Who says nice guys finish last? CMC’s Mike Waller proves that cliché is wrong. Known throughout the company for his can-do attitude and cheerful disposition, Waller has risen from a Customer Care Center team lead to director during his 14 years at CMC.
Waller, who joined CMC shortly after graduating from West Chester University in 2010, has experienced steady growth at CMC and seen many changes at the company and how it acquires customers.
“My career progression was a little weird,” said Waller, noting that new opportunities to grow kept arising at CMC. “I never imagined being named a director at CMC this fast.”
The promotion, however, was a product of Waller’s sustained performance at CMC. The communications major joined CMC in September 2010 and immediately demonstrated his potential. He was promoted to supervisor in 2012 for the PECO Low Income Usage Reduction Program.
In addition to his communications and business knowledge, Waller also was adept with technology. That ability—and his realization that technology could be used to enhance the customer appointment process—led to his winning entry for the Doris Iklé Innovation Award in 2014. The award is named after CMC’s founder and recognizes innovative ideas that can propel the company forward.
Waller proposed using text and emails to verify customer appointments instead of traditional postcards. (I know it sounds like common sense now, but in 2014?) The suggestion saved CMC countless dollars and pointed the company toward the future of customer acquisition.
“When I started at CMC, we had paper schedules on the wall and a doc system called CM3,” Waller said. “Our customer leads weren’t even on a computer they were on a paper. Fast forward 14 years later, we can obtain customers through email, text and still phone. And, then we have our portal.
“It’s a lot harder to reach customers through the phone,” he added. “Technology has evolved so much that the telephone isn’t their preferred communication medium. Text and email have taken over the phone. For example, we can save time and money by sending out 1,000 texts—instantly—at a time versus mailing 1,000 postcards.”
Following Waller’s Iklé award, he continued his steady progression up the CMC corporate ladder. He was promoted to senior supervisor, manager and senior manager before his latest promotion to director. Not one to shy away from technology, the future of customer service also lies in technology, Waller said.
“I think the future will be showing and highlighting how the data our utility partners possess can support an omnichannel approach to customer acquisition, which allows us to meet customers where they want to communicate,” Waller noted. “I anticipate within the next few years that more than 50 percent of appointments will be scheduled via a customer portal versus through telephone calls.”
Waller’s favorite success at CMC was when the company won the stand-alone energy-efficiency Call Center RFP for ComEd in 2020. CMC later used that victory to acquire the PEPCO Call Center contract.
“That was the first Call Center not tied to a program,” he said. “That was a big deal.”
Not surprisingly, Waller said his favorite part of the job is his interactions with CMC employees and our customers.
“I’m in the people business,” he explained. “Everything we do starts and ends with the people. Part of communication theory I learned in college taught me how to always relate to different leadership styles, which provided a huge advantage to understand what the client needed before they ask.
“Understanding that it’s people that drive business and make decisions, has helped hone my client management skills,” he continued. “Those abilities help CMC not only secure contracts, but also help us protect that work. It’s about exceeding the client’s expectations.”
Another thing about CMC that excites Waller is the ability for employees to grow their careers here.
“If you truly work hard and exceed expectations, you’ll be able to succeed and grow at CMC whether it’s in your own department or a different department,” Waller said. “We’ve seen people who were able to advance their careers at the company.
“It’s not about where you start, but where you end that matters,” he concluded. “You must be willing to put in the work. If you always try to exceed expectations, you can go far at CMC.”