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28th January 2021
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2010 Bathroom Conference embraces good customer service
Last week's 2010 Bathroom Conference, which for the first time extended to two full days of meetings, workshops and presentations, has been described as the 'best yet'. Some commentators have questioned how it could possibly be bettered!
This year's theme 'Customer Service - making good business sense' attracted a full house. Delegates from all sectors of the industry were represented - bathroom manufacturers, importers, merchants and retailers, installers and the media. They were provoked, stimulated and inspired.
Five key messages were developed during the day of speeches from the panel of international experts.
1. Customer service is the responsibility of everyone in a company. Any organisation still employing a customer service director is 10 years behind the times. Good customer service is everyone's responsibility - but it remains the managers' responsibility to ensure everyone in the company is heading in the same direction in the relentless pursuit of giving customers exactly what they want.
2. Customer service is a key differentiator. Products can be copied. Prices can be copied, and bettered. But good customer service and professional relationships built on trust between individuals cannot be copied and will remain key differentiators. Customers need to be found, kept and learnt from... then profits will result. Every relationship matters and makes any company unique.
3. Good customer service is good for both the customer and for the staff of the company. It results in satisfied customers who are loyal to the company, keep coming back for more and give great recommendations. It results in satisfied staff that are loyal to the company and enjoy their jobs with less hassle and more fun.
4. A successful company gets into its customers' shoes. It will look from the outside in, not the inside out. It will want to know exactly what the customer wants. It will look at the sale from the customer's point of view, not its own.
5. Life is complicated enough. Nobody wants to complicate their lives any further. We all hate bureaucracy. Everyone wants to keep life simple as possible and to get good customer service. All companies should do what they say they are going to do, be simple, open, honest and transparent, with nothing hidden and no surprises.
The BMA's annual bathroom conference is clearly the highpoint in the industry's business calendar and is developing year on year.
"We are delighted with this year's event," says Yvonne Orgill, CEO. "Our membership embraces the conference and sees it as just one aspect of our rapidly growing association. We can't wait till our next conference!"
T: 01782 747123
W: www.bathroom-association.org
29th October 2010