Lewkin Customer Service — Expert Implementation & Operations Guide

Contents

1 Lewkin Customer Service — Expert Implementation & Operations Guide

Overview and Strategic Objectives

Lewkin customer service should be positioned as both a retention engine and a revenue enabler. For a mid-market B2B/B2C hybrid profile, set clear targets: Net Promoter Score (NPS) improvement of +8–12 points within 12 months, churn reduction of 1–3 percentage points year-over-year, and a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) baseline goal of 4.5/5. Begin a structured rollout in Q3 2025 (pilot) with full production in Q4 2025; these timelines balance vendor procurement, agent hiring, and CRM integrations.

Budget responsibly: initial setup (software licenses, IVR, basic chatbot) commonly ranges $25,000–$120,000 one-time, with recurring operating costs of $5,000–$60,000 per month depending on scale and channel mix. Treat the first 90 days after launch as a measurement window: collect volume, handle time and sentiment data, then iterate staffing and escalation paths.

Operational Model, KPIs and Targets

Design operations around measurable KPIs. Recommended targets for a high-performing program are: First Contact Resolution (FCR) 70–85%, Average Handle Time (AHT) 5–8 minutes for phone, 3–6 minutes for live chat, CSAT ≥ 90% (or 4.5/5), and Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 80–90% of calls answered within 30 seconds. Aim for an abandonment rate under 3% and a repeat-contact rate below 10% within a 7‑day window.

Operational capacity planning should use contacts per interval and occupancy assumptions. Example: if Lewkin expects 10,000 contacts/month and average contacts per agent per day are 40, with shrinkage at 30–35%, you will need roughly 18–22 full-time agents. Use Erlang C or workforce management software to refine shift and forecast accuracy.

Primary KPIs: CSAT 4.5/5; NPS +8–12 in 12 months; FCR 75%; AHT 6 min phone / 4 min chat; SLA 85% within 30s; Abandonment <3%; Cost per contact: phone $2.00–$4.50, chat $0.20–$1.00.

Channels, Tools and Technology Stack

A modern Lewkin customer service stack is omnichannel: phone (PSTN + SIP trunk), email, live chat, social messaging (Facebook, X, Instagram DM), WhatsApp and an in-app help center. For enterprise-grade CRM and ticketing use Zendesk, Freshdesk or Salesforce Service Cloud; typical per-agent license costs are $20–$150/month depending on feature tiers. Add a knowledge base solution with analytics (estimated $0.5–$4k/month) to reduce agent load.

Consider automation: a rules-based chatbot for tier-1 triage reduces live contacts by 12–28% in benchmark implementations. Typical chatbot integration budgets: $10k–$40k one-time plus $200–$1,000/month for maintenance. IVR and telephony setup commonly range $5k–$25k initially, with per-minute telephony costs varying by carrier (~$0.01–$0.10/min). Use open standards (REST APIs, webhooks) so CRM, billing and product telemetry are integrated for contextual support.

Recommended stack example: Zendesk Suite ($49–$199/agent/mo), Twilio SIP trunking (carrier costs variable), Intercom or Drift for in-app chat ($50–$1500/mo), and a knowledge base on Zendesk Guide or Confluence.

Staffing, Training and Quality Assurance

Staffing must reflect peak loads and shrinkage (training, breaks, meetings). Typical assumptions: shrinkage 30–35%, occupancy target 80–85% and full-time agent salary range $38,000–$62,000/year plus benefits (about 20–35% on top). Total fully-burdened cost per agent therefore falls in roughly $48k–$85k/year. Outsourcing or blended onshore/offshore models can lower per-contact costs but increase QA and training overhead.

Training is critical: new-hire onboarding should include 40 hours product training, 16 hours systems/CRM practice, and 8 hours soft-skills coaching. Ongoing training cadence is 8–24 hours/year per agent. Implement QA scoring with weekly reviews: sample 3–5% of interactions, score on accuracy, tone, compliance and resolution, with average QA score targets of ≥90% within six months.

SLA, Pricing Models and Contracting

Define SLAs in commercial terms. Example tiered support packaging for customers: Basic: email response within 24 hours ($29/mo), Standard: 8×5 email + chat (response within 4 hours) ($99/mo), Premium: 24×7 phone + chat + priority escalation (response within 1 hour, dedicated AM) ($499–$999/mo). For enterprise accounts, use annual contracts with a retainer (example: $20,000/year) plus per-incident fees ($15–$75 depending on complexity) and a quarterly SLA review.

Internally, measure vendor and internal team SLAs separately. Example internal SLA: 85% of inbound calls answered within 30s; ticket backlog under 72 hours for P1 items; P0 outage phone escalation within 15 minutes and engineering notification within 30 minutes. Embed financial penalties or service credits for recurring SLA misses in enterprise agreements after a 90-day stabilization period.

Scripts, Templates and Example Contact Points

Phone greeting (example): “Thank you for calling Lewkin Support, my name is Jordan. Can I have your account number or email so I can pull up your account and help you today?” Target after-call work (ACW) under 60 seconds and verify resolution with “Have I resolved this for you completely today?” before closing.

Email response template (first reply): “Hello [Name], thanks for contacting Lewkin Support. We received your request about [issue]. Our initial assessment shows [short summary]. A specialist will follow up within X hours. If this is urgent call +1 (512) 555‑0123 (example) or visit https://support.lewkin.example.com. — The Lewkin Support Team.” Use .example domains and clearly mark phone numbers as examples for documentation and playbook use.