The battle between independent traders and supermarket giants has been rapidly increasing throughout the last decade with many of the larger retailers securing prominent sites on Britain’s high streets or tempting shoppers away from city centres altogether by setting up out-of-town megastores.
With supermarkets boasting a wealth of credit crunch deals and smart marketing campaigns, it is hardly surprising that independent traders have suffered as a result.
However, this week one of our judges spoke to a butcher who believes that independent traders can not only provide shoppers with good value for money, they can also offer better quality produce and a level of customer service that their larger counterparts cannot compete with.
‘People get duped by the false marketing of supermarkets,’ says Simon Boddy, proprietor of ‘Best Butchers’ in Milton Keynes. ‘Customers are genuinely surprised when they realise that not only is our produce much cheaper than some of the ranges they would normally buy from the supermarkets, it is also of a far superior quality.’
The shop is located on a farm on the outskirts of the town so it does not benefit from passing trade and does not believe that advertising is the solution to gaining new custom. Instead Best Butchers relies heavily on good old fashioned word of mouth, whereby the provision of a quality service and excellent prices are paramount in keeping customers satisfied and winning new trade.
Simon Boddy explains: ‘Recently we have seen a return to quality. Lots of new customers have begun to come to our shops with their cookbooks having been recommended by friends and they appreciate the fact that we are happy to spend time talking to them. They know they can ask us questions regarding different cuts of meat and suitability and we will take time to explain what will save them money whilst not to compromising on quality or taste.’
Boddy also believes that programmes such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘River Cottage’ and Jamie Oliver’s ‘School Dinners’ have influenced consumers tremendously, with the all-important message of quality not quantity highlighting the advantages of returning to smaller, local providers.
As supermarket chains strive to dominate the UK, independent traders and spokespeople are joining together to encourage consumers to shop locally instead and support their local businesses, and, as Simon Boddy believes, opt for a far better quality and lower prices. So it is possible that as a result of the credit crunch we could see a change in consumer trends and a return to quality as many customers take the leap from bigger to better.
Best Butchers offers a free delivery service for all orders exceeding £30 and a charge of £5 for all orders under this amount. Click here to go to Best Butcher's show page.
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Complaints about complaining
The BBC consumer champion Watchdog recently carried out some research to find out how long it took a number of leading companies to answer their customer hotlines. Telephone and broadband providers including BT, Vodafone and Tiscali were tested, along with satellite TV provider Sky.
Watchdog researchers made 500 calls and found that on average the companies answered in less than three and half minutes. The fastest was mobile phone provider Three, with an average of just one minute 39 seconds before researchers got to speak to a person, whilst BT and Sky came out worst, with the satellite channel keeping one caller on hold for more than two hours and ten minutes.
The irony of this of course is that many callers using customer hotlines are usually trying to lodge a complaint or sort out an issue – people don’t often call up companies to leave compliments – so keeping consumers hanging on for such a long time is only going to compound matters.
Most local businesses don’t need such complex systems to deal with customer concerns and complaints because hopefully they won’t have the volume of enquiries. However, the principle of responding quickly and effectively to address customer concerns remains the same.
In fact, because many consumers are so used to lukewarm service at best, punctuated by infuriating cases of simply bad service, if you are sympathetic and courteous in the way you deal with customer issues, you are not only more likely to reach a satisfactory conclusion, you could actually be rewarded with greater loyalty from a customer who appreciates being taken seriously for a change.
At Swift Relief we have compiled a list of hints and tips to help consumers get good service – although they are equally useful for businesses wanting to win their customers over – so click here to find out more, or you can visit the Business Link website for a useful resource of guides and information on dealing with complaints and delivering good customer service.
Watchdog researchers made 500 calls and found that on average the companies answered in less than three and half minutes. The fastest was mobile phone provider Three, with an average of just one minute 39 seconds before researchers got to speak to a person, whilst BT and Sky came out worst, with the satellite channel keeping one caller on hold for more than two hours and ten minutes.
The irony of this of course is that many callers using customer hotlines are usually trying to lodge a complaint or sort out an issue – people don’t often call up companies to leave compliments – so keeping consumers hanging on for such a long time is only going to compound matters.
Most local businesses don’t need such complex systems to deal with customer concerns and complaints because hopefully they won’t have the volume of enquiries. However, the principle of responding quickly and effectively to address customer concerns remains the same.
In fact, because many consumers are so used to lukewarm service at best, punctuated by infuriating cases of simply bad service, if you are sympathetic and courteous in the way you deal with customer issues, you are not only more likely to reach a satisfactory conclusion, you could actually be rewarded with greater loyalty from a customer who appreciates being taken seriously for a change.
At Swift Relief we have compiled a list of hints and tips to help consumers get good service – although they are equally useful for businesses wanting to win their customers over – so click here to find out more, or you can visit the Business Link website for a useful resource of guides and information on dealing with complaints and delivering good customer service.
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