No matter how good your business is, you are only really as good as the way you deal with your customers. Clients phoning in remember a grumpy receptionist or a particularly helpful member of staff who is keen to help with any query.

Business Argus has been asking the local business community how important they think good customer service is in their sector.

John Newell, Kingston Newell Estate Agents, Newport

We’re very much a customer-focused business and frequently have buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords on the phone or in our office asking questions about a whole range of subjects relative to properties. It’s essential that our team take the time to answer their questions and queries in full and are professional when doing so as moving home and property related activities are often some of the most stressful activities we as humans are involved with. New starters are partnered up with a senior member of the team and will stay with them until both parties are satisfied and confident they can take on their own responsibilities. If we were to find out that customers were being put-off by either over-friendly or unhelpful members of staff then we would look to get to the bottom of the complaint and take appropriate action.

Luke Welsh, head of employment law, Howells Solicitors, Newport

On average, our staff will probably speak to well over 100 clients a day about a comprehensive range of legal services and matters that we will be dealing with on their behalf. Every client is as important as the next regardless of the complexity of the case we are working on for them. We prioritise customer service and have employed external training companies to mystery shop our departments and offices to determine how our staff are performing. The mystery shoppers are asked to play out a range of different scenarios to test the staff member’s knowledge of our services, their attitude when asked awkward questions and their willingness to provide the caller with the information he/she has requested. It’s very important for the company to make sure our clients receive a very high standard of customer service.

Peter Heathcote, managing director, Budget Vets, Newport

We are a nation of animal lovers and our customers come to us for advice and treatment for their pets. It’s essential that we are attentive to their issues/concerns regarding their pets and agree a next step with the customer before concluding the initial correspondence. This could be making an appointment or providing advice over the phone it doesn’t matter, we care about the welfare of all the animals we look after and our customers expect us to help them and take the necessary time to reassure them about what we are going to do. Our front office staff across all the branches are very friendly and professional. We have our own in-house training team and customer service is an important part of our induction programme. If we were made aware of customers not being happy with the level of customer service they had received from our team we would look into each case and speak to the individuals involved before deciding upon relevant actions if required.

Lauren Patterson, property assistant, M4 Property Consultants, Newport

In our profession we talk with people every day whether it’s on the phone or face to face. We believe it is important to build a friendly yet professional relationship with our customers. It may sound a little clichéd, but first impressions are important. We have clients from various professional backgrounds including national property consortiums owning multiple industrial parks and those seeking to rent their first commercial property. Our aim is to ensure our clients get all the support and reassurance they need throughout the process of buy/ renting a property to the best of our ability. We work very closely with a number of clients managing their property portfolios and there are times when this can be trying for example when neighbouring tenants argue we try our best to remain understanding and impassive to resolve situations without breaking the relationship we have built on the behalf of the landlord as we understand it takes a lot of trust from our landlords as we are the face their tenants see and rely upon.

Scott Pearson, managing director, Newport Transport

Customers are vitally important to Newport Transport. In terms of a our bus operation along we deal with more than eight million every year in relation to passenger journeys. With more than 150 bus drivers and a team of inspectors and ticket and journey advisors, each will have regular contact with our customers and it is vital they are able to serve their needs and deliver a positive experience. With this in mind our staff have customer service training as part of their induction with the company and then periodically throughout their career with us. Everyone can give an example of bad service, therefore we encourage our staff to not be that person that gives it. We also hold regular consultations and surveys with our customers to ensure our staff, and the company itself, are delivering as best we can what they want and need. This means that we are able to continually improve our services and operations and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction be that with our network services, day trip operations, MOT centre, or engineering services.

Maria Larcombe, director of operations (South), Acorn, Newport

Good customer service is a crucial component to businesses and their future growth plans. We work extremely hard to ensure that our workforce continually demonstrates the right behaviours required for our customers, whether this is through our telephone manner or taking the time to meet with customers face-to-face. We offer customer service training to our own staff, dependent on their requirements. Via our specialist training division we can also deliver apprenticeships, specific to customer service, ranging from foundation level to advanced level. These qualifications are achieved through a mixture of portfolio building, observation, assessment and understanding questioning. Aside from qualifications, we run an internal ‘employer of the month’ scheme which recognises and rewards outstanding contribution to the business and this includes demonstrating high levels of customer service skills. We also monitor our social platforms on a daily basis, flagging any customer service issues we have with the relevant member of management. Sustaining high levels of customer service is vital – it can pay dividends and means that our customers are more likely to want to continue working with our company in the future. In 2014, 99 per cent of our clients said our staff acted in a professional and friendly manner at all times, with this in mind, it’s important to note that good customer service is at the forefront of Acorn’s services, after all, we are a ‘people’ business and act for the benefit of our end users.

Gerald Davies, executive chairman, Kymin, Newport

One of the regular items on our agenda for our monthly meetings is ‘improving the client experience’. Operating in the financial services industry, the emphasis has to be on the word ‘service’. We have a rule that we answer our phones within three rings. Of course, we have regular training sessions and refresher courses. Our most improved member of staff each year receives a special prize in the form of a week’s free holiday. A family atmosphere is maintained, so that every staff member has a smile on their face, always - by order!