Each day during National Customer Service Week our CEO, Andrew Wilkinson, will share his experiences of customer service both in, and out of TMP.
But before you read his blog, maybe you’d like to learn a little more about him?
After spending 18 years with London based recruitment agency MDK, where he rose to director level, Andrew took on a three year tenure as TMP Worldwide’s UK Chief Executive. As well as implementing and driving the company’s UK acquisition strategy, he also launched monster.co.uk at the very beginning of the internet recruitment market in Europe. And now, as our CEO, Andrew's current focus is solely on the development and quality of TMP’s innovative, market-leading advertising and communications business.
Andrew’s blog
And the winners are…
Friday 10th October 2008
The week draws to a close and it has been a great week! Sometimes it takes an initiative like National Customer Service Week to provide the focus on something to realise how special it is. So I want to thank some people for their great customer service – Heather and Sophie in our marketing team who have relentlessly supported everything we have done and made a great idea a huge success, Laura my PA who just does what she does every day (including making sure that this blog gets posted while I fly to France), to everyone at TMP and within the wider reach of our clients who have shown interest, supported, participated in or just been great employees this week.
Last night I attended a supplier event at one of our top clients, a fantastic reversal of customer service where we as the suppliers/partners were hosted at an event where the client shared its strategy, areas of focus and key issues. This is fantastic as we now know exactly how to align our services and thinking in line with their goals which I am 100% confident will deliver better results for them and us.
It has been a busy week all round – London, Bristol, London & France. I mentioned my Easyjet concerns but in reality this is a company that does what it says at a price we all know is competitive. Whatever the issues may be about air traffic etc one thing I know for sure is that their people are passionate about their jobs. Even if the flight is delayed and there are problems with luggage or whatever, when I get on the plane the air crew will do whatever they can to make the journey a great experience. What more can I ask?
So to end the week what else is there to do but to recognise the best of the week, the winners and amongst a whole business of stars these few this week have risen above the rest to get extra recognition. Thanks to all those who took the time to nominate and well done to…
TMP client facing winner: |
Jennifer Millar |
Special mentions: |
Andrea Mellow |
TMP internal facing winner: |
David Murphy |
Special mentions: |
Chris Cunningham |
Client nominated winner: |
Kim Nash |
Special mentions: |
Phil Errington |
Signing off the week, the vacation taker.
Cheers!
Thursday 9th October 2008
The morning after the night before and I'm surprised to say the Bierfest was a really good night. I consumed only moderate amounts of beer so this morning my memory is surprisingly fresh.
What's a Bierfest got to do with customer service you may ask, well last night Old Billingsgate was packed wall to wall with hundreds and hundreds of people - all of whom had spent a reasonable amount of money attending the Bierfest despite the economic and financial gloom. So they deserved a good night and a good night is exactly what the organisers delivered. Customer service in its own unique way was quite exceptional, from ladies in their Dirndl dresses to the oom pah pah band on stage dressed in lederhosen - every part of the itinerary was planned and delivered to perfection. When you needed a beer, a quick nod to Erica or Flora indicating how many required, produced within seconds huge steins of beer delivered to your table. The food was Germanic and fit for the occasion and probably what really made evening work was that they understood their customer. And, instead of playing native German music to the hundreds of Brits swilling their beer, they played Long Way to Tipperary, Land of Hope and Glory and even finished with the theme tune from the Dambusters. Perhaps not what the Germans would have chosen but it certainly went down well with the customers.
So well done to the Bierfest organisers and the relevant message for me in National Customer Service Week is to truly understand your customer and exceed their expectations.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the wonderful session hosted by Tony Ramos of HSBC. Tony's professional, enthusiastic and game show host style presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by over 50 TMP staff. He shared his views on customer service and then requisitioned members of the audience to share some of their best moments of customer service, from Conan and Carphone Warehouse and Sophie and her wedding dress fitting, a common theme definitely emerged.
So thanks again to Tony and as we move towards the weekend I await the customer service of Easyjet with dread.
A big day in Bristol
Wednesday 8th October 2008
I had a great day yesterday mixed with some expected disappointment.
Why great? Well as we all know it is National Customer Service Week and we opened our brand spanking new contact centre in Bristol, “the official opening”. It was our great pleasure to welcome The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Christopher Davies to cut the tape and pronounce the centre “open”, we had a few speeches, a glass of bubbly with a slice of cake and a toast to the new centre. Not only does the centre exude professionalism, well designed with a functional layout, it is full of great people, a team (actually three teams) which is clearly motivated to deliver a great service as they handle the candidate enquires and telephone interviews for our clients. The NCSW balloons and badges were everywhere and the previous days recipients of the daily customer focus award were proudly wearing their sashes. Everyone involved in the planning and execution of the contact centre should be very proud but it is not how it looks that matters but the service we deliver, each and every day. In fact one of our clients spent part of yesterday afternoon listening in to calls for their candidates and the feedback I have had was that he was impressed with the quality of our delivery. Congratulations to yesterday’s winners in Bristol who were; Vinesh Tapsee, Chris Green and Amy Weale.
A coach I used to work with often talked about “expecting to be disappointed” and that phrase rang loudly in my head when on my return from Bristol I decided to have a quick coffee with my travelling companion, if you read Monday’s blog you will know that I am partial to a Starbucks but that the store in Paddington had under delivered in the past, well no surprises yesterday. I stood in line for a while but frankly couldn’t be bothered to watch the lacklustre service any longer and took my custom elsewhere. I had hoped that last week was a one off but the “expecting to be disappointed” comment was just so true.
Today we are delighted to be hosting a session from Tony Ramos of HSBC on his views on customer service, thank you Tony. And tonight I am attending the London Bierfest and may share some views on the service from there – if I can remember in the morning!
The value of great service
Tuesday 7th October 2008
I like shopping, perhaps not that common a trait for a man but for me it’s a real pleasure. I am however not an easy shopper. I am spending my money and I want to be comfortable that I am getting value for money and more importantly I want to get great advice, particularly when buying something expensive or technical. I am not a price based shopper, that is not to say I don’t like a good bargain but I want to get some comfort that I am buying the right item for my needs.
A while back I decided I was in the market for a home cinema system, I was having an extension done and I wanted to get the speakers and wiring put in before the plasterer came and finished the ceiling and walls. I wandered down to my local high street and visited a well known TV and hi-fi retailer, the shop was full of goodies and I was impressed with a number of the products on display, a young eager gentleman approached me to see if I had any questions. “Plenty”, I replied and began to ask about the specifications and price variances between the different home cinema systems. He talked…but he had no answers. Quite simply he had familiarity with the buzz words but no real product knowledge.
Disappointed I left the shop, crossed the road and entered another store. This was a small, local business and not part of a chain. Slightly fewer products were on display. Again I was approached by a gentleman to see if I needed assistance, not surprisingly I rattled off the same questions. The responses were of an entirely different quality, this guy knew his stuff and with great clarity walked me through the price range and what I could expect for my money and which system was right for my room and budget.
So now I was clear what I wanted, I had a choice. Either leave the store where I got the right advice and try and save a few quid, or place my order where I felt that I had received the right service and should I need more help would be really well looked after. I guess my decision is obvious; I bought in the second store.
Great service is lots of things, but for me it is absolutely worth paying for. You can get great service at a low price but that is an exception. There is a part of the buying decision where the value is not just in the product itself but in the advice and care that comes with it.
Hopefully at TMP we give that right blend of excellent advice with a great product. Why not tell us if we are by using our nomination form on this website under client voting, or if you work for us on the TMP voting page?
Heroes
Monday 6th October 2008
To deliver some of our projects and prepare new business presentations some of you work ridiculous hours and sweat blood, our customer focus is sometimes way out there in terms of passion and visibility but there are many, many occasions when we have people across our business quietly getting on with jobs and providing amazing customer focus to internal and external customers.
Through our nomination process we have unearthed a few of them and it is great to hear from TMP people those individuals that really make a difference but fantastic when our clients have bought into our National Customer Service Week promotion and have shouted about the TMP people that they appreciate. From the desk of Tony Ramos at HSBC who has nominated Annelise Jensen and Debbie Hamme at Castle Point Borough Council who nominated Kim Nash to Maritza Zota-Townsend who has highlighted the work of Amy Kay in Directional Marketing. So to all of you who have been nominated by our staff or clients a massive well done. I am sure that as this week rolls on more people will emerge as our own heroes worthy of recognition.
My days always start with a Starbucks Grande Americano with an extra shot, a big kick of caffeine to kick my brain into gear. The team of people at the Starbucks at the top of Chancery Lane are fantastic and look after me brilliantly, one winter’s day I was waiting outside before they opened, one of the girls made me coffee, unlocked the door gave me the coffee and told me to pay next day because she thought I looked cold. WOW. They always start making my coffee before I order and serve with a smile and a chat. I have got used to this and in a funny way it no longer registered just how good they are... until I was going to Bristol last Monday to see our new Contact Centre, in plenty of time for the train I went looking for my normal order and found Starbucks up on the mezzanine level.
A totally different experience, sullen and slow with no smile. It all came back in a flash just how great service makes me feel and I have appreciated my Chancery Lane team so much more this week.
We all experience service every day, this is a great week to tell the people who really good THANK YOU and tell them why – It is National Customer Service Week after all.
