Providing a great customer experience encourages people to refer your services to others.  Referral being the best type of marketing, and customer service the cheapest.

The letter from South West Trains is an example of getting it very wrong, a simple, “Sorry, here’s a refund” would have sufficed:

Ref: 388022 / 143912

06 May 2009

Thank you for your website comment that we received on 5 May 2009.

Replacement bus service on 2 May 2009

I understand that the Faversham to Whitstable portion of your journey was replaced by a bus as a result of engineering work. Considering you were not given information about the replacement buses when planning your journey, I can understand your disappointment about this. I regret that you did not enjoy your bank holiday break as much as you hoped as a result. I am also very sorry that the bus was delayed by 15 minutes because the driver of the bus was unfamiliar with the route.   Whenever buses replace trains, you are quite right to expect to receive an equal or better service from the buses. In addition any companies that we employ for such purposes are issued with a strict Code of Practice that they are obliged to adhere to. The provision of drivers that are knowledgeable of the route that they are required to cover is a prerequisite. Furthermore, these companies represent Southeastern at such times so we expect them to provide a service that we can be proud of. Considering this, I am particularly sorry that we let you down.   I can confirm that we view any failings very seriously. So I have brought this matter to the attention of Nik Kuric, our Road Transport Manager, who will investigate this matter in detail. I can also assure you that this matter will not be allowed to pass without repercussion, as we are not complacent whenever we are alerted to such failures. This is more so the case where companies have been specifically employed to deliver a service and have evidently failed.   You may also be interested to know that our contracts are reviewed regularly taking into consideration Passenger feedback about specific incidents. Where an unsatisfactory service has been identified from particular companies, we seriously reconsider their contract. To this end, Mr Kuric reviews all the comments that we receive about our replacement buses. I therefore hope that you don’t encounter such difficulties again.   With regard to the incorrect information you were provided with by our website, I am sorry that you encountered this problem. Nevertheless, I should say that there can be occasions, especially during times of disruption, when our staff may struggle to obtain updated information about train services. This is because some problems can have a knock-on effect on other parts of the network. When this happens, service updates can change constantly, and it can be difficult for staff to give correct information at such times. It does also become frustrating for staff when they find that they are not able to keep passengers updated.   All the same regardless of the situation, this is no excuse. Because of this I have brought your comments to the attention of the Website Manager, who will look into ways that we can avoid similar problems from arising in the future. I also have brought your experience to the attention of our Customer Information Manager, who will identify the cause of this failure and make certain that the relay of information from our Control Centre to passengers becomes more efficient. To this end, we are also planning to improve the communication link infrastructure, so that information is relayed more effectively.  Once again, please accept my apologies for the disruption to your journey, and thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. Passenger feedback, whether good or bad, is always appreciated so that we can continue to improve on the service we offer, and I hope you can be reassured that we take all issues and concerns very seriously. I also hope that despite this episode you will continue to travel on our services.

Yours sincerely

Dan Westlake

Customer Service Officer Southeastern

Southeastern

Customer Relations

PO Box 63428

London

SE1P 5FD

Tel: 0845 000 2222

www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to emails we receive at this address. If you’d like to email us another question or comment please use our email contact webform www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/contact.php Thank you.Please visit our website at: www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

London & South Eastern Railway Limited is a company registered in England (No.04860660).
Registered office: 3rd Floor, 41-45 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6EE.

Please listen to the audio above, it is a real company but I have edited out the names.

A clear corporate image is essential for communicating with clients, everything communicates and at every point of contact.   Therefore, I am always surprised when companies put temporary staff or untrained staff on their reception desks to greet visitors and answer the phone.

People are the brand, they create an impression within seconds.  The immediate impact that your front office make is crucial.  It is often the strongest and longest, both verbally and visually.  Get it wrong and it is very difficult to change the image that your customers have imprinted in their minds.

They say “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”.

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com

“I got the job.  Thanks for your help.”
Marcus Rich, Managing Director, Mail on Sunday

Our pre-interview training aims to transform the way in which employers are perceived by potential employees — and vice versa. Using a combination of traditional business consulting methods, together with professional acting techniques, we move the employer’s focus beyond a candidate’s CV and teach them to explore what a candidate is like as a person, what drives them, whether they are competent, trustworthy and ultimately if they are the right person for the job. We firmly believe that this approach is far more successful when trying to predict someone’s potential effectiveness in the workplace.

We work together with clients to help them to:

Create compelling value propositions — which resonate with the  needs of their prospective employees.

Make a great first impression — research has shown that we make judgments about someone within seconds. These are difficult to change, so we make sure our clients get it right first time.

Communicate effectively with candidates and select high performers — this includes coaching clients in communication, with an emphasis on listening and sensing verbal and non-verbal clues that reveal the traits, behaviours, values, capabilities and potential of candidates.

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com