Notes from the Boardroom – John Lewis’ Andrea O’Donnell

When Financial Mail Women’s Forum asked if I would write about how John Lewis gives its customers such a good retail experience, my first thought was that often people think “customer service” is just about how staff and customers interact in a shop.

At John Lewis we believe good customer service is so much more than that. It is also about the whole shopping experience, the choice of product and the value we offer, the convenience and personalisation of the shopping experience, as well as having engaged and well informed shop staff (our Partners).

We believe that the right choice of product at the right price is central to what customer service should be about. A successful retailer will perform an editing role on behalf of customers based on thorough research and sound judgement of who your customer is and what they want.

The way in which people are using the internet increases the importance of this editing role. Information on a product and its performance is freely available online.

Recommendations from people you know, or opinions posted online, are more trusted than advertising or media editorial. In this environment a poor product simply will not sell. Manufacturers must produce quality and retailers like John Lewis must provide it if they are to maintain trust and loyalty.

Another key area is convenience.

At John Lewis we’ve learnt that customers want to be able to shop and pick up their product when they want. They are already able to choose a shopping journey that is personal to them whether that be researching online first, visiting a shop to see and test the product, buying it online and having it delivered to their home. A competitive delivery proposition and a multi-channel shopping experience will therefore be critical to commercial success in the future.

Good quality “customer service” also depends on the experience and knowledge of your staff.

A successful business will have staff who are experts in their given subject and offer advice based on real-life experiences and training. They will also empower their staff, therefore making them the main driving force in moving the business forward. At John Lewis we have built up our reputation over many years thanks to our most unique selling point…our partners.

To end I thought I’d write about John Lewis’s commitment to our customers.

Our motto, for those that don’t know is Never Knowingly Undersold on Quality, Price and Service. It is easy to say, much more difficult to deliver.

This is particularly true in a world where online is redefining how retailing is done and making the future much more unpredictable. At John Lewis we have built an organisation focused on delivering Never Knowingly Undersold but equally as important we are an organisation that can work flexibly and respond to change quickly.

Our organisation’s values have taken time to embed but they will ensure that John Lewis maintains its leading position on service in the future. I recommend others to follow a similar route.

Andrea O’Donnell is Commercial Director and a member of the board at John Lewis. Her remit covers John Lewis’s multichannel and online selling strategies. Since March 2010 she has also been responsible for the company’s retail development, format development and retail implementation. Andrea reports directly into John Lewis’s Managing Director Andy Street.

Andrea became Commercial Director in February 2009 having joined the Partnership in June 2004 as Head of Buying Operations. Prior to this she was Buying and Merchandising Director at Hackett having previously held a variety of buying, merchandising and supply chain roles in Arcadia, Debenhams and Jaeger.

http://www.johnlewis.com/

Tags: Andrea O'Donnell, Customer Service, John Lewis, Notes from the Boardroom

Posted by Andrea ODonnell on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 at 1:00 pm.

Filed under Ask an Expert, Business Icons, Features, SMEs, Starting a Business, Tagged as: , Andrea O'Donnell, Customer Service, John Lewis, Notes from the Boardroom.