Shoppers Look Local for Value and Quality

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.

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.

Simple yet very effective

Odd as it may sound, popularity can be a problem for some businesses. Take Pumpernickel sandwich bar and deli in Uxbridge for example, which has proven so successful that customers face sizeable queues at lunchtime. With the current economics situation, Britain’s workers are putting in longer hours, therefore, the prospect of wasting precious minutes queuing can understandably be a frustrating experience to many employees and, can potentially be the cause for customers choosing to go elsewhere.

 So we were impressed with Pumpernickels’ innovative response to this exact problem. The café and deli was started by two self-confessed foodies with a professional catering background whose combined history in restaurant expertise as well as mutual appreciation of high quality food for affordable prices meant that Pumpernickels quickly became so popular that long queues were soon leading out of the shop and down the high street.

As a response to increasing customer demand, the owners decided to launch an online ordering facility on their website www.pumpernickels.net For no additional charge customers can now design their perfect sandwich whilst remaining seated at their desk.  As payment can also be taken online, all customers need to do is bring their confirmation number to the shop where their sandwich will be ready and waiting for their collection, minimising customer waiting time and increasing business productivity in one go. Simple yet very effective.

Pumpernickels also stresses the importance of catering for a variety of budgets, from credit crunch specials and, basics fare through to gourmet meals. Founder Vicky Francis says: “Having a wide variety of options can be very advantageous as it will appeal to a variety of budgets and ultimately increase your target audience. 

“However, when times get tough you also need to ensure that you are giving customers the best possible value for their money. Instead of cutting corners look at other ways of reducing your overheads and take time to source the best possible prices as competition will become fierce.”

Waste not want not

Launching a fledgling business during a recession may seem like a bad idea, but this week we spoke to a young entrepreneur from Manchester who believes that if you can save your customers money then you can potentially turn the economic downturn into a great business opportunity.

Shiply was founded in June 2008 by Robert Matthams. Already the company has 3,500 hauliers signed up to use its services and an impressive 15,000 customers, a figure that is likely to rise significantly in accordance with future developments. 

The website www.shiply.com serves as a virtual marketplace matching haulage companies with customers looking to transport goods. Customers log on to the website and post specifications of items they need collected or delivered. In response, transport companies registered with the site can then bid for the job, leaving the customer free to choose the best possible deal.

Waste not want not is the motto for this story as the ingenuity of the idea lies in the fact that each job is carried out by a driver returning from a previous delivery job with an empty vehicle. Not only does this venture reduce customer expenditure by up to 75%, but it also saves them the time spent chasing companies for a quote. Of course it also helps hauliers to increase their profit by filling what normally would be empty vehicles and, benefits the environment by reducing both congestion and carbon emission.

The idea arose upon the delivery of a snooker table to Robert whilst he was still a student. After chatting to the delivery driver and finding out he would be returning from Manchester to London with an empty vehicle, Robert decided to carry out further research which revealed that 25% of all lorries on the road are travelling completely empty, having completed their deliveries.

Matthams believes that a recession can be a great time to start a business because advertising costs are much cheaper, and, if you have an idea that can reduce consumer expenditure by maximising existing resources then the recession can act as a great platform in which to start your new venture.

So, what factors have been integral to the rapid success of the company? Robert advises: “Make sure your business plan enables you to move and grow as quickly as possible, ensuring the protection of your intellectual property at every step.”

Welcome to the Swift Awards blog!

Each week our judges interview a diverse range of local businesses throughout the UK to find shops, tradespeople and companies that offer good customer service and great value. Each nominated business must be able to demonstrate its ability to provide the quickest, most reliable and hassle-free service for its customers, as measured against our tough awards criteria. However, we are also looking for companies that contribute to a thriving local business community; either by offering innovative services in accordance to customer needs, or simply an ongoing commitment to going that extra mile.

If they successfully pass the judging process, nominated businesses join a host of other winners on the Swift Award business directory, showcasing only the very best of local firms throughout Britain. The Swift Award business directory is rapidly expanding and we now have over 300 winning businesses featured online. So if you are looking for a reliable company that offers great value, the Swift Award business directory is the first place to look.

Our judges have been so impressed by many of the businesses we have spoken to that we have decided to create this blog to share with you some of the success stories and customer service tips we’ve heard. The blog will cover topics such as how small businesses are overcoming the credit crunch, what the current business trends are, and the revival of ‘good old-fashioned customer service’. The blog will not only be useful to business owners and employees, it will make fascinating reading for customers as well.

So every week our blog will give you a look behind the scenes at the Swift Awards and some of the best local businesses in the UK. But we would also love to hear from you, whether you are a customer with a story to tell about customer service, or a company owner who wants to shout about their business.