In This Issue
If you haven't been yet don't miss the final day of SOLEX tomorrow
Cristelle dining set proves popular for Culcita
Norfolk Leisure present their ECO BOX at SOLEX
Last chance to improve your customer experiences
Thunder Grey covers are a hit for Bosmere
Resin furniture creates huge interest for Europa Leisure
TV star David Domoney promotes garden furniture on Hartman stand
Napoleon Grills focuses on user friendliness
Aspire Outdoors make a bigger impact at SOLEX
Fallen Fruits features Fancy Flames at SOLEX
Innovators International expand award-winning bar set range
Bargain bistro and top-end pizza from Premier
4 Seasons Outdoor win Best New Product Award
Bramblecrest win Best Stand at SOLEX
Spectacular New Product Showcase welcomes visitors
Sky News report on Sunday Trading changes from SOLEX
SOLEX goes Al Fresco for Pizza
Norfolk Leisure praised for their customer service
Katie Blake Gazebo by Glencrest Seatex has the WOW factor
LOFA presents cheque for £10,000 to Greenfingers
Catch all the news in the SOLEX SUN
Register for SOLEX now
How LG helps stockists to compete with online sales
Popcorn draws visitors on to the Zest 4 Leisure stand
Unique children furniture sets exhibited by Brundle
Have your picture taken on the Culcita stand
SolarCentre's innovative dark room shines brightly with Lumify
'Best in Class' is a real winner for Weber
Gardeco's new crack-proof chimenea is a world first
New COSI brand from Trans-Continental is the talk of SOLEX
Student design competition here to stay say Alexander Rose
Latest SOLEX news
Register for SOLEX now
 
Click here to register for SOLEX
Send us your news and views

Contact us with your news.  Email mike.wyatt@tgcmc.co.uk , neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk

For advertising enquires email trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk


Last chance to improve your customer experiences



Andrew MacMillan, an expert in differentiating business through customer experience, is the guest speaker at SOLEX and is giving talks each day of the show.

Andrew McMillan started his career as a management trainee with the John Lewis Partnership at Brent Cross. He quickly moved up through the management ranks and progressed to the head office to take charge of the department stores’ customer centric Intelligence Team. They acted as an internal business consultancy reporting on competitive strategy, product differentiation and value, catchment area and demographics for new branches and customer service.

In 2000 Andrew was asked to lead on customer service for the department store division. The role saw him develop JLP’s market-leading culture and attitude towards customer service and sales with the 20,000 customer-facing Partners in 26 John Lewis shops across the UK. That customer-driven culture is something that has now become synonymous with the John Lewis brand.

Andrew joined a City based consultancy as a Principal Consultant before setting up his own consultancy in 2012 specialising in employee engagement, customer experience and customer centric business change. Consulting clients have included: Argos, Asda, Ecclesiastical Insurance, Kwik Fit, Jardine Motors Group, Lookers Motor Group, Greene King, Vauxhall Motors, Peugeot Citroen and Virgin Atlantic.



Andrew will be speaking again at SOLEX on:

  • Thursday - 10.30am

Andrew says: "What did your business set out to do for its customers at its inception? In a fledgling business high quality personal customer service is a given or the business will fail. However, as a business develops it can lose touch with its roots as growth and financial control start to dominate the agenda.

"So, when was the last time you really thought about your customers experience when they interact with front-line staff and how those customers subsequently feel about your business? 

"Many businesses find themselves focussing on developing their products, services or processes when they think about customer experience and the interaction with staff is left to chance. 

"The reputation John Lewis enjoy is equally based on the quality of the experience delivered through their staff, as that is the value and quality of their products and services. It's a potential major point of differentiation in a crowded marketplace and one that many businesses fail to capitalise upon."

Andrew conducted a number of "secret shopper" visits to garden centres in preparation for his SOLEX seminars so he has some interesting an insightful comments to make on real likfe garden centre examples.

Email Software by Newsweaver