I went into Homebase at the weekend to get some odds and ends.

My normal expectation of a trip to a DIY superstore is one of general disinterest and underwhelming ... combined with merchandising to drive you nuts!

So, imagine my surprise in Homebase when:

Just a quick one: I have just bought 4 plants for the garden from rachael280280 on ebay.

As they were all separate plants, apart from 2, only a small postage discount showed on the bill in PayPal. This was fine, as the plants were good value and the post charge was fair.

About 5 minutes after paying I received the following message.

… How British Businesses throw away money by alienating customers  (Extract from National Consumer Council Report 2008), by Philip Cullum.

The key message from our research is that companies need to do much more to understand what it feels like to be a customer. Indeed, customers themselves are usually only too happy to provide advice and information on how to get things right-so long as they are sure that someone is listening and is ready to act. Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco says this approach has been key to his own success:

Our leadership team spends a lot of time in the front-line, not stuck in a chateau a long way from the trenches. We’ve developed many ways of giving customers a voice in the business, from Clubcard database management to market research, focus groups, panels, surveys – but for me the most powerful thing is still listening to customers.

All this information could just gather dust. But it doesn’t, it’s hard wired into the key decision-making committees of the company. The customer gives the leadership of the business the plain and simple truth about the business – it’s the most honest feedback you ever get. In my experience, if you listen really closely they not only tell you what’s wrong – they actually tell you what you need to do (and it’s all free advice). Then what you have to do is believe them – and act on it!  The life they lead, the problems they have, and their experience in your stores.

‘It isn’t enough to use the language of the customer. You really have to believe the customer. This is where I think many organisations fall down. Because they only pay lip-service to the consumer, they never really find out where their business is. They never learn where they need to be, and even when they do, they don’t always have the courage to go there.

So there you have it:

This is too important not to do, and not to do well.
For advice and information on these points, or to access help to make this work for you please contact us or go to www.greatorpoor.com  look at our blog and and sign up for our free weekly top tips.
                                                                                  

I like Nutella, but my waistline doesn't, so imagine how happy I was in Sainsburys the other day when I saw on the newly re-marketed (I presume) jar, the following words:

• Each 15g portion contains 2 hazelnuts, some skimmed milk and a little cocoa

1.    TAKE THE TIME TO GET IT RIGHT

        a.    Train everyone WHY it’s important         b.    Ask everyone their views         c.    Distil into sensible statement

2.    Gain senior management commitment 3.    Agree budget to make it work
4.    Present back and refresh to teams 5.    Publish prominently

Here's a great example of how badly Companies get customer service wrong, and lose massive potential repeat business (and referral business) for very small amounts of money.

We have recently returned from an excellent 2 week trip in the USA.

We had a small concern about our booking from Kuoni that we tried to resolve before we left, so we tried to call their customer service team. 

Hardly a day goes by without people talking about the importance of gathering customer feedback.