| Future State | Current State | Gap | Action Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer e-mail inquiries will be replied to within 24 hours on average | Average response time is 32 hours | ||
| Customer telephone inquiries will be answered within 5 minutes on average | Average hold time is 8 minutes |
Note
These first two steps can be reversed depending upon the situation at hand. For example, if you have been tasked with something vague like “improving customer service” and you are not familiar with that department, you may need to first identify where things currently stand before looking at the future state.