Hasler's end-users are comprised of a wide variety of clients, including smaller-, mid-, and large-volume companies such as Xerox and Citigroup.

Delivering an unmatched level of service starts in-house, notes John Vavra, president of Shelton, Conn.-based Hasler Inc. "Our employees and dealers are motivated and trained so that if a customer has an issue, it is handled immediately."

Hasler says it is recognized as the fastest-growing mail-processing equipment company in the United States. In the last few years, it has been ranked by Buyer's Laboratory, provider of office equipment testing and reviews, as the highest in the industry in terms of customer service.

"It was Buyer's Laboratory that issued a report rating Hasler higher in product reliability, service and overall customer satisfaction by nearly two to one over our competition," Vavra stresses. "That kind of recognition only comes from understanding the needs of the marketplace, designing quality products and never forgetting that customer support is job one.

"Everywhere you turn, in almost every industry, companies say they are committed to customer service," Vavra adds. "In the final analysis, that's often just lip service. Hasler has made excellence in customer service an integral part of every facet of our operation - including with our dealers. For us, it comes from both the top down and the bottom up." Hasler products include postage meters and scales, folding and inserting equipment, mail center management software, postal accounting systems, mail sorting and tracking, address printers, tabbers, leasing services and other mailing systems.

The company works with nearly 115 independent dealers that provide sales, service, supplies and support to customers. Most of them have been with Hasler for more than 20 years, Vavra says.

"We have an excellent relationship with our dealers, and most importantly, they in turn have excellent relationships with their customers," he states.

Fixing Customers' Problems
Hasler's end-users are comprised of a wide variety of clients, including smaller-, mid-, and large-volume companies such as Xerox and Citigroup.

Hasler continues to make major commitments to technology innovation, Vavra notes, investing at least 5 percent of its annual revenue in R&D. "Our push toward product quality and customer support has enabled our business to achieve double-digit growth annually over the last five years," he adds.

And even as the market becomes more complex, Vavra says Hasler has been able to design systems that make the end-users' mailroom operations easier.

The ability to anticipate may be the future of mailing efficiency, Vavra explains. For example, through Hasler's online services, mailing machines continually monitor their ink reservoirs and print heads, transmitting an alert to the server when one approaches the end of its life.

A follow-up e-mail reminds the customer to contact an authorized sales and service provider to arrange for re-supply. At the same time, machine-based cycle counters, diagnostics and error logs are uploaded to the server at each connection, allowing Hasler technicians to pinpoint potential component issues or to electronically download software updates when needed. All of this means a more effective, efficient, and expedited response to customer needs, Hasler says.