Optimizing Customer Experience in an Online Culinary Education

With decades of culinary excellence, the client has grown from a single Seattle storefront to a prominent presence across diverse markets. Their ecosystem combines premium kitchenware retail, digital commerce, and an extensive portfolio of in-person and virtual cooking classes.

With over 100 locations across various regions and a robust online platform, they serve more than 500,000 cooking enthusiasts annually through their retail offerings and interactive culinary education programs, catering to both aspiring home cooks and professional chefs.

The Challenges

The client faced three primary operational hurdles:

• Support System Inefficiency: The client’s support team handled high inquiry volumes during peak seasons, including class adjustments, technical issues, and class content questions. Their gift card system also needed optimization for cross-platform use, as customers faced booking issues.
• Limited Language Accessibility: While offering support in English, German, and Spanish, they needed to expand to French and Portuguese to accommodate their growing international customer base and improve service scalability.
• Poor Member Engagement & Retention: The client’s loyalty program lacked support for member inquiries on benefits, points, and offers, while inconsistent post-class follow-up affected retention. The team also struggled to use the product database effectively, missing opportunities for personalized recommendations and cross-selling.

The Solution

Hugo transformed the client’s customer support operations, emphasizing expertise and personalized engagement:

Enhanced Support Operations

• Hugo deployed agents with culinary backgrounds fluent in English, French, and/or Portuguese, combined with technical support expertise, improving response times, customer experience, and satisfaction.
• Through a three-day immersion program, agents quickly learned the client’s product catalog, class structures, and common customer scenarios. Within a week, agents managed basic inquiries across all languages and, by week two, handled products and complex class-related support.
• The team established a rotating schedule for 24/7 coverage, with peak staffing during class hours and holidays. Support was offered via email, phone, and text, allowing customers to reach out through their preferred channel.
• Hugo implemented a dedicated workflow for gift card operations with custom automation to manage activation, balance inquiries, and redemptions across platforms like web and mobile apps, including proactive expiration and balance notifications.

Customer Engagement and Program Optimization

• Hugo revamped the client’s engagement strategy with a tiered communication system, featuring automated reminders and personalized touchpoints. Silver members received bi-weekly calls, while Gold and Platinum members had weekly touchpoints. A dedicated team provided instant support for loyalty program inquiries, including points, rewards, and offers.
• The team structured class engagement by providing pre-class support with ingredient prep and equipment checks 24 hours before sessions. They conducted post-class follow-ups within 48 hours to collect feedback and offer personalized recommendations. The team tracked student progress and preferences using data analytics, driving targeted suggestions for future classes.
• Hugo also established a proactive outreach program targeting at-risk members and inactive students with personalized re-engagement campaigns. This comprehensive approach resulted in higher class completion rates and increased program loyalty.
• Hugo leveraged the client’s database to provide personalized recommendations for ingredient substitutions, equipment, and complementary products based on customer preferences and class history.

The Results

• Response time: Reduced from 6 hours to under 2 hours.
• Live class attendance: Improved from 65% to 85% with pre-class engagement.
• Membership retention:
  • 30-day: Improved from 35% to 48%.
  • 60-day: Increased from 28% to 42%.
  • 90-day: Grew from 20% to 35%.
• Customer Lifetime Value: 25% increase.
• CSAT Score: Improved from 75% to 92%.
• Support costs: Reduced by 15%.

Conclusion

The partnership between Hugo and the client shows how optimizing customer support can turn challenges into opportunities for improved experience and loyalty.

“What sets Hugo apart is their ability to truly understand our business goals and turn them into actionable support strategies. In just six months, they’ve helped us build a support infrastructure that not only meets our current needs but positions us for continued growth.”—Emily R., Director of Customer Experience