I’ve been fortunate this week to come across some fantastic examples of service delivery and client relationships by FM service providers this week, which I’d like to share with you.
A prospective client was running later for a bid presentation, and had inadvertently left his case (with laptop) on his train as he rushed to Paddington for the meeting. As you can imagine, as soon as he realised, he began to panic. The CEO from the service provider heard what was going on and got straight onto his helpdesk, asking them to send someone to Paddington. Within an hour or so the helpdesk team member knocked at the door of the meeting room and reunited case and owner. Talk about demonstrating how FM solves problems! As an aside, it turns out the individual from the helpdesk had had to pay £20 to retrieve the case, which he duly paid. But rather than ask the owner, in front of a room full of the bid team, he waited till later on and quietly had a word with the CEO, who reimbursed him. That’s true customer service! (aAnd yes, the prospective client awarded them the contract!)
The second example comes from a PFI school, where one student was shouting at a member of the FM team ‘..and anyway, you’re only the caretaker!’ This was overhead by the FM and the Head teacher, who were on a site walkabout at the time. The Head called the student over and asked him, ‘Who is the most important person in this school?’. ‘You, Sir’, came the response. ‘No’, said the Head, and asked the question again. Eventually the Head pointed out that the caretaker was in fact the most important person – he was up at 5 o’clock every morning, opened the school and the gates, turned on the lights and heating, prepared the rooms and so on. The student went away, tail between his legs, having learned that everyone has a role to play. What makes the story so special is that the client, in this case the Head, understood the importance and value of FM and was prepared to ensure everyone else did too.
Do you have stories to share? Please contact Liz Kentish, The FM Coach on Tel: 01778 561326 / 07717 870777 or email: coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk