Customer Care -What you do and what you don't

I'm lucky enough to be able to work from my home/office which is in the centre of the City of London. We have a flat in a block of 16 in what is otherwise a business district. Since moving in about four years ago, I have collected the mail that is delivered each morning and put it into my neighbour's post boxes. I have also returned mail addressed incorrectly or to people who have left the block.

For four years, therefore, I have been returning envelopes, in particular, to Capita, Prudential plc, Bank of America & Merrill Lynch - all addressed to the same company. For four years I have been marking the envelopes "Not Known at This Address" and putting them back in the mail. And still they come on about a monthly basis. What a waste.

Allowing for Royal Mail to lose a few, I must have returned about fifty pieces of mail to each of those companies - and still they continue to send mail. I can only think of two reasons for this. Either they receive the returned mail and get in touch with "Finsbury Data Services" - at which point someone from that company instructs them to continue sending mail to EC4. Or, and surely this is more likely, the "group of four" above simply don't get it together to update their records. Why would that be? I know how expensive it is to send direct mail out, and so it must be in their interest to update their records? I can't believe that the firms named above are simply incompetent  - they wouldn't have survived at all if that was the case. I assume that "Finsbury Data Services" told everyone they were leaving this building - it must have been some time ago since "Finsbury Data Services" were acquired by Reuters in 1986 and the building was renovated for residential use in 1999. That's a lot of lost mail.

As a non-customer of those firms I can only assume that they just don't care. That leads me to assume that their customers are not that important to them (assuming, of course, that "Finsbury Data Services" are a customer, although I arrive at the same opinion if they are a supplier). My opinion of those firms is reduced because they don't seem to care.

It cannot be difficult to have a system to get information from the mail room to the customer's record. After all the only reason that I know who is sending these flyers etc is that there is a large company name and log on the envelope, together with a return address. These are huge companies with lots of employees - surely that could have one who is responsible for the flow of data from mail room to marketing or customer services.

In the meantime I will continue to return mail as it arrives in the hope that someone somewhere will actually so something with the knowledge I am returning to them - and that they will search out "Finsbury Data Services", find their new home and communicate with them properly.

Lessons from the Apple Store

On the back of the report in the "London Evening Standard" (see here for the copy), in which it declares the Apple Store in Regent Street to be the most profitable shop in London at £2,000 per square foot, I was thinking about why this is and what lessons can be learnt.

Anyone who knows me will already be rolling their eyes and saying "Apple people..." with a sigh. I admit that I am an Apple user and a great fan. Apple have, however, taken a new route in their high street shops and one which would appear to be working.

The difference is customer focus. Give people a chance to see and use the Apple equipment, so the theory goes, and they will embrace it - and, more importantly, buy it. First of all it doesn't look particularly like a shop and has plenty of helpers at the front doors to engage with anyone needing guidance. In depth knowledge and help is available throughout the shop. Free seminars are put on all day, every day, to introduce the Apple software to both new and experienced users. Visitors - and a great number of people who come into the shop do not buy anything (this time) - are made welcome and can use any computer to access the internet or make use of the free wifi throughout the store. Above all, they have knowledgeable and committed staff working there who are trying to help customers and who are quite happy to say "I don't know" to a question - but immediately find another member of the team who can provide answers.

Of course it is easier for Apple than for other computer or software sellers since they control both hardware and software - but I think their real secret is to make a visit to the Apple store to be a pleasurable activity.

How many other businesses are there that do that - whether businesses that we work for or businesses that we consult to? How many of our customers would consider dealing with our firm as a pleasurable activity?

As in retail, so in professional services. Provide an excellent service, have committed and knowledgeable staff, and keep the needs, requirements and preferences of the clients at the forefront of all decisions. Simple!