Customer Care and Service

Sponsored and judged by Horwath Clark Whitehill (visit website)

The category

Good customer care and service will be the very essence of why your customers come back to you time after time and/or refer you to their friends and contacts. This category is for companies with clear principles for delivering a first class service and achieving customer satisfaction.

Please enter the number of employees, including contractors, on the Entry Form. The judges will place your company in the small/medium or large division of the category as appropriate.

What the judges are looking for

First off tell us what your company does and its achievements. Let us know about your core values, describe how these are reflected in your current and future vision for your business. Give us your definition of customer care within your business and how you ensure this evolves within the culture of your company.

Describe the most important factors and reasons influencing your success with customers and why you believe you should receive the award for Customer Care and Service.

Please write your overall description in no more than 500 words (fewer are perfectly acceptable) and then separately answer the questions below. Where possible, please attach supporting materials such as photos, leaflets, testimonials etc. to back up your entry.

Please include contact details of two customers we can approach to discuss their perception of your customer care.

Specific questions to answer

1. What is your customer care policy?
2. How do you involve, train and monitor your team in continual improvement of customer care?
3. What is it that you do that sets your customer service apart from your competitors?
4. How do you involve the customers themselves in customer care, in terms of getting to know and understand their needs and aspirations and turning feedback into continual improvement of customer care?
5. Describe how you deal with complaints and difficult customer situations.

About the judges

Judges Mark Anderson and Geert Struyven are Partners at Horwath Clark Whitehill, a top 20 UK accountancy firm providing exceptional assurance and business advisory services. The West Kent office is based in Tunbridge Wells.

Both Mark and Geert have extensive experience in helping businesses to fulfil their potential. As part of a very competitive service industry sector, Horwath Clark Whitehill know at first hand the importance of customer care and the need to build strong, long-term relationships with clients. This is achieved by listening to clients' needs and providing innovative, objective and value-added advice alongside the mainstream of assurance and advisory services.