Customer first, means standards mirror those of home sweet home

How do you consistently achieve fantastic customer service, as evidenced by great customer satisfaction and feedback surveys?

We spoke to one of our PM’s, who manages to do just that. Here’s how she approaches customer service, quality control, and problem resolution to great effect.

When we asked Simone how she does it, she said that she had reflected long and hard, ‘what do I do that’s different? I honestly think it’s just about being open, honest and delivering on promise.’ She goes onto say, ‘If my clients want something, they ask me to do it, then I do it, and then I go back to tell them I’ve done it.’

Great customer service models always talk about getting to know the customer, something Simone agrees with, ‘I ask them about their family, if they have children, and if they do, I’ll ask about them, how they are getting on? It’s more personal that way. I can only be me, with them.’

‘There’s the element that I just care. I do genuinely care, probably too much, at times to my detriment. When I have a Site Manager that isn’t used to the clients’ works, they can sap a lot of my time. I can be talking to them 2-3 times a day, which sometimes my day doesn’t allow.’

She continues, this is okay, ‘I don’t mind that, as we are building a relationship’.

‘I’m on a journey with my customers. I have to manage their expectations, deliver a programme and deliver it to a high standard. I don’t do it on my own. I need good contractors, which make a difference.’

This is construction, at times no matter how well we plan, works can go awry. How do you handle these situations?

‘I try to get to grips with that quite quickly, if things aren’t going to plan.’ Simone replies, but how?

How do you get to grips with a contractor that is not living up to expectations?

‘I expect the same standards, as I would expect in my own home. I wouldn’t have it any other way! If it’s not right, I will have that conversation. I will show them what good looks like, I’ve got photos of the level of standard I expect, and I’ll show them. This is how it needs to be. I try to set my stall out early on, at the beginning. Sometimes I can use another site, running concurrently as a showcase, to show them that this is what we expect. This is how it should be.’

So, for Simone quality standards and expectations have to be demonstrable and evidenced to ensure that there is no disparity when it comes to the standards she ensures for her customers. We then went onto ask,

Coming from Homebase, do you think your background experience shapes your approach to customer service?

‘Absolutely, because it is a customer centric business. My customers weren’t the paying kind, my customers were the store management, but they don’t have to be treated any differently to a paying customer. I’m delivering a service, to clear KPI’s.’