Nicholas Craig Column

Nov 19 2004 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

That's the way to do it! A customer service Oscar should be awarded to my local branch of Kwik-Fit, which repaired my tyre free of charge simply because I had to wait for 15 minutes while they finished another job.

I'll be back there again. Good customer service works. What I remember from that tyre change isn't the time it took, but the way the Kwik-Fit fitter cared about being fair to his customers. Personal service is the most simple, direct way to develop business and yet, surprisingly, is so often overlooked.

There's never before been such an emphasis on the importance of good customer service as there is now, thanks to TV programmes such as Watchdog, growth in the number of consumer agencies and a greater awareness of how a happy customer service experience can set a business apart from its competition.

But it doesn't seem to be getting through to some utilities, banks and retailers. Their priorities lie more with the latest IT systems and cost-cutting schemes than the people element. As the power of technology grows, people-power shrinks. The simple psychology of treating customers well to ensure they come back to buy more products belongs to a former, slower-paced, low-tech world.

Yet when customer service is put at the top of the agenda, the company invariably benefits. Supermarkets have it off to a tee. I enjoy reading - upside down - the cue card for store staff that suggests they "smile, make eye contact, say hello". Having read it, it's impossible not to join in, and as a result I am that tiny bit happier while handing over my money.

It is these little things - eye contact, a warm tone of voice, courtesy and whether it matters if the customer has had to wait in a queue - that make the biggest difference between good and lacklustre customer service. Given that the UK now has a 70pc service-based economy, such things also matter to the bottom line.

In a hugely competitive market place companies stand or fall by the way in which they make people feel - and that includes staff as well as customers. Good communications, sharing information and telling the truth works in business as in life.

The gaping omission in a month littered with annual awards dinners is customer service Oscars. Yet that one area of business makes all the difference between being run-of-the-mill or a shining success. Let's hope it soon gets the attention.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton LLP.