Making a World of Difference for 25 years…Northeast Delta Dental
One of the things that I love about Northeast Delta Dental is that they are a values-driven company. They state in their description of their company that they successfully balance profitability and community involvement. They make sure that they encourage children and adults alike to practice good oral health habits with contests and donations to programs that benefit everyone.
Northeast Delta Dental Puts Money on the Line with Guarantee of Service
I have been working with Tom Raffio, President & CEO of Northeast Delta Dental since 1990. Back then he headed up marketing for Delta Dental of Massachusetts. In 1996 he took over as President of Northeast Delta Dental, an insurance company that offers dental insurance benefits for organizations of all sizes and individuals and families in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. They sell dental insurance and boy do they know how to treat their customers.
In 1990, Raffio started the Guarantee Of Service ExcellenceSM (GOSE) program and continued it when he moved to the position of President & CEO, and he has now been driving GOSE for 25 years. I have been speaking on customer service for 45 years and rarely have I found a person and organization as committed to putting their money where their mouth is. Unlike US Bank who says we will give you $5 if we do not provide great service, instead, Northeast Delta Dental, put thousands of dollars at risk with almost all customers.
I feature Northeast Delta Dental in my book, Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service. They are a role model worth copying. You can buy a copy from Amazon, your local bookstore or at Service Quality Institute.
With their GOSE program they have eight guarantees that are all critical to clients.
Instead of saying, “I am sorry,” or “here is five dollars,” Northeast Delta Dental puts real money at risk. You can view more details on our web site at www.customer-service.com/deltadental. Previous years are also stored on this site. The actual GOSE document is also here. The Northeast Delta Dental Guarantee is here.
If a firm with 200 employees signed up for their Northeast Delta Dental insurance, Northeast Delta Dental guarantees the identification cards will be sent within 15 calendar days or they refund the client $25 per card. This would amount to $5,000 in payouts. Actual payouts in 2014 dropped to $4,144 versus $7,486 in 2013. To view 2014 details go to
www.customer-service.com/deltadental
Since the inception of GOSE, Northeast Delta Dental’s market share has increased from 20 percent in their three states to 43 percent in Maine, 50 percent in New Hampshire, and 53 percent in Vermont.
Northeast Delta Dental is committed to providing exceptional service to all its customers.
To emphasize their commitment, their Guarantee Of Service ExcellenceSM program guarantees the following seven major areas of service and reinforces them with their comprehensive group refund policy.
- Smooth Implementation to Northeast Delta Dental
- Exceptional customer service
- Quick processing of claims
- No inappropriate billing by participating dentists
- Accurate and quick turnaround of identification cards
- Timely employee booklets
- Marketing service contacts.
This is a great program and definitely a role model for success. There are not a lot of role models in the world. Northeast Delta Dental is one of the very best.
The GOSE results for 2014
www.customer-service.com/deltadental
How many employees do you now have?
As of March 3, 2015:
169 Full Time
14 Part Time
Total: 183 employees
Spent on training in 2014
$188,973.65
Amount per Full Time Employee: $1,085.37
Percentage of payroll: 1.61%
Revenue for 2014
$326,073,331
Profits for 2014
$2,993,799
