Press Release

Sir Richard Branson voted Britain's best ambassador of customer service

5 October 2009

"People's champion" Sir Richard Branson is Britain's best ambassador of customer service, according to a poll of experts.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took second place, followed by Churchill the dog, in a survey by the Institute of Customer Service.

The survey participants are all customer service professionals taking part in the ninth annual National Customer Service Week this week (October 5-11).

Around 1,500 organisations have registered for the week and many more are taking part worldwide. Employers in public, private and third sectors see it as an opportunity to recognise the efforts of their customer-facing staff and thank them for their achievements.

Jo Causon, the Institute's chief executive, says it is no coincidence that Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos topped the poll.

"They are both renowned for high service standards in their fields," she says. "Sir Richard is often prepared to take the customer's side, while Jeff Bezos broke the mould with Amazon, by developing the blueprint for effective, personalised, online customer service.

"And our latest research of 25,000 consumers saw Churchill achieve a world class score for customer satisfaction, so perhaps Churchill the dog symbolises a company which puts good customer service at its heart."

Jo Causon believes customer service is the vital differentiator in business today and says those who recognise the talents and contributions of all their staff will motivate their people, improve customer loyalty and boost profits.

"The key to success is to treat customer service as a culture, not a department. You must listen to your customers, deliver on your promises, invest in your staff and be prepared to evolve to meet the changing needs of your customers.

"Organisations will use National Customer Service Week to celebrate customer service as an important part of their DNA, which needs to be embraced by everyone to ensure consistent, world class service is delivered."

Research shows around 90% of customers are likely to tell others about a bad customer experience, but satisfied customers also tell other people, therefore generating new business.

Companies signing up include Virgin Trains, Manchester United FC, Unilever, Metropolitan Police, PricewaterhouseCooper LLP, British Gas, Barclaycard, Toyota, Volkswagen, TalkTalk, the Environment Agency, Alliance and Leicester, Ladbrokes, Mothercare, Avon Cosmetics, Ticketmaster, Jobcentre plus, Carnival UK, Hallmark Cards, Legoland, National Grid, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Lovefilm.

Survey respondents revealed their top reasons why customer service is vital to bottom line profits – generating repeat business and attracting new customers. They also gave their top reasons for taking part in National Customer Week. Here are the top 10:

1) Improve communication from ideas provided by staff
2) Celebrate a serious message to everyone in our organisation that we all provide customer service.
3) Show customers that we really do take pride in the service we provide
4) Show that customer service is important and relevant to our overall business objectives
5) A morale booster for staff
6) Update customer service skills and find out what is new
7) A fun week and a reminder of why we do what we do all year
8) To remind colleagues that being polite and friendly isn't an extra thing they have to do - it should be part of their everyday business
9) Promote our business
10) Promote the excellent work that staff have undertaken

More information is available on National Customer Service Week at www.nationalcustomerserviceweek.com