Roundhouse Provisions — Customer Service Blueprint

Overview and strategic objectives

Roundhouse Provisions positions itself as a specialty food and provisions supplier focused on repeat customers, wholesale accounts, and a direct-to-consumer subscription line. The customer service function’s primary objectives are retention (raise 12‑month retention from 58% to 72%), fast resolution (average resolution time under 48 hours), and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) target of 50+ within 12 months of implementation. These targets are realistic for premium food retailers and provide measurable focus for hiring, tooling, and SOPs.

This blueprint translates those objectives into specific SLAs, staffing models, and escalation procedures so that every team member can act consistently. It assumes a current volume baseline of 1,200 inbound inquiries per month (email/chat/phone combined) and plans for 30–50% seasonal variability (peak months: November–December and June for catering). All figures below should be reviewed quarterly against actual traffic and adjusted in Q1 and Q3 each year.

Channels, hours and response targets

Roundhouse should support omni-channel contact: phone, email, live chat, SMS, and a help-center knowledge base. Operational hours should match customer expectations and sales patterns: 8:00–18:00 local time Monday–Saturday, with emergency/wholesale on-call coverage 09:00–17:00 Sunday. Key numeric SLAs: phone answer rate <30 seconds (target 80% of calls), live chat join <60 seconds, email first response <2 hours during business hours and <8 hours after hours, and voicemail callback within 4 hours during business hours.

Self-service is essential: build a searchable help center with 75–100 articles covering shipping, spoilage/returns, subscription management, and wholesale onboarding. A robust FAQ can deflect 20–35% of incoming tickets. Track channel mix weekly; when email/chat volumes exceed 65% of total, shift two agents per day to asynchronous work to preserve phone SLAs.

Staffing, training and scheduling

Use a workforce model based on Erlang-C for telephone needs and historical ticket volumes for asynchronous channels. For 1,200 tickets/month with an 80/20 split (asynchronous/phone), start with a core team of 5 full‑time agents and 1 supervisor to cover the standard schedule plus 20% buffer for PTO and training. During peak months plan for +2 agents. Expect average handle time (AHT) of 6–8 minutes for phone and 18–25 minutes for email resolution.

Training should be standardized: 40 hours onboarding for new agents (product, CRM, returns policy, food safety basics) plus 8 hours/month continuing education (menu changes, promos, compliance). Measure proficiency by a 90‑minute certification test and require a CSAT score >80% before independent handling of wholesale accounts. Document 60–90 day ramp milestones so managers can predict when an agent reaches full productivity.

Technology stack and integrations

Invest in a helpdesk that supports multi-channel routing and CRM integration. Recommended components: ticketing platform (estimate $25–$70/agent/month), cloud telephony with call recording and IVR ($50–$150/month phone number plus $0.02–$0.05/min), subscription management (if applicable, $150–$400/month), and ERP/inventory sync to prevent order issues. Integrate the helpdesk with Shopify/WooCommerce or your ERP so order status, SKU expirations, and shipment tracking populate tickets automatically.

Data flows: incoming ticket pulls customer ID and order history; agent actions (refunds, replacements) should trigger webhook events that update inventory and accounting systems. Keep an audit trail for every refund or credit (who, what, why, timestamp). Budget example for Year 1 tooling: $12,000–$25,000 total (subscriptions, phone numbers, initial integration work), with ongoing yearly run rate ~ $6,000–$15,000 depending on agent count and add‑ons.

Returns, refunds and quality assurance

Policy clarity reduces disputes. Standard consumer policy: 30‑day satisfaction guarantee; unopened items refundable at full price, opened/perishable items handled case‑by‑case with replacement or credit, usually within 7 business days. For wholesale customers, offer a 14‑day return window and require a returns authorization (RMA). Sample financial guardrails: issue refunds within 3 business days of approval; restocking fee for bulk non‑perishable returns 10%; shipping cost credited only for verified carrier errors or damaged-on-arrival claims.

Quality assurance (QA) should run as a continuous program: 2% of resolved tickets audited weekly for script adherence, accuracy, and empathy scoring. Create a defect-tracking log for recurring product issues; if a SKU spikes above a 1.5% return rate in a 30‑day window, flag for supplier review and possible temporary delisting. Use QA data to close the loop with operations—average time from QA defect detection to corrective action should be under 14 days.

Key performance indicators

• Service-level KPIs: First Response Time (email <2 hours), Phone Answer Time (<30 seconds), Live Chat Join (<60 seconds).
• Effectiveness KPIs: Average Resolution Time (<48 hours), First Contact Resolution rate ≥ 72%, CSAT ≥ 85%, NPS target 50+ within 12 months.
• Operational KPIs: AHT phone 6–8 min, email handle 18–25 min, ticket backlog <48 hours, deflection rate via Help Center 20–35%.
• Financial KPIs: Cost per contact target <$6 for asynchronous, <$12 for phone; refund rate target <1.2% of monthly GMV (gross merchandise value).

Escalation matrix and practical scripts

• Tier 1 (0–24 hrs): Agent handles routine inquiries, refunds under $50, shipment tracking; if unresolved, escalate to Tier 2 with full ticket notes.
• Tier 2 (24–48 hrs): Supervisor reviews, approves refunds up to $250, manages expedited replacements, opens supplier quality tickets; escalate to Leadership for policy exceptions >$250 or repeated failures (3+ incidents/customer in 90 days).
• Leadership (48+ hrs): Customer success manager or operations lead handles wholesale disputes, legal issues, and high-value accounts; document resolution and update SOPs within 7 days.

Use short, tested phrases in external communication: “I’m sorry you experienced this — I will resolve it by [date/time].” Offer two solutions when possible (refund or expedited replacement) and confirm the chosen path in writing with expected timelines and tracking numbers. Maintain templates for refunds, replacements, and apology notes, and require confirmation of customer acceptance before closing high-impact tickets.

Contact examples and next steps

For internal roll‑out: set a 90‑day implementation plan with weekly milestones (week 1: hire supervisor; week 2–4: implement tools & knowledge base; week 5–8: train; week 9–12: soft launch). Use mock volumes 25% above forecast to stress test staffing and system integrations before full go‑live.

For documentation and external contact points, create a single source of truth: example contact page URL (placeholder) https://www.roundhouseprovisions.example/support and a testing phone number (fictional template) (555) 123‑4567. Replace placeholders with production assets at launch; keep archived versions of policies and scripts for compliance and training purposes.