Linking customer service and motivation theory

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‘Which?’ has just reported the results of a survey into customer satisfaction with High Street shops, and the results seem to correlate closely with the likely motivation and sense of belonging that staff feel. The research was carried out in October 2008, with over 14,000 Which? online panel members to rate their satisfaction with, and likelihood to recommend, shops they use regularly. Answers were weighted to give a customer score out of 100, with stores rated on: Environment and staff including how helpful, knowledgeable and available staff were, the ease of finding products, tidiness of stores, store environment and queuing time.

Waitrose come top by a long way – scoring 84%, with the runners up, John Lewis, scoring 78%. John Lewis is the parent organisation of Waitrose, and a look at their website will show that they are the John Lewis Partnership, with all 69,000 staff being partners and so owners of the organisation.

The likes of Herzberg, Drucker and Tom Peters would surely approve of an organisation that gives staff a direct say in the management of the business, with links to empowerment and management by objectives. To quote the Partnership’s website, ‘Our founder’s vision of a successful business powered by its people and its principles defines our unique company today. The profits and benefits created by our success are shared by all our Partners.’ According to Which?, both John Lewis and Waitrose were praised for their pleasant store environment, helpful staff and quality products, despite higher prices. You may remember that both stores also reported good sales and profits over the Christmas period while other were struggling.

Other interesting aspects of the survey - friendly customer service and product knowledge helped local independent stores take four out of the top 10 places, and there seems to be a logic here as you might expect that staff working in owner-managed stores would have a greater sense of responsibility and involvement in the business than those working for anonymous multiple chains.

On the other hand, budget stores Aldi and Lidl made it into the top 10, and more Which? members said they were shopping at discount supermarkets now, compared with a year ago. Members praised the quality of food at Aldi and Lidl, even though there’s less choice – perhaps there is a lower expectation of standards of service in those environments, so customers are not disappointed if they don’t find the high staffing levels offered by Waitrose. The big four supermarkets (Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco) failed to make the top five for the second year, with Sainsbury’s performing best. However, 94% of Which? members still use the big four for main or top-up shopping. And the bottom of the table? The last four were WHSmith (42%) Currys Digital (40%) JJBSports (37%) and JD Sports (36%) – and it is no surprise to note that none of them did well over Christmas.

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