Case Study

dg Store

"In today's business environment, there are not that many ways for your organization to differentiate itself from its competition. That means success is either going to come through pure luck, or through your ability to do things differently. At dg Store we have never been too confident in the ability of luck to keep on delivering sustainable results, so from the outset, we chose to differentiate ourselves in two ways. The first was a unique business model and the second was, and still is, service excellence."

Shaun Quarmby, Managing Director: dg Store

dg Store has been in the business of supplying complete digital solutions to the corporate world for the past 10 years. In that time, the business has enjoyed consistent growth thanks to its unique business model and reliable products and service. But in 2006, dg Store's annual growth took on a new dimension, and for the past four years the company has seen a 40% - 50% year-on-year rise in turnover every year.

Shaun attributes this stellar growth to a number of factors, but is adamant that the decision to formalize its long-held commitment to delivering excellent customer service, which led to a long-term working partnership with N'lighten, has been a key element in its recent success.

It was at this point that the business partnered with N'lighten to begin pro-actively measuring its service delivery by means of independent surveys conducted with its clients and training its staff in the art of creating memorable customer experiences. According to Shaun, the results of these surveys - which are conducted by N'lighten at all dg Store branches twice a year - give his managers and staff a clear view of their service strengths and weaknesses and allow them to immediately address any service issues that are identified.

"The results of the customer service surveys have also allowed N'lighten to develop and facilitate customised customer service training for all our staff," Shaun explains, "and this has ensured that everyone at dg Store is equipped with an understanding of the importance of delighting our clients, and the necessary abilities to make it happen."

This ability to pinpoint service delivery challenges, build on strengths, fix problems, and get all staff on the same service page has seen dg Store's Customer Satisfaction Index remain at a consistent 91% over the past four years. By any standards, this is an excellent service score, but when you consider that the consistency has been achieved despite the steady growth of the business, it becomes even more impressive.

Last year, dg Store worked with N'lighten to implement a staff incentive programme that is highly service driven and uses the results of the N'lighten surveys to inform the recognition and reward of individual staff members. Here too, the detailed service and customer satisfaction information that dg Store management receives from N'lighten has helped to boost the effectiveness of the programme by ensuring that employees realize that their ability to earn incentives is closely linked with their ability to consistently delight their clients.

"The amazing thing is that by partnering with N'lighten to actively measure our service levels, we not only benefit from their expertise in terms of suggestions on how to improve, we have also noticed that our staff members are starting to understand that service is not just something we do for our clients, but that it actually impacts on them and their futures as well. This kind of understanding wouldn't have been possible without N'lighten's involvement."

Shaun's Five Service Truths

  1. Don't' ever rest on your laurels. No matter how happy you think your clients are with your service, there's always something you can do better. You have to keep looking for where you can improve.


  2. Share your results. When you commit to service improvement and ask your clients to help you measure it, be sure to give them feedback on the results and what you intend doing with them. It makes them feel valued and makes you more accountable.


  3. Keep on measuring. Service assessment can't be a 'once-off'. You need to keep on asking your clients how you are doing otherwise you won't really know whether you've improved or not.


  4. DIY doesn't work. You can't accurately measure your own service delivery. You won't be objective and your clients won't be honest. Only by calling in an independent expert (like N'lighten) can you be sure that the results you're getting are realistic.


  5. Do unto others. Empathy is a strong service motivator. If you and your staff are able to put yourselves in the shoes of your clients, and think: "What would I expect in this situation?", half the battle will already be won.