The Cat's Pajamas SOFTWARE SYSTEMS FOR PUBLISHERS     To print, click on File—Print in your     browser.     Return to Cat's home page. 12559 Pulver Road, Burlington, WA 98233 Phone: 800-827-2287 Fax: 360-707-5400 Email: info@tcpj.com    To return to the previous page, click the Back button in your browser. All information (c) Copyright  2007, 2008   The Media Services Group, Ltd.

Customer Service

Keeping your customers happy is the way to keep them ordering direct. In an industry famous for small margins, both publishers and their customers depend upon the information system to make each transaction profitable.

Customer Queries During Order Entry

When is a customer most likely to need information about their account or backorders, forthcoming titles or special deals? When she calls to place an order. 

Order entry staff needs access to information—quickly. Pop-up windows and fast, flexible searches give them all the information they need right inside the order entry program. And for more specialized inquiries, detailed viewing screens provide complete information about order history, payment history, and more.

During order entry (and in other programs):

• Set up new accounts or update customer information.

• Check title inventory, availability, due date.

• View abstracts of book contents, catalog blurbs, and other information about each title.

Easy Order Follow-up

Entering an order can be just the start of a relationship—sometimes it's not a great one. Shipping delays, mis-shipments, lost orders, and other hazards put a damper on things. But with easy access to all the information about an order and an account, your customer service staff can keep your customers informed and happy—or make good on problems and get things back on track in a hurry.

• View what they've ordered, when it left the warehouse, how it was shipped, how and when it was paid for.

• View open order and open backorder status.

Great Customer Service Can Increase Sales

"Can you tell me how many of this title we ordered last time?" "Where can my mother get a copy of this book in her area?" "I'd like to order your top best-selling backlist titles—what are they?" "Will the books for my signing party be here tomorrow?" "When did my order ship and by what carrier?"

It's not surprising that many publishers have moved customer service and order-taking functions into their sales departments. Providing great customer service can help increase sales. It requires answering a host of questions like these every day. And you need the answers instantly to avoid costly call backs and unhappy customers. The Cat's Pajamas makes it easy to find the information you need, when you need it.

• Special "memo pads" let you keep notes of conversations or special information about your customers; viewable in order entry and other key programs.

• Detailed online invoice/credit memo information is viewable for several years (you specify how long). Line item sales information stays online for as long as you choose.

• Search for book information by title, author, ISBN, subject, and other criteria. View/print/export summarized book sales and returns history for the life of the book, plus month-by-month history for up to 4 years.