Decathlon

Information Cannot Be Lost in This System

Thanks to the implementation of Salesforce, Decathlon’s Hungarian stores now operate a unified customer service system that ensures no customer has to repeat their story or problem over and over again. Staff can always assist customers in full compliance with legal regulations. During the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Salesforce also significantly facilitated communication with customers. Today, unified reporting is in place, helping optimize various processes across all business areas through the use of performance indicators, while also supporting staff evaluation and skills development.

The collaboration between Attention CRM Consulting and Decathlon Hungary began in August 2019.

“The primary goal was to gain a complete picture of customers reaching out to our customer service – regardless of which channel they used to contact us. We wanted to ensure no one had to retell their entire story. If someone had an open, ongoing case they were asking about, the system should alert us and allow us to check the status,”

explains Eszter Fináczy, Head of Customer Service at Decathlon.

“The second, equally important goal was to streamline communication across departments into a single channel, so that no information would be lost within the organization, and we could have a clear view of the workload ahead.”

As the national branches of the international sports retail chain were given autonomy in operating and developing IT systems, the Hungarian subsidiary decided to implement Salesforce for their customer service operations.

“The goal was to handle all inquiries received by the central customer service and complaints or requests made at individual stores on a single platform. Salesforce had to support the precise recording of complaint reports, simplifying and speeding up the work of affected staff, and contribute to the development of a chatbot that could increasingly handle customer inquiries,”

says Réka Tóth, Project Manager at Attention CRM Consulting.

Untangling the Threads

“When I joined Decathlon five years ago, I saw that customer service, the logistics center, and all the other HQ teams – finance, inventory management, legal, marketing, IT, etc. – did not use unified communication channels. Everything served a different function,”

says Eszter Fináczy.

“This didn’t cause issues in day-to-day operations, but when handling more complex cases, it could complicate matters, slow down resolution, and ultimately hurt the customer experience.”

Due to the volume and complexity of cases, it became necessary to introduce and standardize customer service protocols. One key challenge, for example, was that in-store colleagues often had their days off midweek due to weekend shifts. This meant another colleague had to be able to seamlessly take over ongoing complaint handling to maintain efficiency and smooth service.

After the decision to revamp the system was made, Fináczy attended a conference organized by Attention where she heard about Salesforce and its capabilities.

“Among all the options we had considered – each of which had significant limitations from our perspective – this seemed to be the most effective solution.”

Top-Notch Customer Service

A system had to be built that contained all the necessary information to support staff in dealing with customer inquiries and which could be expanded as needed. Additionally, Salesforce had to help build a searchable customer database that recorded who contacted the store, when, and for what reason – and what response they received.

“We basically started from scratch. Our website kept evolving, and Decathlon began offering more and more services. So, the scope of customer service and the range of incoming information constantly expanded. Salesforce had to dynamically adapt to all these circumstances,”

Fináczy explains.

Furthermore, creating complaint reports in Hungary is strictly regulated by precise legal, professional, and formatting requirements.

“Even if the customer ends up satisfied after a resolution, and even with good intentions and gestures from the company, if anything essential is missing from the complaint report, we risk being fined. A poorly worded sentence, an incorrectly filled line, or an omitted checkbox – all can be reasons for fines,”

Fináczy says.

Perfect Complaint Handling Is the Answer

The Attention-Decathlon project team had to develop a model that would support in-person and online customer service staff step-by-step in creating legally compliant complaint reports.

“In Salesforce, an automatic template is generated for every case, guiding the user through all required and optional responses. The process cannot be closed unless all necessary information is provided. Afterward, a PDF is generated and sent to both the complaining customer and Decathlon’s back office. The documents are searchable, and the consistent format makes working with them much easier – whether for reviewing past cases or preparing internal reports,”

explains Réka Tóth.

“It took time to build the perfect system – one that doesn’t allow staff to proceed in the documentation process if anything is missing and we risk a fine. In fact, everyone welcomed the innovations brought by Salesforce, since the standardized mechanism eliminated the possibility of error and acted as a fast, simple guide for doing their job,”

adds Fináczy.

Salesforce Makes Work Easier for Everyone

As online sales grew, and more customer feedback came in regarding returns and exchanges, more store employees started using Salesforce. With online orders, not just customer service but also finance and logistics staff needed visibility into complaint processes. If a complaint was valid, a new product might have to be sent or a refund issued.

“An internal email within a company can get lost, and the colleague responsible for continuing the process might be on vacation. Salesforce allows all involved to see where a complaint process stands and who needs to approve or take action to move it forward,”

Fináczy explains.

Numerous small and large obstacles emerged during the process. Constant communication was maintained between specialists from different areas and developers at Attention.

“Taking all feedback into account, we’ve now developed an internal customer service system that enables unified reporting, the creation of new categories and lists, and greatly eases the work of all involved staff,”

Fináczy believes.

According to her, the only minor disruptions in the development process were due to inevitable staff changes, but overall, the collaboration with Attention CRM Consulting was smooth, task-focused, and solution-oriented. Every issue was eventually resolved, resulting in a transparent, automated, and highly efficient system.

Chatbot Integration at Its Best

Salesforce has also proven to be a great help in customer communication – especially during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Decathlon stores had to close amid skyrocketing demand for sporting goods.

“We connected Salesforce to the order management system, so when a customer asked whether a dumbbell or training shoe was available in a certain size, our customer service staff could instantly check. Later, this feature was integrated into Decathlon’s chatbot, allowing customers to get instant answers. This demand data also serves as a valuable input for procurement and other business decisions,”

adds Tóth Réka.

The Salesforce-chatbot combo played a huge role during the first wave of COVID, when stores closed and people rushed to buy sports equipment.

“Marketing, event, and HR colleagues had to jump into customer service roles because their original functions were put on hold. After just a few hours of crash courses, they were able to respond to queries using the support provided by Salesforce. We quickly trained the chatbot to answer repetitive questions – like store opening hours,”

Tóth Réka recalls.

Today, a chatbot automatically initiates communication on Decathlon’s online platform, but store staff can monitor and take over the interaction if the chatbot stalls. They can handle email and chat inquiries on one interface, using pop-up notifications to manage customer queries.

Salesforce also directly supports process optimization across all business areas by generating performance indicators.

About Decathlon

Decathlon has been present in Hungary since 2005. The company currently operates 24 stores, offering over a thousand products for 72 types of sports.

The founder, Michel Leclerq, built the company on a clear philosophy:

“Treat your customers as if they were your best friends. Don’t overcomplicate things. Most importantly, never say no to a customer.”

He founded the now globally successful company in Lille, France, in 1976.