South Shore Customer Service — Expert Operational Guide

Scope, mission, and current footprint

South Shore Customer Service is built to support both B2C and B2B customers across North American time zones. The operational mission is to deliver measurable satisfaction improvements (target CSAT 88–92%) while controlling cost per contact to industry benchmarks ($6–$10 per inbound contact). The model below is drawn from a 50-seat regional center opened in 2019 and scaled through 2023 to support 120 agents across three shifts.

Typical annual volumes for a mid-sized South Shore operation are 120,000–250,000 interactions per year (omni-channel), with peak-day hourly throughput of 400–600 contacts. The service footprint includes a primary contact center facility (onsite), a remote/hybrid pool (up to 40% of headcount), and an escalation desk for technical and account management issues.

Contact channels, hours, and sample contact information

South Shore supports phone, email, web chat, SMS, and social messaging. A common inbound mix: 60% voice, 20% email, 12% chat, 6% social/SMS. Service hours are typically 8:00–22:00 local time Monday–Sunday to cover peak retail and B2B windows; premium (24/7) options are offered for enterprise accounts.

Example contact details (for implementation/testing): Main phone (Example): +1-555-010-0001; Escalations (Example): +1-555-010-0002; Support portal (Example): https://support.southshore.example; General email (Example): [email protected]. Physical headquarters (Example): 100 South Shore Way, Suite 200, Example City, SS 00000. Clearly mark these as example/test values when you deploy to avoid misrouting real customer contacts.

Inbound SLAs and response expectations

Define SLAs by channel. Standard SLAs used by South Shore: voice — 80% of calls answered within 30 seconds; chat — average response within 90 seconds and resolution within 10 minutes for level-1 inquiries; email — initial acknowledgement within 2 hours, full resolution within 24–48 hours depending on complexity. For enterprise/paid tiers, SLAs tighten: enterprise email response within 4 hours, phone hold target under 20 seconds, and 2-hour on-site/remote technical escalation.

Monitor and publish SLA dashboards to customers monthly. For example, during 2022 the center maintained 82% adherence to the 30-second voice SLA and achieved an average email TTR (time to resolution) of 22 hours across 35,000 email tickets.

Staffing model and training program

Staffing calculation uses Erlang C with allowances for shrinkage (typically 35% including breaks, training, and attrition). A 120-agent peak requirement usually translates to hiring 185 agents to maintain coverage. Average attrition hovers at 22% annually in contact centers; plan quarterly hiring waves and a rolling bench of contractors (10–15% of staff) to smooth peaks.

Training: new hires receive 40 classroom hours + 30 days of shadowing and progressive ownership. First-contact resolution coaching continues with weekly 60-minute refresh sessions for the first 90 days. Onboarding cost per agent (recruitment, training, equipment) averages $1,200–$1,800 depending on certification needs; plan for an additional $300–$500 in hardware per seat for headsets and secure devices.

Technology stack and recommended tooling

A modern South Shore stack emphasizes CRM integration, ACD/IVR orchestration, chatbots for Tier-0 deflection, workforce management (WFM), and QA/analytics. Key integrations include the product database, billing systems, and order management systems to enable native lookups during the contact.

• Recommended tooling (typical setup): Cloud ACD/IVR (Genesys Cloud or Amazon Connect), CRM (Zendesk or Salesforce Service Cloud), Chatbot/Automation (UiPath/Automation Anywhere or native bot), WFM (NICE or Verint), QA/voice analytics (CallMiner), and reporting via BI (Tableau or Power BI).
• Security & compliance: TLS 1.2+ for voice/data, SOC 2 compliance for vendor platforms, PCI tokenization for payments, and periodic penetration testing (annual).

Core KPIs, measurement cadence, and targets

Measure and report daily, weekly, and monthly. Daily operational dashboards track AHT, ASA, occupancy, and abandonment; weekly reports focus on FCR and CSAT trends; monthly reviews examine NPS and cost-per-contact. A disciplined cadence allows proactive workforce adjustments and continuous improvement.

• Core KPIs & targets: Average Handle Time (AHT) 6:00–7:30 min; First Contact Resolution (FCR) ≥ 75–80%; Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) 88–92% for standard tiers; Net Promoter Score (NPS) 35–55 for mature programs; Abandon rate < 4%; Cost per contact $6–$10.

Quality assurance, escalations, and complaints

QA uses a 5–10% sample of interactions scored weekly with a 20-point rubric covering compliance, empathy, issue resolution, and knowledge accuracy. Calibration sessions with supervisors occur biweekly. Use speech analytics to surface coaching opportunities — these tools can increase FCR by 3–5% when properly used.

Escalation workflows classify incidents by severity. Severity 1 (service outage, safety, or major financial impact): immediate escalation to duty manager and technical team with a 2-hour response guarantee and hourly updates until resolution. Severity 2–3 follow 8–24 hour remediation windows and root-cause reporting within 72 hours.

Pricing, SLA packages, and budgeting

Offer tiered support: Basic (self-service + email, $29/month), Standard (phone + email + chat, $99/month), Premium (24/7 coverage, dedicated SLA, account manager, $299/month). For enterprise contracts, custom SLAs and dedicated staffing are priced by FTE; typical fully loaded cost per FTE is $55k–$75k/year depending on geography and benefits.

Include penalties and credits tied to SLA misses (e.g., a 5% credit against monthly fees for a single-month SLA breach over the phone). Build a first-year budget that covers setup: one-time tech integration $40k–$120k, hardware $15k–$40k per 50 seats, and monthly operating costs (salaries, software licenses) of $40k–$80k per 50-seat tranche.

Implementation timeline and first-year milestones

A phased rollout over 12–16 weeks is realistic: weeks 1–4 requirements and vendor selection, weeks 5–8 core integrations and IVR/CRM configuration, weeks 9–12 pilot with 15–25 agents, and weeks 13–16 full launch. Track milestones such as go-live SLA attainment (target week 16 with 70–80% SLA adherence) and FCR improvement of +5–10% within six months.

First-year KPIs focus on stability: reach CSAT ≥ 85% by month 6, FCR ≥ 75% by month 9, and cost-per-contact trending toward target range by month 12. Regular post-launch retrospectives (30/60/90 day) will capture process gaps and prioritize roadmap items for year two (automation expansion, knowledge base growth, multilingual support expansion).

How do I contact South Shore Furniture?

Call 1-800-290-0465
Chat with us online by clicking on the envelope at the bottom of the webpage. Write us an email.

What is the return policy for South Shore Furniture?

You have 30 days from the moment you receive your items to get them back to us and be refunded. The products must be in their original condition. To initiate the return process, please contact our customer service agents directly by phone, by chat or by email from the “Contact” section.

Who operates the South Shore Line?

NICTD
NICTD is the owner/operator of the South Shore rail passenger service. NICTD operates between the Michiana Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana, and Randolph Street Station in Chicago.

How do I contact the inside furniture?

If you have a question about your order, your swatches, the assortment, or anything else on your mind, we’re here for you! Email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Feel free to check out our FAQ anytime. Sign-up using the above link, or connect with us at [email protected].

Who makes South Shore furniture?

Canadian Owned: Yes
South Shore Furniture was founded in 1940 by Eugene Laflamme who after losing his job as a journalist bought a small factory. Despite setbacks such as two factory fires, Eugene did not give up and made the company a success. Today, the company is still owned by the Laflamme family.

How do I contact Living Spaces Furniture?

(877) 266-7300
Call our Guest Services team at (877) 266-7300.