand you have home and work responsibilities. You’re a valued part
of our company and we want you to be able to take care of your family life, as well as your physical and mental wellbeing.
FF: How do you foster an inclusive work environment?
CM: Inclusivity is providing equal access to opportunities within the company. That means regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or mental or physical disability, you are creating equal opportunities for each employee to access growth and development. Playing together as a team is important at AMJ,
too, and helps empower our employees and
fosters inclusivity.
We have employees representing Europe, Africa, Asia, South and North America. When all of these minds and cultures come together, we are able to service our international customers better because we’re able to understand on a different level.
FF: How do we make the moving industry attractive to young people?
CM: Sharing information is important. We have taken mixed teams from our office – a staff member from finance, technology, logistics, supply chain and so on – into colleges, universities and job fairs to share our experiences and the opportunities available for a student to learn and develop in our industry.
FF: Did you enjoy the FIDI Conference?
CM: It was my first experience of a FIDI Conference, and it was beyond my expectations – the perfect combination of work and play, creating a social environment for us to enjoy and connect in.
