In this episode of our Raising the Roof podcast, the topic on the table is customer service. Our host and CEO Nick Atkin is joined by experts Jo Causon, CEO Institute of Customer Service, and Richard Beevers, Director of Customer Plus, as the trio talk about customer experience.
First of all, let’s introduce you to our brilliant guests!
Jo is an experienced and passionate speaker on the vital importance of customer service. With a strong evidence base, she’s able to talk of the link between customer service strategies and organisational performance. She joined The Institute of Customer Service as their Chief Executive in 2009.
Away from work Jo loves to go walking and travelling! She’s travelled around the globe and says one of her favourite places to visit is South America. At the time of speaking to us on our podcast, she’d just arrived back from Japan and said would definitely recommend going there too.
Richard works with organisations to help them understand how improving customer experience creates a happier, more efficient working environment, and improves financial performance. He’s got loads of experience running, advising, and transforming businesses and has worked with businesses such as Ford, the TUC, and the Ministry of Defence.
In his free time, Richard loves to play rugby! He’s been playing since the age of 11 and is a Guinness World Record Holder for playing in the longest ever rugby match at 31.5 hours! He still turns out for the House of Commons and Lords rugby team, as well as the Wooden Spoon Veterans.
Now let’s get into the nitty gritty… we asked our experts if they think that customer service has got better or worse?
“I think customer service is bumping along. There are companies that are really good at customer culture and driving forward, and inevitably the others are going backwards, so I think this leads to an inconsistency. In a day or in a week you can get some fabulous service, but you can also get dreadful service.” – Richard
“Overall, I think customer service is getting worse. There are some really shining lights but there are an awful lot of organisations that still have a lot to do. That’s not attacking them, it’s a reality of where we are in terms of society. All my research shows that organisations that focus on customer experience over the longer term, will have much better financial returns.” – Jo
We’ve only scratched the surface of this conversation, and there’s so much more in store! Be sure to catch their discussion wherever you listen to your podcasts, including Spotify and Apple.
We just want to say huge thank you to our guests, Jo Causon and Richard Beevers, for joining us on our final Raising the Roof episode of season 2! But don't worry, we're coming back 🥳
Season 3 will be dropping later this year with brand new guests and topics to be discussed. We can’t wait! Make sure you hit the notification bell so you don't miss out.
See you again soon!