It’s a people thing
After more than eight years with Distinction Doors, associate director of marketing, Bethaney Larkman, explores the meaning of good customer service and introduces the people responsible.
What is good customer service? According to worldwide research conducted by help desk software provider Zendesk, the top answer is ‘I can solve my problem quickly’, followed by ‘customer support is available 24/7’, and then ‘the agent was friendly’.
The common thread here is human connection, not just expertise, and it’s something we strongly advocate. A human connection can leave a lasting impression and impacts trust and loyalty.
This is one of the many reasons we assign a customer service representative to every customer. This ensures our customers have a constant point of contact with someone they trust, who they are familiar with and more importantly, who understands their business. Together, we build valuable relationships and rapport.
Our customer service team
We know that ultimately, people buy from people and our business is no different. It’s why we value our customer service team. With a combined 28+ years’ experience they are an asset to the business.
We currently have six team members in the department. Jo Fisher and Lois Lockwood are both team leaders. They are supported by four customer service executives – Claire Feasey-Balfour, Alixe Suckley, Alison Watson and Charley Winfield.
The team works in synergy with the external sales team, our area managers. This ensures that the customer voice is heard internally and strengthens bonds, which is something we know to be important to our customers with one commenting: “The biggest reward in being a long-term Distinction customer is the very good working and personal relationships with the staff.”
Last year we conducted research to understand what was at the heart of our brand and we found that customers consider our people and caring customer service ‘second to none’. We are incredibly proud of this.
Of course, the responsibility of delivering good customer service extends beyond our internal customer service and sales representatives into the whole of our business. Our technical support and marketing teams offer exceptional support too.
Unrivalled field service support
Our field support service is customer-facing and it’s essential that it provides best-in-class customer service, consistently.
The team is headed up by associate director of quality, Jamie Kerrigan, and supports our fabrication customers with training, diagnostics and resolutions.
The level of support is unlike that offered by any other UK door supplier. The engineers are on the road all week. They spend time training new and existing customers and providing technical advice and support onsite.
With more than four million Distinction doors fitted across the UK, we go the extra mile and work with our customers to resolve any issues that may arise. Our customers know this and appreciate that they can turn to us for help. Not many door suppliers do what we do.
Customer marketing support
As the UK’s largest supplier of composite doors, we appreciate the impact our service has on our customers and our customer’s customers. It’s why we strive to exceed expectations. One of the areas where we excel in this is customer marketing support; a service which is often complimented by our customers.
Our in-house marketing team help our customers deliver an excellent customer experience. They do this through bespoke graphic design services, provision of top-quality sales tools including the popular online door-designer, printed brochures and the colour guide, PR, and much more.
Customers are now also benefitting from the expertise of recruit Tristan Royle as digital marketing executive.
