We’ve all seen videos on social media of people behaving badly when customer service isn’t up to snuff. And while most folks don’t direct displeasure at service representatives, their word-of-mouth and online reviews can be devastating to a company’s bottom line.

Good customer service is good business, and this is especially true of the dynamic and competitive telecommunications industry where customer service can be the key differentiator in setting companies apart. 

Cox Communications — which made Glassdoor’s list of Best Places to Work in 2024 — knows hiring talented people and cultivating an environment for positive relationships in-house make for the same outside of it. Cox Business clients, whether a small home operation with basic phone and internet service or a hospital with complex security needs, all deserve the very best Cox has to give.

“A customer spending $200 a month is just as vital as a tech giant like Google,” said Cox Business Service Manager Jeff Prince. 

Prince and Cox Business Service Manager Kevin Ballinger are direct points of contact for the largest enterprise customers in California, including school districts, hospitals, and urgent care clinics. While those customers have large IT departments, their techs have 24/7 access to Prince and Ballinger.

Customer Support Manager Renee Reynolds joined the team just over a year ago. Having begun his career as a field technician, Reynolds brought with him 17 years of working relationships and institutional knowledge. 

“The service management team is the white glove service and support group,” said Mike Andrade, Manager of Sales Engineering, who oversees the team of three. “They’re our customer advocates.

While Reynolds supports customers through escalation (when the issue can’t be resolved at a lower level), Ballinger and Prince get direct customer calls, texts, and emails. 

“We run incident command,” Ballinger said of the 24/7 access the customers have to him and Prince. “We basically own a customer issue until everything is the way it’s supposed to be.” 

With critical services, like a hospital, there’s no margin of error.

“These are our largest and most complex customers with unique needs that aren’t always handled well through standard support mechanisms,” said Andrade.  “So, we have a team of specialists who are versed in all our business products and are able to triage situations and make sure appropriate fix agents are engaged as efficiently and as quickly as possible.” 

Ballinger, Reynolds, and Prince all leverage the relationships they’ve built over their years at Cox to quickly and effectively address customer issues. They know which teams (e.g. engineering, construction, or warehouse) and which people on those teams to lean on for support. 

“I know the products and I know the hierarchy,” Reynolds said of his ability to problem solve. “Every day is different. I tend to learn something new about the process, and I get to be creative with the end goal of helping the customer out.”

The service management team also works proactively: Ballinger and Prince conduct regular reviews, either through face-to-face meetings or virtual sessions, to build trust with customers and meet their evolving needs. Reynolds keeps an eye out for what’s trending in “trouble tickets” and collaborates with his counterparts across the enterprise to stop problems before they happen.

The Cox Business service management team stands as a beacon of customer-centricity in the telecom industry, and Andrade isn’t shy with praise.  

“Arguably, California has the top service management team in the country,” he said. “I hire not just for skill but for personality, and that’s important because this is hard work. We’re a tight-knit group, which helps the synergy of what we’re trying to do. We have fun doing what we’re doing.”

“Our local service management team is the backbone that enables us to deliver personalized support to our customers. It differentiates us and provides a special connection to our customers, allowing us to stay aligned with their needs, deliver best in class support, and help their business focus on what they do best,” said Jodi Duva Vice President for Cox Business in California.