Front of House

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, nothing beats a good first impression.

Whether it’s on the phone or face to face – a good first point of contact is critical to how a conversation is going to go.

If you aren’t able to speak to an actual person with a question, then for me, it’s already a ‘Red flag’.

Companies that have adopted Ai, should note that robots and chatbots just don’t ’do it’ for huge numbers of people.

Foreign call centres, with teams that barely speak English and use a menu to deal with your problems – already you’re on the back foot when arguing your case because you know that they aren’t fully getting to grip with what your issue is.

Failing security multiple times because the bank haven’t updated your address – but they cannot discuss which address they have – because you’ve failed security again – isn’t going to go down well.

So, it is with these points in mind that I write a glowing review of a couple of places that I’ve been to recently.

Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell. I recently ordered 3 cases of beer for a team day that I was having – I unfortunately hadn’t realised that their delivery date would be after the date of the event. My fault entirely. I decided to call in and ask if I could expediate the delivery – I was greeted with a smile and a confident ‘How can I help’ – the young lady then took notes, went off to the delivery section, had a chat and came back with notes as to where the consignment was up to – and that she had managed to move things around so that my delivery would arrive on time for the party. Brilliant – no fuss – no grumpy ‘computer says no’ – just a real person in real time helping me out.

Riverside Kitchen in Hathersage – called in on a busy Monday with the team working at full speed to seat and feed everyone – again greeted with a cheery smile and a happy disposition – and a ‘can do’ attitude that just belied her age. Great to see.

Do not ask me about:

Barclays customer service.

Porsche customer service.

Audi customer service.

BT.

NatWest.