In an independent survey conducted by the service standard consultancy, Softcat achieved a three-star rating, the highest possible outcome, which denotes an ‘exceptional’ level of customer service. It also achieved an overall customer service score of 9.09 out of 10, the third highest that IIC has measured since the award was launched in 2007.
The IIC award is the only award based entirely on client and employee feedback, solely focusing on the customer experience. IIC assessed Softcat’s performance in customer service, analysing completed surveys from 550 customers as well as insight from Softcat employees, before presenting detailed feedback on Softcat’s performance for each component of the customer experience.
Martin Hellawell, managing director of Softcat, said, “We are really pleased with the results. We get a lot of positive feedback from customers and do our own surveys, but it’s great to see this validated and recognised by an expert third party. I think customer service generally in the UK is just not good enough. I am convinced that the key ingredient for success in our industry is excellence in customer service and at Softcat we have become obsessed with continual improvement in this area. If anyone wants to know why the company has doubled in size in the last two years, that’s pretty much it. However, this is work in progress – we can still get a lot better.”
Charlie Williams, business development director at IIC, commented, “The Softcat results knocked us over. The customer culture is so strong in the organisation, it just shines through. A lot of people talk about employee satisfaction leading to customer satisfaction, but satisfying customers is no longer enough these days -- you need to delight them, and Softcat is the best example we have seen of this in practise. The only two organisations who have ever scored higher in our process both employed less than 15 people and their business is a very personal service. These are the best results of a company employing a significant number of people we have seen.”
Positive customer comments included:
• “I look at Softcat as a partner and not just a supplier. They’ve taken the time to understand our business and have worked with us in a challenging time of growth.”
• “Softcat are one of the most professional resellers I've dealt with in 14 years of working within the IT Industry.”
• “If I were to ever move on from my current position, I know Softcat would be coming with me.”
• “My experience with Softcat has shown them to be a customer-oriented, forward looking company with an excellent service-based ethos.”