The event, held at Magdalene College, was attended by representatives from city centre businesses that were rated anonymously by mystery shoppers during two visits in March and July. Cambridge BID commissioned market research organisation Storecheckers to assess key issues such as selling skills, staff attitude, store standards and local knowledge.
Edward Quigley, Cambridge BID manager, said: “A company can provide the best products and services, however, without great customer service the shopping experience is somewhat lackluster. Research has shown that 66% of customers have spent more with companies where they have a history of positive customer service. By signing up to the Mystery Shopper programme these companies have shown their commitment to getting the best return out of their key asset: their team, and to delivering excellent service to customers.”
The 2015 results reveal how the customer-experience rating in Cambridge city centre had increased by over 10% in the last 12 months, from 75% to 88%. More businesses also took part in the programme this year: 90 compared to 70 in 2014. Cambridge now ranks with the highest performing centres assessed by Storecheckers, alongside Liverpool and Worcester.
The winners for best customer experience across eight categories were:
Independent Business – Fashion & Beauty: Cuckoo
“The staff members tried very hard to show me outfits that I would like, and listened to me as a customer.”
Independent Business – Mixed: The Vacuum Cleaner Centre & CallyCo
“The service was really good and the staff member was clearly interested in helping. The staff member was confident and attentive to my enquiry.” (The Vacuum Cleaner Centre)
“The member of staff was truly customer friendly. She was professional and knowledgeable. She knew what she was talking about and was encouraging.” (CallyCo)
National Business – Clothing: Rohan
“The staff member was very attentive and helped me with everything she could.”
National Business – Other: LUSH & Kuoni
“The staff member who helped me was extremely welcoming and friendly, putting me at east immediately.”(LUSH)
“The staff member was very keen to get the right break for me.” (Kuoni)
Service: Grand Arcade Management Team
“This call was extremely successful. Everything I asked was answered plus I was given a lot more information.”
Leisure & Tourism: Cambridge Science Centre
“As soon as I walked in I was welcomed verbally. The staff member smiled and made eye contact with me. She asked if she could help.”
Café/Restaurant: Don Pasquale
“I would recommend this restaurant to others based on the excellence and attentiveness of the table service and the promptness of the waiting staff in showing me to a table.”
Late Night Venue: The Snug (Lensfield Road)
“The staff members could not have done any more to make the experience better, they were top class.”
Two overall winners, receiving the highest possible score of 100% satisfaction across all the criteria, were LUSH and Kuoni. Edward Quigley said: “We believe in celebrating the success of our top performers. It was clear from their mystery shopper performances that Kuoni and Lush both delivered the ‘wow’ factor, in that they both provide an outstanding customer service experience. My congratulations to them both.”
James Williams, Store Manager of LUSH said: “We’re delighted to have scored 100% in both visits. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our team.”
Stephen Glover, Assistant Store Manager at Kuoni said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won the award. It’s always lovely to hear we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
The awards were presented by Cambridge mayor, Councillor Robert Dryden, who said: “In a competitive world, it is essential that every business strives to stand out from the rest. One of the ways that this can be achieved is always to offer good customer service. I am delighted to present awards to those businesses that have been recognised as providing the best levels of customer experience in Cambridge city centre.”
Edward Quigley added “This year Cambridge BID has worked hard to support businesses in driving up standards and we’ve been delighted with the way they’ve embraced our feedback. There’s always room for improvement and throughout 2016 we’ll once again be helping businesses build on these tremendous results by arranging targeted training courses based on the feedback from the mystery shop reports.”
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