'Excellence In Customer Service'

Recently CVS were nominated for ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ an award by Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. We have been selected as a finalist along with three other businesses in Aberdeenshire. I am obviously delighted and feel very proud to have first been nominated, but now with the news of actually being a finalist in this category I am elated for the whole team that work so hard everyday to bring our services to the clients that support our business.

So what do we do to deserve such recognition? And why do we feel we are worthy of such a title? Well I have spent a good few weeks thinking this over and analysing these questions, and also looking at businesses that are finalists across the various categories, not just in our category. As I scrolled through the list digesting each business and doing a little research I came across a familiar name, Score Europe – Finalist in the category of ‘Outstanding Contribution to Society’, I thought about this one for a while and came up with the opinion that if they do not win this award there is no justice, I really don’t want to take anything away from the other finalists but I have an incredible amount of respect for what our rival’s in Peterhead do for their employees and the community of Peterhead, I hope to be upstanding with a big round of applause when they are announced the worthy winners of their category on the night. What was bothering me about my summary of the finalists is that I could clearly see why Score Europe and others would be selected as finalists, and why in my mind there should only be one winner. But I kept coming back to CVS, why are we selected, why are we worthy of such recognition?

I often break away from being sat at my desk working hard at whatever challenge the business is throwing at me, I do this by taking a walk around and talking to various members of staff, nobody in particular just whoever I happen to bump into. It serves two purposes, one to clear my mind and to get my feet back on the ground, and secondly it enables me to understand my staff and ask them how they are doing, not just in work but in life itself. Earlier this week I found myself with a full head and in great need of a walk around, on entering the shop floor I stood and observed the busy workshop and everyone within it, we had a couple of clients in looking over a job, there were representatives from production, engineering, sales and service attending the workshop discussions, the engagement was great to see from a distance and I could see the discussions were in-depth and of a technical nature. Later when I enquired what the clients were in discussing I was told that an issue had occurred with a couple of valves, and therefore we had asked the client to come in and discuss face to face the challenges we were facing so that we could agree the best way forward together. Excellent, so this is the answer I have been looking for, this is the reason why we have been recognised for our customer service. No! This is a given, when you have an issue discuss it with the client straight away, front it together, simple, not exactly award winning business strategy!

Lately I have been given a fair bit of praise for the way in which I run the business, for those who know me you will know that I struggle with praise, I operate better through criticism, it inspires me for some strange reason (No doubt something to do with my childhood!). I make it no secret as to what makes CVS successful, it is the people I have employed, the people that run my business, I give them enough room to make their career a very prosperous one. My role is simple, bring out potential in everyone and show them a clear path to progress. Business is so simple I can’t believe more people don’t go out and do what I do, yes its stressful at times and you can get frustrated when plans don’t fully work out but I can honestly say in the past eight years I have never slept so well. I learnt a lot from the companies that I once worked for, I took all of the good bits and turned it into CVS. However, one thing I am mastering, and something I didn’t learn from anyone but myself is that business is simple, it is other people that complicate it! I make a conscious effort to be honest and transparent with everyone who I deal with, not just clients but the whole chain of people from staff to the bank, suppliers to the potential future employees of the business. I learnt this on the very first day of starting CVS, I walked into an accountancy firm and explained that I had just started a business and it is going to be big, I further explained that I think I will need an accountant. I got taken into a small side room where I divulged my business plan, the chap that was listening with little interest explained that his company usually deals with larger companies, when I asked what the definition of ‘larger’ was he simply said “bigger then yours”. That was me sold!  Today I still have the same accountant, and not to sound arrogant but today CVS are their biggest client. I had a rocky road with them for the first two years, it took me a while to turn around and ask why they complicate matters, why they insist on making everything complicated and why they do not lay down the facts in simple terms. Today this is what they do, and their business is better for it. I believe in working together and keeping things very simple, this way everybody understand what the goal is and how it is to be achieved. I really don’t care who I am talking to, if I don’t understand then we have to go over it again differently, just deal with facts, the basic facts and build on that. So there you go, that is how you become CVS. However! You need a vision, and that is something totally different to the basics.

I love engineering, I LOVE engineering! I have been a fan of formula one for many years and I see this as the pinnacle of engineering, the excellence of engineering. I am fixated with every single team within the sport of F1, the way in which they operate at such a high level and the way in which they work as a single unit blows my mind. Obviously the biggest demonstration of this teamwork is shown in the pit stops that the drivers make, need I explain more. But to understand how it is possible to achieve such times for today’s typical pit stop is not just in the speed of people’s actions, but in the development within. the  tooling used which in itself is teamwork. Just like Score, I look up in great admiration to F1, so that’s my vision, to be F1 in everything we do. Today we are more like Arnold Clark! Which until recently I thought wasn’t a bad place to be.

Back to the award nomination and why we are worthy of it. I have worked my butt off for eight years and recently I decided that I would be selfish and go and buy myself a piece of excellence in engineering with a presence of beauty, I spent two months searching the country for my dream car, eventually I found it and negotiated the deal that I believed was right and fair for both sides. I made the purchase at an Audi dealership in Preston, the day that I collected it will stick in my mind forever for two reasons. One, it was my dream car, and two they knew it was my dream car. The attention I received and the excitement that the dealership shown towards me receiving the car was an experience that I loved. ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ Preston Audi. Recently I took my beloved car to Aberdeen Audi, what a fantastic building, I drove my pride and joy into the drive in service bay and was met by a very professional lady who took me through to the service representative and it all went wrong from there, no car hire as promised, lift back to work in an hour if I waited, car not ready when promised, car not ready when promised again, and again, when I complained to the Service Manager it was explained that Aberdeen Audi had not let me down but in fact their suppliers who had failed to deliver the parts required. When I finally got the car back it was received with warning lights on the dash. The apology that I never got was another learning opportunity for myself, how not to treat your customer. I started thinking back to when I was 17, I managed to buy myself an Austin Metro, my pride and joy at the time, I roamed the country free at last until the exhaust fell off, I took it to Kwik Fit and they told me I needed a complete exhaust system and that they could see that I loved the car and had done a fair bit of work to it, they offered to fit an upgrade to the norm, a fully stainless exhaust system, delighted that I had received recognition for my efforts in getting a scrapper up to some form of standard I gratefully accepted along with their interest free finance deal they were promoting that month. I remember driving out of the garage feeling a million dollars with my stainless steel exhaust system on my Austin Metro 995. ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ Worksop Kwik Fit. Today I took my wife to have breaks fitted on her pride and joy, it recently failed its MOT at the KwikFit in Stonehaven, they explained that they would have to order in the breaks but it was safe to drive until the breaks were delivered later in the week. As we dropped it off at the agreed time and date we were told that they could not fit the breaks and that it wasn’t their fault but the fault of the supplier who had failed to deliver. I walked away with a smile, thinking about all I have written about above.

So I conclude, what is Excellence in Customer Service? Simple, take ownership of what you have promised, if it goes wrong take responsibility, if it goes right make it slightly better next time. Treat the client with respect and understand their requirements, involve them at the earliest opportunity when things do not go to plan.  Request feedback to allow you to improve your business.  Form a relationship, a true and transparent partnership that both parties can benefit from, have the view that all relationships within your business are for life, and give all people dealing with your business the respect of transparency and honesty. Customers often thank me and my team for the great work that we do for them, my response is simple, ‘Its what we do’. I have until recently took it for granted that 'what we do' is simply what we do. The team at CVS very much deserve to be a finalist in this years Northern Star Award for the category of ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ Well done team, we are much closer to F1 status than I give you all credit for. I am very proud to be the leader of our company and hope that we can maintain the level of service we have today so that our clients come back tomorrow for the same service that they remember us for.