Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Exceptional Customer Service - Alive and Well

Just before Christmas Annie and I decided we would buy a second treadmill as part of our training for the London Marathon in April.

I ordered the treadmill online from a company called FitHire Ltd based in Hampshire. I had a phone call from Mark at FitHire within minutes to confirm that my order had been received and processed and the treadmill would be delivered within two days.

Less than 24 hours later the treadmill was delivered – outstanding service.

After a couple of days the treadmill developed a problem. On the advice of Mark at Fit Hire I rang the manufacturer, a company called Beny Sports based in Yorkshire to report the problem.

Sophie
of Beny Sports told me to try a coupe of adjustments to see if the problem could be cured. I tried and it did not improve. Sophie told me they would replace the treadmill within two days.


Less than 24 hours later the replacement treadmill was delivered – and it was an upgraded model – outstanding service again.

Please take a bow Fit Hire and Beny Sports

Please take a bow Mark and Sophie.

As someone who is often critical of poor customer service it is fantastic to know Exceptional Customer Service is alive and well – and as always it’s all about people.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

We need more and more companies like this! Employees doing the right things, manufacturers doing the right things.

I recently had a very good experience in Colorado Springs with a carpet cleaning company called OxyMagic. The technician wasn't satisfied until all the spots were completely gone. I paid $144 (American) and the guy was here for 2+ hours and cleaned two rooms, two sets of stairs, and a long hallway.

He really cared about his job and cleaned the carpet like it was in his own house.

I wish these stories were the norm. Sorry to hear about Woolworth's!

J.KANNAN said...

A very good thought and act both by Mark at FitHire Ltd & Sophie at Beny Sports.In my place(at Chennai) it does not usually happen. Instead of taking "CARE" of the customer, on such occasion, they "STARE" at for simple reason they have pocketed the price money of the product-A Silly Concept-

I only wish that by and large companies interacting with customers really understands the problems and get into quick action like FitHire Ltd & Beny Sports. One must bear in mind the fact:-

"If you don't take care of your customer somebody else is ready in waiting to take care!!".

I didn't get what it means(from Scott) "Sorry to hear about Woolworth's".

J.K

Trevor Gay said...

Hi Scott - Happy New Year to you and your family.

I wish we had OxyMagic near us – we have a carpet badly in need of a thorough clean :-)

You are so right about the personal passion that some people demonstrate in doing a terrific job. It is all about personal commitment and standards

The demise of Woolworths was a real shock to most of us in the UK and sadly the company did not quite reach 100 years of age. I gather the first Woolworths shop opened 99 year ago.

A real tragedy and the end of a true British institution.

Trevor Gay said...

Hi JK – Happy New Year to you and your family.

I am always pleased to report on customer service excellence. Like Scott I believe we usually see such excellence because individuals go ‘the extra mile’ and do something that leaves the customer with a warm and lasting impression. Excellence is ALWAYS about individuals.

FW Woolworth is a well known and until now well loved retail store in Britain that was founded - interestingly enough - by an American 99years ago. ‘Woolworths’ was the first real supermarket chain in Britain and has become a victim of the world economic crisis. Many hundreds of Woolworth stores have closed throughout Britain as the business has ‘gone under’ and 30,000 employees now face redundancy.

You can read more about the ‘death’ of Woolworths at this BBC news link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7776113.stm

J.KANNAN said...

Trevor/Scott,
You both are absolutely right on "Customer Service Excellence" and I love the concept of both of you.

Thank you Trevor for the info on Woolworth(I was in fact not aware of this at all) a good information added to my awareness. Shall go through the link provided by you.

Have a Great& Happy New Year celebration.

J.K

Marilyn Jess said...

JK--I smiled at your description-- STARE instead of CARE. I've noticed that myself.

Trevor & Annie,

What a wonderful customer service story. Enjoy your new treadmill. When it's so cold here in Vermont, I'm thankful we bought a good quality treadmill! We've had ours over 15 years, it's a manual one, and is still in great shape--it's a Precor, that's why :) The newer ones are programmable, which challenges your body better, good for training.

Cheers, Marilyn

Trevor Gay said...

JK – the Woolworth store in the UK was something that we never thought would die – it goes to show how deep this recession is.

Trevor Gay said...

Hi Marilyn – we enjoy the treadmill most on those cold frosty mornings. I prefer running outdoors as a general rule but I must admit the thought of staying indoors at the moment is more appealing. Sounds like you made the right decision to invest in a good quality treadmill 15 years ago – I hope ours last that long! Ours are both very basic treadmills with limited settings but nevertheless still make me realise then old saying is true – no pain no gain – hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009!

Anonymous said...

Scott --

I will pass the OxyMagic story on to my son. He and his family live in Colorado Springs.

Do you suppose OxyMagic's range of operations extends to Denver? Quite a few of our family live here.

Ah, word of mouth in action! Good service is worth fostering.

-- Dick Field

Anonymous said...

Dick,

It does extend into Denver and they typically run coupons in the ValuePak advertising...at least I've seen coupons for Colorado Springs.

Thx for asking! I'm still amazed at the pricing levels based on what they did for my house.

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