The light at the end of the tunnel? (Carphone Warehouse)

Member Name: benniash

Product:	Carphone Warehouse
Date:	02/02/04 (637 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent customer service both in shop and online

Disadvantages: This level of service is few and far between these days

***Please note that this opinion is solely about the customer services of the company. I felt that this would be more benefical than listing its extensive range of products that cover all major handset maufacturers and networks, plus sell a wide and varied range of accessories.***

Ever since Charles Dunstone set up the Carphone Warehouse in the late eighties he has placed a major emphasis on customer services. As the mobile phone industry has grown Carphone Warehouse have too. Whilst, in general, businesses in Britain seem to be providing worse customer service than ever, it seems to me that in a market as competitive and overly populated as that of mobile phone industry it is actually more important than ever. Ten years go mobile phone retailers were few and far between, with the industry aimed solely at those at the top end of the earning spectrum, now you can buy them from your local supermarket for under £40.

So after several encounters with the Carphone Warehouse in the last two months I decided to evaluate their customer service performance.

Shop: The Carphone Warehouse now has shops in every major town and city in the UK totalling well over one thousand, which ultimately provides the backbone of their sales. Although each shop is very similar in set up, design and layout please remember that I visited just the one, the Derby town centre branch.

The shop was well laid out but as overwhelming as any mobile phone shop - rows of mobile phones, each with different qualities was enough to make anyone turn round and walk straight back out. Thankfully this is where the staff comes into the operation. Not simply employed to take your money, the members of staff in the shop were a wealth of knowledge and not once did I feel like I was being pushed towards a particular deal or company, as had been the case in other companies.

Not only that but they also knew what questions to ask to narrow the search down. Simple in theory b
ut when you are faced with hundreds of different types of phone it helps to know what benefits various ones have as opposed to others. Both of the staff that I dealt with on my two visits showed considerable knowledge and guided me in the direction to the sort of phone that I had in mind. They spent considerable time with me, going through the positives and negatives of each one in an attempt to determine the best offer for me.

The only negative here is that although the shop was well staffed it was inevitable that on one occasion during the lunch hour, it took a while to get served. However my presence was acknowledged and as soon as a member of staff was ready I was dealt with.

Ironically the first phone that I bought was later seen online with another company for slightly cheaper, so not having put the phone into use I went back to the store to ask for a refund. Not only was I given this in full without fuss, but also no intimidating questions were asked as to why I wanted the refund.

Internet: My next experience of the Carphone Warehouse was just a week ago when searching for a present for my mother I found they offered the best deal on the phone that I had chosen as her Xmas present. With the Xmas rush well and truly upon us I decided to purchase the phone online.

The site reflected what I had found in the shop; the simple layout of headings and links made navigation easy and the purchasing procedure was both quick and simple. Once I?d input my card details I found that within seconds I had been sent an email confirming my order and further details of dispatch dates. Due to the price my order was due to be dispatched with one to three working days, and, given the time of the year, I was not expecting to receive it too quickly. So I was quite shocked when I received an email the following day saying that the order had been dispatched. I?d also like to point out that both these emails gave detailed descriptions of the order, a
n order number and contact details should I need to get in touch with them.

The following afternoon, less than forty-eight hours since placing the order, my phone arrived via an independent mail services. Not only was the order correct and in perfect condition, but they also included a Carphone Warehouse leaflet, order detail/receipt and a jiffy bag should I want to recycle my old mobile.

Mobile Recycling: The jiffy bag was included so that I could send my old mobile to an independent company who would pay to recycle it. The offer includes £5 for the handset and £2.50 each for the manual and the charger, although they do accept a combination of the three. Therefore I was presented with the chance to make money back on a near useless phone and they even provided free postage to eliminate all my costs.

Telephone: Both on the internet and with any material they send you, the Carphone Warehouse always prints a telephone number so that you can get in touch with them should the need arise. On receipts they include the number for your local store whilst everything else includes a national number. During the above experiences I rang both these numbers on several occasions, trying to confirm their refund procedure as well as enquiries about the aforementioned recycling service. Each and every time the staff member showed considerable knowledge and at no point had to leave the phone to seek further help or information. Each person was also polite and seemed genuinely interested in your problem and committed to helping resolve it in the best way they could. Each phone line has the usual commands and choices but one of the things that I did like was that when you had been waiting for a few minutes on the local line they transferred you direct to a national line and tried to solve the problem, which each time they did. This cut down the time spent on the phone a lot.

As you will know by now, my dealings with Carphone Warehouse have been excell
ent. I know it could be possible that I might have been lucky, perhaps the Derby store is a one off, or I kept getting excellent members of staff ? but I doubt it. What I liked was the fact that the staff appeared committed. For me this is more important than knowledge, to know that the staff were not really willing you to leave them alone (or at least appear that way!) helps enormously in the purchasing experience and doesn?t add pressure to make a quick purchase. I also liked the way that the Internet service and retail outlets worked as a whole company, unlike many other large national companies that I have encountered. A classic example of this is that I was assured that if I purchased the phone over the net and wasn?t happy not only could I return it to them but could even take it to one of their shops ? which would have taken out the expense and worry of returning the goods via the post.

Even after the sale was complete I have received a welcome email from the Carphone Warehouse. The more cynical amongst us will say this is a marketing ploy to keep us aware of the company, but even if this was the case it was still be a nice gesture.

Having heard the founder and now Chief Executive Charles Dunstone talk about his business and their operations on several news items I have no doubt that it is due to his belief that customer service is the key that has produced the wonderful and, quite honestly, refreshing experiences detailed here. He has introduced five fundamentals to the business (as noted below) and I honestly feel all are being achieved. Remember this is no longer a small chain business; it employs around nine thousand staff across varying outlets including call centres, retail and the Internet.

· If we don't look after the customer, someone else will.
· Nothing is gained by winning an argument but losing a customer.
· Always deliver what we promise. If in doubt, under promise and over deliver.
· Always treat c
ustomers as we ourselves would like to be treated.
· The reputation of the whole company is in the hands of each individual.

Remember this is no longer a small chain business; it employs around nine thousand staff across varying outlets including call centres, retail and the Internet. Having worked for large organisations in the past myself, I know other companies try to have similar policies but it?s hard to figure out why, and indeed how, it works at the Carphone Warehouse. Perhaps they offer excellent rates of pay and company benefits, perhaps their recruitment procedure is much more tougher or perhaps their training of staff is so in depth. Whatever it is I only wish that it was applied throughout all large companies and maybe we wouldn?t read so many ?buyer beware? horror stories but a few more positive experiences, like this one.

No doubt much to the delight of the much harassed staff, I can?t see myself needing another mobile phone for either myself or a relative in the near future - but should the need arise then the Carphone Warehouse will definitely be my first port of call!!

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