Who is Randy?

Meet Randy Garrison, Director of Customer Care at Echelon!

About Echelon

Echelon Fitness is a company providing home exercise equipment that includes bikes, ellipticals, treadmills, stair climbers, mirrors, and rowers supported by best in class subscription fitness.. Bringing immersive studio quality workouts to the convenience of your home, Echelon aims to offer individuals the tools they need to embark on their health and wellness journey.

Randy’s CX Journey

Reflecting on his over forty-year career, Randy reveals that he came into customer service very naturally. “I owned my own telemarketing company for several years. My focus was on sales in the beginning. But I soon realized that servicing my customers was necessary for the growth and success of my business.” After working as a consultant for call centers for a period, Randy took the position of Director of Customer Care at Echelon in 2020.

Randy stepped into his new role just as COVID-19 was forcing people to find safer and alternative ways to work out because their gyms were closing. “I started right at the beginning of the pandemic. Suddenly, there was a tremendous demand for home fitness equipment,” he remembers. “Echelon experienced a massive growth of 1000%. It was amazing to come on during that time. While we are back to a normal pace now, we are still a growing company offering new products every year.”

Founded with the belief that everyone should be able to embark on their own fitness journey, Echelon offers high-quality, affordable connected exercise equipment that includes bikes, treadmills, rowers, mirrors, and more. “I’m very passionate about our mission,” Randy says. “This sentiment is passed down from our c-suite who feel very strongly about providing a fitness experience no matter your income level while creating an inclusive community.”

Asked what excites him most about working in customer service, Randy answers, “I like the challenges that come with each day – today will be different from yesterday just as tomorrow will be different from today.”

The CX Team at Echelon

From the Echelon corporate headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Randy manages a team of 60 agents who work in-office, remote, and offshore. He views this hybrid structure, which has 50% in-office with the other 50% remote/offshore, as critical to the overall success of CX at Echelon. He explains, “I’ve found a great balance of resources that allows us to provide exceptional customer service, flexibility around customers’ needs, and outstanding first contact resolution levels.”

Biggest Challenges as a CX Leader

Echelon offers a diverse portfolio of exercise equipment with numerous product options designed to accommodate their customers’ various fitness levels, goals, and budgets. While the extensive product line has made Echelon a leading name in the fitness industry, it also means that the customer service department must be continually educated. “As a growing company, we bring new products to market each year,” Randy points out. “Keeping my agents updated on newly released products and subscription software updates is very important. It takes time to train them on general knowledge, assembly, and troubleshooting, especially when everyone is so spread out.” 

CX Approach

Randy maintains that communication is key in CX leadership and wants his agents to feel like they can come to him, and each other, with any questions or issues. “I’m constantly in contact with my team, even my offshore/remote members. We do calls daily, even hourly depending on the situation. It’s the easiest way to keep in touch, and make everyone feel connected and aligned with the company’s mission.” Additionally, Randy holds call calibrations during which he and his agents review and assess customer interactions together.

Randy believes that it’s important to recognize not just his best agents, but those who are making the most improvement. “Keeping everyone motivated and upbeat is vital to the success of the team as whole,” he says. “If you only reward the winners, the others are not going to try as hard.”

Whereas many companies with a large customer service team measure handle time, Echelon stresses empowering agents with the tools so they are fully equipped to go above and beyond for customers. “We know that our customers can go and buy from anyone,” Randy makes clear. “If we take care of them, they will take care of us. Our main objective is to make sure they have the best CX when they purchase from us.” This means taking the time to listen, answer questions, and fulfill needs.

Randy values approaching CX with a proactive mindset. “If we know that there is an issue coming up, we will reach out to our customers. The more action you take in the beginning, the less problems there are in the long run.”

CX Metrics Randy Is Tracking

Because he manages a large team handling high volume customer contact, Randy closely monitors a key list of metrics. “To make sure we are hitting our targets while improving CX, I look at CSAT, NPS, ASA, FCR, and AWT.” He continues, “First-contact resolution is always a main goal.”

CX: Influencing Revenue and Retention

After years of working in customer service, Randy has come to realize that every customer interaction is a sales opportunity. He maintains that in order for CX to drive revenue and retention at Echelon, agents must be ready to answer customer questions ranging from equipment details to assembly and maintenance. “I’m always reminding my team that any call that comes in is an opportunity to sell or upsell. They have to be extremely knowledgeable of our product line, and most importantly, help the customer,” Randy says.

Randy’s Thoughts on CX and AI

Randy and his department have utilized AI to handle its high volume customer contact. “AI has been a very helpful and efficient tool for us. We currently use it for Chat and auto email responses.”

Advice for CX Leaders

When asked what words of wisdom he’d pass on to fellow and future CX leaders, Randy responds, “Have empathy and put yourself in the customer’s position. Don’t take anything personally. In most cases, the person is not mad at you, they are frustrated with the situation. Just listen and always remember that your job is to help them.”

Tech Stack

Zendesk

Recharge

Attentive

Shopify Plus