Customer Service Training Program - Case Study Example

Currently headquartered in Paignton, England, Sutton’s Seeds has built a reputation for itself as a reliable and honest company and distributor of seeds (both flower and vegetable), young plants, bulbs, and other products not only in the United Kingdom but worldwide. According to their website, their customer service is “second to none, and a remarkable history that goes back over two hundred years.” (Sutton 2010) Sutton’s Seeds was founded by John Sutton in Reading in 1806 under the name ‘House of Sutton’, and originally supplied only corn. The business was not expanded to include fruit and vegetable seeds until 1837, when the business gained new premises and had grown, with Mr. Sutton taking in both of his sons into the business and the sons convincing their father that fruit and vegetable seeds were the way to grow the business. Both father and sons wished the reputation of being the best in the business, and soon were supplying seed far and wide. The business expanded again in 1836 when Sutton’s son Martin Hope purchased nursery grounds as well as a greenhouse, and in 1838 began to sell greenhouse plants along with the fruit and vegetable seeds that had brought prosperity to the family business. He also changed the name of the business at that time to ‘Sutton & Son’. Twenty years later, they were honoured when Queen Victoria requested that they supply seeds to the Royal household, and the tradition has continued to present day with Queen Elizabeth II, along with the honour of a Royal Warrant. With the passage of the Seeds Act in 1920, which made testing for germination and purity a legal requirement for all seeds companies, Sutton was already well ahead of his time, as he had been doing this since 1840 when he had decided to purchase a laboratory and commence testing himself to look for the various qualities now required by law. The commitment to high quality and germination with Sutton’s Seeds continues to this day with the company. Between the years of 1840 and 1873, when the expanded their headquarters in Reading, many changes took place, all of which were brought about to ensure quality and commitment to their customers. The invention of the rail and the first rail trains to run through London brought many advantages for the seed company, as they not only were present at the station to sell seeds directly to customers but also able to use the newly-invented rail to ship packages that were too heavy to go by mail. Today part of the worldwide company Vilmorin, and still a leader in the global exporting as well as germination and testing of seeds, the company has not changed in its customer commitment since its founding in 1806. Many things have changed – premises, offices, and office practices, but not the commitment to producing and supplying high-quality seeds. Sutton’s Seeds approaches customer service as its number one priority, seeking to tell customers without reservation that they produce high quality seeds. They address such things on their website, providing not only vegetable and flower seeds but also any number of kits and products for gardeners of any level, from those who are just starting to garden to those that have been doing so for any number of years. Again, with their commitment to customer service, they have pledged to be there for any customer, at any level, and make sure that each customer understands the products that they are purchasing as well as how to plant and care for them properly. Sutton’s has call-centre employees on call to make sure that the orders are taken, read, and explained to the customers, as well as listen and nurture the customer’s drive for garden products. By offering a diverse and wide-ranging set of products, they have the ability to appeal to any customer on any level. With such a large commitment to customer service, Sutton’s has gone above and beyond offering products on their website to bring gardening information to the homes of their customers at the touch of a keyboard. The website offers a column on gardening as well as lawn and vegetable care, along with printable PDF guides and videos that can teach different aspects of gardening. They have also implemented one-touch catalogue requests and a discount scheme for gardening and horticultural societies, to attract business and give groups the benefit of their seeds. Suttons Seeds’ strengths are many and varied, from the fact that they have always been committed to the needs of their customers and producing high-quality, high-germinating seeds. They have the advantage of a large company and over 200 years of experience and service behind them, as well the benefits of supplying diverse products and being able to export not only throughout England but worldwide. However, one weakness that the company does have is that it could be seen as ‘too big’, and unable to meet customer needs on a large scale due to being so diverse, even though its products are all manufactured in the gardening industry. Another weakness is that even though they do offer a satisfaction guarantee, there really is no guarantee as to what the seeds will do when planted in a backyard garden. Finally, as they are a seed company, they are dependent on the seed market, though this could possibly not be seen as a weakness as they do provide other gardening implements. Suttons Seeds currently advertises little in the way of training opportunities for their employees, though they do possess “Investors in People” accreditation (2010). This accreditation is a recently innovated accreditation that is outcomes-based, and boasts a flexible approach that is not only customer-led but one that allows companies to choose the framework in which they will succeed. Suttons also states on its website that its employees are the key to its success, and that they are committed to ensuring that every employee has the right skills and training to complete the necessary job to which they are assigned. They also state that they offer a diverse range of opportunities, which is hardly surprising considering that they are one of the largest growers and distributors of seeds! Though Sutton’s Seeds does possess Investors in People accreditation, it would be my recommendation, were I a manager employed at this particular company, that the company not necessarily move away from their accreditation, but arrange to also acquire ISO 9000 accreditation. ISO certification was originally defined and brought into use by the International Organization of Standards in 1946 in Switzerland, and today is comprised of the national standard bodies of over 91 countries and is an international organization, not an enforcement agency. The ISO models are somewhat similar to the TQM (Total Quality Management) models previously and still used by some companies today, which are used in order to facilitate customer quality and satisfaction; however, they implement a different cycle of Plan-Do-Check-Act as opposed to S.W.O.T. (Strength, Weakness, Oversights, Threats) in regards to quality assurance and operation of management system standards, hence trickling downward to customer service and quality assurance (Wilson). In the broad sense, both models operate the same way, as with any model used to improve customer service – they help the company to organize its systems and take a look at the small implements that make up the ‘big picture’ – therefore the customer sees the benefits of an organized company, which can better serve its customer base, whatever that might be. In the case of Suttons Seeds, the customer base is, quite obviously, gardeners and horticultural enthusiasts. The cycle takes on four parts, with specific steps for each. During the “Plan” phase, objectives are established and plans are made, with the objectives and plans further broken down subsequent to the needs of the company or organization, such as establishing overall targets and plans to meet the target goals. The next step, or “Do”, is when the aforementioned plans are implemented, and the step afterward, “Check”, takes place during the “Do” phase when actual performance is subsequently checked against the previously made goals. The last phase, or cycle, “Act”, is actually taken into account during the two previous cycles, when goals are corrected and plans previously made are improved. The main purpose behind ISO is a simple one: To be really efficient and effective, the organization can manage its way of doing things by systemizing it. It has also been said that when TQM principles are applied, and ISO systems put in place, certification is easily achieved (Broughton). Designing a new training programme for the company would be a very daunting task, as they have already set themselves high standards for customer service. However, I would endeavour in designing the programme to implement not only small tasks geared towards customer service, but also to make sure that every employee was versed on the products for his or her department thoroughly. It would be my recommendation in the new training program that, first and foremost, each employee spent at least 1 weeks’ time in the laboratory/testing areas, to first observe the process of germination and be aware of Suttons Seeds commitment to this issue. Next would be a two-week phase in which they were assigned to shadow a veteran employee of at least five years’ service to the company. The employee would serve as mentor and advisor, taking them under their tutelage to make sure that they were properly introduced to the department in which they would be working as well as becoming acquainted with company procedures. During this two-week period the new employees would also be given a series of training presentations, done mainly in electronic form either via an internet server already containing the presentations or company CD, covering not only the history of the company but also various other areas, including but not limited to customer service and satisfaction as well as company policies and procedures. It would not be necessary to hold the presentations via classroom sessions with instructors or tutors, though the new employees would of course be encouraged to go first to their mentor/advisor and then their superiors with any questions that required clarification. If necessary, technical training would also be made available to those that needed to assist customers with website navigation to bring computer literacy and other skills up to speed, though that would most likely be a minor issue, as the website would be handled by those already skilled in such areas. Job qualifications would be screened against those that had applied, as already in practice according to the company website; therefore there would be very little need to teach employees skills beyond what their job would entail them to do. Implementation of the recommendations, the training programme as well as the ISO certification, would be done through presentations, first to my immediate supervisor, and then to those that he or she recommends. I would endeavour to put together a complete and total packaged presentation, with booklets containing literature and evidence to back up the training programme, and using as much electronic resources as possible, such as PowerPoint and other resources, that would be able to make the point clearly and concisely without being overly ostentatious. I would feel more comfortable presenting to the manager one-on-one first, before taking it any higher, possibly even in paper form only over an informal meeting. Even though I would wish the company to not only implement the training program but the ISO certification as well, I would not want to do anything that would make either my immediate supervisor or anyone in the company feel as though they have not done their job. I would also suggest that the training programme be implemented as a research programme first, to be tested on a small group of new employees, perhaps as few as five, and using them as an example, further evaluate the use and outcomes of such a programme. In that way, if it was found that revision or change was needed to the training programme, it would not become an issue of great magnitude. Also at issue would be the need to find responsible employees willing to serve as mentors and advisors to the new employees. There would be a need to make sure that, first and foremost, the employee would be willing to act as a mentor to a new employee, as well as making sure that the employee not only understood the finer points of their job but could teach them to another. In other words, just because one employee had over five years of steady employment with the company would not ‘automatically’ make one available for consideration as a mentor. Employees would have to complete a certain process such as filling out a questionnaire, as well as a short interview with their immediate supervisor, to make sure that they understood their responsibilities as well as what was necessary and required of them. Of course, at any time, should the new employee or the mentor feel uncomfortable with each other, changes would have to be made, therefore it would be a good idea to have a short (one or two) names for mentor employees that were currently available. With over two hundred years of history, a Royal Warrant, and a commitment to supplying high-quality seeds, Suttons Seeds has much experience to draw from the area of customer service. They have made the commitment that the customer is, and always will be, their first priority, from purchase to planting to germination. List of References Broughton, R. (2010). What is the definition of TQM? [online] available from [05 August 2010] International Organization for Standardization (2010) ISO: International Standards for Government, Business, and Society [online] available from [06 August 2010] Recklies, D. (2005) S.W.O.T. – Analysis [online] available from [06 August 2010] Suttons Seeds (2010) Home Page of Suttons Seeds [online] available from [04 August 2010] Suttons Seeds (2010) Home Page - Employment at Suttons [online] available from [06 August 2010] Wilson, M. (2008) ISO 9000 – An Introduction [online] available from [05 August 2010] Read More