Unipart

Providing customer service training for 3500 people within Unipart, one of Europe’s leading independent logistics, automotive parts and accessories companies.

The challenge

When Unipart identified the need for customer service training, the company set its goals high: going beyond satisfying customers, to actually delighting them. Additionally, Unipart had some more practical goals – real changes in customers’ feedback, stronger sales, better repeat business, reduced staff turnover and less absenteeism. Finally, the training had to be provided to over 3,500 people, at over 300 locations – in less than eight weeks.

The solution

QA was selected “because they listened, and didn’t try to thrust a packaged solution on us”, said Mike Avery, training manager at Unipart. “We wanted something out of the ordinary: pizzazz, fun, colour and music to convey the key learning points in any easy to understand way.”

QA create a unique solution: a nationwide roadshow – a half-day event at twenty venues, none of which were more than an hour and a half’s travel for anyone. In addition to the training, QA managed the logistics – such as arranging venues, training resources, refreshments, invitations and location maps.

It was a tough schedule: to provide training to everyone, QA ran two sessions a day, for two or three days, at each venue. Each session had thirty participants, in relaxed surroundings at café-style tables of five, designed to encourage greater participation and teamwork.

Trainers from QA facilitated the sessions, and invited groups to share examples of good and bad customer experience. Exercises were undertaken to enable people to see things from the customers’ perspective and QA also presented a customer service video – using a totally different retail environment – a fish market! The video showed both good and bad examples of customer service – these examples were discussed and adapted to the context of Unipart’s own business. In addition, the session covered common problem-solving techniques, to enable people to better manage real issues as they arise. The sessions ended with each group selecting three customer service behaviours to take back to their branch for implementation.

The training was provided to all parts of the organisation – not just managers and sales people, but everyone, from drivers to counter staff. Everyone was pleased to be involved – the programme proving a good vehicle for getting people in different roles to well work together; helping them feel that all opinions were valid.

“From just half a day’s training, the staff went back to their branches with concrete ideas and changes to customer service, equipped with better problem-solving skills,“ said Mike Avery. “This was inspirational training, delivered by professionals; we believe that the effects are substantial – and will have a long-term impact.”