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Building a Great Business

Who’s heard of the delicatessen, Zingerman’s? Well, neither had I until recently. But trust me, once you learn about this small business, you’ll be itching to know more. At least this was the case for me and why I felt compelled...

Best Practices for Social Media Customer Care

Social media has arrived as a first choice channel of interaction for consumers to seek customer care and technical support. It’s the next stage of evolution in the demand for a better online experience and real time customer service.   The birth...

The Greatest (customer experience) Story Ever Told?

Like many people, as thoughts turn to what the New Year may bring, I pause and reflect on the year gone by and consider what I can learn and be inspired by to help face the challenges ahead. As far...

A Winner’s Story – Virgin Money

The Story of Virgin Money’s Lounges Virgin has a 40-year history of going into areas with the aim of making things better for customers. In the last 12 months, we’ve set out to do the same for banking. Our long-term ambition...

Waitrose – Measuring the Magic

Waitrose has demonstrated its commitment to continuous improvement of customer satisfaction by launching a customer experience management (CEM) programme with Empathica, the UK’s leading CEM provider. Replacing their current mystery shopping initiative, the new programme will be designed to assess the...

The Customer Experience Business Part 2

As I said in last month’s issue, the unexpected discovery that came as a result of my research project of five great companies is that, although they are all in different industries, they all share five things in common. Since...

Hard to say I’m sorry…

‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word.’ I wouldn’t usually open an article by quoting Elton John. I am today, but only so I can immediately disagree with him. That’s because I think sorry is actually one of the easiest words....

Your shoes or mine?

You know what it’s like, staring in disbelief at the TV, calling the contestant an idiot because they don’t know the answer! Of course, in the warm and cosy surroundings of our armchair, we usually answer in an instant, but...

10 lessons learned about customer experience

Over the 10 years working with leading global brands, we’ve learned that sometimes it’s executing the basics well that allows brands to break through to new levels of success. Here are some of the key lessons we’ve taken from our...

Rethinking the Risk and Reward Relationship?

The risk/reward principle is well understood, but is it a mindset – a particular lens for viewing life through, or something closer to the rules of a particular game? A game, moreover, often played by people who think of themselves as...