Two New Ways to Serve You

The year 2008 has been a relatively tough year for the plumbing industry. Many foreign and domestic product manufacturers are hurting. Yet most of our clients have been loyal to us and have maintained their relationship with IAPMO R&T. We believe that is because of our responsiveness to their needs. 

Certification bodies make many claims. But when we say we are “first in fast, trusted certification,” this is not just a claim — this is a reality, and the reason why our clients have been loyal to us during tough economic times. We measure our certification time from the date an application is submitted to the date the certificate is mailed. At this point, for applicants submitting all the required information, this metric is five calendar days. Yes, this includes weekends and holidays.  For applicants who have not submitted all the required information, we have instituted an electronic reminder feature to raise awareness that additional information is still needed to complete the certification process.

We have put measures into place to improve our responsiveness in answering phone calls and e-mails from our clients. Based on the implementation of these measures, our customer satisfaction rating is at 98 percent at the time of this writing. 

In order to improve our current paperless environment, we are evaluating the next generation of software. This will make more information accessible by our clients. 

We are also looking to simplify the application process and the application package, moving both online, and for those who still prefer a paper application, simplifying the hard copy applications.  This will make applying for product certification even less painful than it is today.

Our go-to-market strategy has many dimensions. This multifaceted approach means more clients can have greater access to our services. Geographically, we continue to provide service to our clients in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Northern Africa and the Americas. We are strengthening our presence in India, as well, and our certification service in Canada has grown dramatically to a point where it is close to matching that of the United States.

Last, but not least, at the request of our clients, we are in the process of launching an electro-plumbing certification program. Our program will start with UL 1795. We will offer other such certification thereafter.

There are many certification bodies out there, including some “me, too” programs that are what we call “pretenders.” But we can easily testify that none can — or will — offer the quality of customer service that we offer on a daily basis. Moreover, none other than IAPMO R&T listen to their clients for their own betterment.

I wish you all the best until the next update.