NPS & The Importance of Customer Service

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‘Our customers are at the heart of all we do. We enjoy the feel good factor and sense of achievement in a job well done and we like to think there is no circumstance that we cannot handle.’

‘Nurturing is natural to us: plants, flowers, clients. It’s all in the attention to detail. This is why people who choose Planteria, stay with Planteria.’

This is reflected not only in our core values but also in the care we offer to all of our clients no matter how large or small, new or old. We always strive to go above and beyond what is expected and we’re so committed to excellence that we select a number of clients each week and ask directly for feedback.

At Planteria, we measure our performance using a simple, non-biased survey to measure customer satisfaction and also understand whether our clients like us enough to recommend us to others. This is pretty powerful stuff.

Our customer satisfaction is measured with something called Net Promoter Score®, or NPS® for short.

NPS measures customer experience and also reveals how likely our clients are to suggest our services to others. This proven metric provides the core measurement for customer experience and the surveys are not only straightforward, they are also easy to understand and complete without taking too much time from our clients.

The most important question asked is: “How likely is it that you would recommend our company’s product and services to a friend or colleague?”

In other words, the question asks what is the likelihood of promotion? As such, the question not only gives an indication of customer satisfaction with the brand, but also the level of customer loyalty.

Respondents answer by choosing a number from 0-10, with 10 being the most likely to recommend.nps benchmark formula

Depending on the score our customers give, they are then classified as promoters (score 9-10), passives (score 7-8) and detractors (score 0-6).

The scores from all customers are then aggregated into one single number, which is our overall Net Promoter Score. Here’s the formula for calculating the NPS score:

NPS = (% of Promoters) – (% of Detractors)

NPS score can range from -100—if all customers are Detractors—to 100—if all customers are Promoters.

So why do we care about this so much? According to npsbenchmarks.com, the key benefits of NPS are:

· NPS scores can be used as a predictor of future customer actions

· Higher response rate due to the simplicity of the survey

· Ease of use – NPS practitioners can conduct the survey via various channels – phone, SMS, or Web.

· Quick follow-up – NPS practitioners can quickly share the customer feedback with frontline employees or managers, who can follow up with detractors and address their concerns. LEGO®, for example, address low NPS feedback in as little as 24 minutes.

At Planteria Group, our current NPS Score is 65 and we are proud to be in the top percentage of companies with strong customer loyalty. (Update: as of September 2017 our latest NPS score was an impressive 91).

For comparison, below is a snapshot of NPS scores from other companies you may be familiar with. Planteria Group rank exceptionally well by comparison. (Below data correct at time of publishing.)nps benchmarksAnd for comparison by industry, it’s nice to see that we are well above the various averages shown below:nps benchmarks(Above data correct at time of publishing July 2017)

Although our NPS scores are incredibly valuable, perhaps the most valuable aspect of the NPS surveys is the written feedback we receive from our clients. It’s hugely beneficial and rewarding to see the positive feedback and if ever there is a problem or a comment that strikes us as needing attention we can quickly respond.

Planteria Group are committed to excellence. Anything less is not an option. We believe a job is only worth doing if it’s done properly. We employ rigorous training and procedures to ensure everyone at Planteria is an expert in their field. This culture of excellence ensures our clients are consistently satisfied.

In addition to our commitment to excellence, we are also relentless to improve. We love to challenge the status quo and constantly push the boundaries of industry standards. We explore and innovate to discover new concepts, and diligently fight the resistance to change. This forward-looking, enthusiastic approach keeps us ahead of the game.

Image credits: all visual charts shown come from npsbenchmarks.com


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Planteria’s Superhero

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We have a fantastic team of technicians at Planteria, who deliver and maintain plants and flowers for our clients. But there is a special role that one man has… Tom Evans our ‘superhero’ dons his cape whenever there is a cry for help.

Tom has his own regular clients, who he visits for routine maintenance of their plants and flowers but, should there ever be an issue requiring a non-routine solution, it’s Tom who is sent to save the day!

Thankfully, Tom only needs to be a part-time superhero, but there are occasions when a plant fails, or an installation needs rescuing. We talked to Tom to find out more about his role and how fulfilling it is helping us to keep our clients happy.

 

Q: Tell us a little about yourself?

A: I have now been with Planteria for over 10 years. It’s been a rewarding experience from day one. The old greenhouses at Chigwell were great for me (having been brought up in a flower shop as a child) but the new greenhouses at Henham are truly fantastic.

 

Q: As a fully trained and experienced florist and plant technician you’re capable of dealing with anything the job throws at you, what do you enjoy about the role?

A: Working with nature every day for me is fulfilling and I do enjoy solving problems for our clients. It’s a great opportunity to get to know the client, understand their issues and put things right. As the trouble-shooter I get to meet so many more customers than I did before I took on the role. I like to resolve issues fast.

 

Q: You travel around London all the time, do you have any memorable moments?

A: I certainly see some interesting people driving around London every day. The most memorable were David Cameron jogging one morning in Mayfair, and being introduced to Yoko Ono (of The Beatles fame) at the Jet Centre as she was about to fly out of London.

 

Q: With customer service a key focus for Planteria, we aim to provide solutions to all queries as soon as practically possible. How does this affect you, and your day?

A: It’s been interesting to see how technology has helped improve everything for me in this regard. Communication at Planteria through the use of smart phones and the Protean system has been a game changer, we can deal with issues quickly and make our clients happy.

 

Q: What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you in your role at Planteria?

A: Early one morning I was busy tending plants in an empty office room. Behind me I could hear an employee enter and strike up a conversation.

Client: Hi! How are you this morning?

Me: Great thanks. How was your weekend?

Client: I had a brilliant weekend thanks. We had a barbecue….blah blah

After a brief outline of their weekend and a few encouraging comments from me about the weather the conversation began making less and less sense. I turned around only to realise the client was on the phone to someone else! We were both in stitches after they hung up.


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Planteria Round Up 2016 With a Celebration of Success

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Thursday 22 December was set aside in the Planteria Group Calendar for the end of year, Whole Company Meeting, kicking off at 7:45 with a full English Breakfast. The Company have now grown so large that there isn’t a big enough meeting space within our offices to house us all, so the meeting was held off-site at the Hilton Hotel Stansted.

Our Chairman Phil Anderson opened the meeting, welcoming and thanking staff for a successful 2016. Department heads of; Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing, Floristry and Installation then gave a round-up of achievements for the year and shared their own vision, strategic plans and goals for 2017.

Feedback from this section, during the coffee break, was enthusiastic. “It’s so interesting to hear what goes on in each department, we get so busy with our own work that we don’t have time to think about what other people are doing”

“It’s good to hear that the company is doing well and there has been so much growth in the past few years”.

After the coffee break, the Employee of The Quarter Award was presented by Phil Anderson. The worthy recipient of this Award was Marian Varvari. “Marian has an excellent work ethic, he just gets on with whatever is required of him. He is a great team member and frequently goes beyond his remit to make things work for both his colleagues and our clients.

An example – back in October, one Sunday, he could not complete his floristry round as most of the roads in his delivery area were closed, he was told they would reopen at 6pm. So, after starting at 7am at the nursery and completing 2 deliveries he went home and then went back again at 6pm and finished the round. He then did his Monday round as usual. He did not complain he just said that he did not want to let anyone down – this is true dedication”.

Long Service Awards were given to Karen Norman and Martin Collins for five years’ service.

In the final session of the day Matt Anderson, our Managing Director shook things up a bit and took the opportunity to make the most of having all our staff in one location. Matt screened a thought provoking video based on a factual customer service story. After the video, using a random numbering system, Matt put teams together of people who don’t usually work together. The groups discussed creative customer service ideas. The benefit of this was to get staff talking to one another and bonding over their work experiences and thought processes. A whole raft of ideas got generated, and the diverse mix of job roles in each group meant that the ideas generated were informed, relevant and workable. We look forward to seeing some of the ideas becoming a reality in the coming months.

The meeting was a great success and we’re now raring to go and looking forward to a flourishing 2017.


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Santa Claus Promoting Our Tree Service for Offices and Hotels

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Yes, it may be September and seem early to think about Christmas, but if you’re a building manager, facilities manager, office manager or in charge of Hotel services, seize the moment! We have all our tree orders finalised by November, with the peak number of orders being taken in early October!

This year we’ve launched our easy to use on-line tree ordering configurator. Available in the Greater London and Cambridge areas for corporate customers. To help us promote our service we took our Santas out into the streets of London to greet commuters with some early festive cheer.

Our aim, to spread the message about our service, and to provide an extra incentive to order now we also gave away a ‘personal desk tree’, claimed by using the code on our leaflets. We certainly put a smile on the face of many city workers. Quite a few were happy to snap a ‘selfie with Santa’ to share on our social media platforms. Spreading a bit of early Christmas cheer has to be a good thing?

Our popular tree service offers live, Nordmann Fir trees as well as traditional and cone style artificial trees in a range of sizes. You choose; undecorated, lights only or fully decorated in your colour choices with optional faux gifts for the base of the tree, coordinating garlands and wreaths. When the festivities are over we take it all away! Easy as mince pie!

Order today!


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Planning a Work Christmas Party

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Christmas in the Office – get ahead with our guide…

Are you the person who is responsible for playing ‘secret-santa’ to ensure that your organisation gets into the Christmas spirit when December arrives? If the answer is yes then you’d better get your skates on because it is not too soon to be thinking about Christmas!

Not a job for the faint-hearted, it is one of those infamous poisoned chalices. Organising the office Christmas party can be a mine-field, with someone ready to complain about the location, someone-else happy to pick fault with the catering and … probably a few who think they could have done a better job themselves!

You may not be able to please everyone, but it’s very possible to please (in fact, delight) the majority.

We’ve created a quick guide to steer you through the main points to ensure that you give your team an unforgettable Christmas.

Get your Christmas Party Sorted!

Start Early

The earlier you start the better the chance of securing your preferred venue and entertainment, and the majority of your colleagues can save the date in their diaries.

Set the date

Check with key dates in the company calendar, and then send out your invitations and remember to add an RSVP by date. Send out plenty of reminders as the party gets closer.

Know your budget and stick to it

Decide on the theme and type of the event – There are so many options here whether you’re going for a shared party, private dinner, a whole venue or a group activity or experience. You’ll know what suits your team best.

Select a venue and get it booked!

Visit the venue if you haven’t used it before. Consider;

Capacity – is it the right size for your anticipated number of guests?

Location — is it accessible, good for cabs and public transport? If not, are you arranging coaches or hotel accommodation?

Facilities — Does it have what you need? a PA system, or space for presentations, live entertainment, dance floor etc?

 

If you book a hotel or restaurant here’s a check list for your diary of information to provide the venue with…

The number of people attending – 6 weeks before the event.

Any special dietary requirements – 4 weeks before the event.

The choice of menu selected – 4 weeks before the event.

A seating plan – 2 weeks before the event.

Deck the Halls – Order your Tree and Decorations!

Order your office christmas tree and decorations. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a beautiful tree and decorations. Order it now and you can be the Christmas Fairy, organising for your fabulously festive, professionally decorated tree to magically appear in the office in early December to dazzle and delight your colleagues.

This is the easy bit, get everything in one place. Go on-line now at Planteria place your order and secure your tree to be delivered early December and collected after Christmas. Choose the size and type of tree you want and select your decoration theme, don’t forget to order matching wreaths and garlands for the finishing touch. Leave the rest to us!

Merry almost Christmas!


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The Greening of London (with the help of BID’s)

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A Business Improvement District (BID) is a not-for-profit collective of local businesses who have come together to help improve their immediate area. There are currently 47 BIDs in London, each of whom create, develop and fund projects that benefit local business and the community.

In 2008 ‘The London Plan’ the Mayor’s spatial development plan for London, introduced a new concept, ‘Green Infrastructure’ or GI including; green walls, living walls, roof gardens, rain gardens and ‘parklets’.

Increasing green infrastructure brings with it may benefits; Cooling the built environment and reducing energy consumption, improving air quality, improving health for residents, increasing wellbeing, enhancing biodiversity and creating attractive places where people want to be.

In 2015 Boris Johnson launched a new and more specific initiative called the “Wild West End” designed to link up Regent’s Park and St James’s Park with green ‘stepping stones’ to encourage more birds, bats and insects to the built-up busy streets. This initiative was handed over to the local BIDs. A variety of installations have since been put in place including green roofs, planters, beehives and bird and bat boxes to provide a permanent habitat for London’s wildlife. Adding wildflowers including oxeye daisy, birdsfoot trefoil, and field scabious attract butterflies and bees and create more natural habitats to provide foraging opportunities for robins, goldfinch and other species.

The London Wildlife Trust said it was a “fabulous step” towards attracting nature to the heart of the capital, and demonstrating “how wildlife can flourish amidst the hustle and bustle of the city centre”.

Boris Johnson said the initiative could transform the city for thousands of residents, workers and tourists. “London’s population is at an all-time high, so while we need to build new homes and improve transport infrastructure, we also need better quality green spaces,” he said in a statement. “There is absolutely no doubt that parks and green spaces in urban areas improve people’s wellbeing and quality of life.”

The widespread public benefits of the greening of public infrastructure mean that the delivery of GI has previously been seen as the role of the public sector and the challenge has been to make the case for businesses to invest.

Evaluation of Victoria BIDs Cleaning and Greening programme suggests that businesses increasingly recognise the value of Green Infrastructure in;

Attracting Customers – guiding customers to a retail space and making locations more inviting.

Maximising Spend – increasing the amount of time a customer spends browsing.

Motivating Staff – and retaining them.

Adding Value – working with suppliers and building relationships in the locality, giving back to the wider community.

Looking to the future, the ‘London Green Infrastructure Plan 2050’ projects ahead to our needs for the coming decades, it calculates that the capital will need the equivalent of 13,000 football pitches of new green cover by the middle of this century. These findings prove that green infrastructure projects are much more than nice-to-have and certainly not an afterthought. Green infrastructure is about conservation as much as it is about aesthetics. The future of land and property management will be more proactive and less reactive and better integrated with efforts to manage growth and development.

FM Manager or Eco Warrior? We can help you with a ‘GI’ project; Green roof, green / living wall, eco-friendly planting, roof gardens and more. Contact us today.


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Meet Phil, our Chairman and Founding Partner of Planteria Group

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Founding partner and Company Chairman, Phil Anderson started out in true entrepreneurial style as a sole trader in office plant maintenance. He later partnered with his brother, Brian, and grew the company to the market leader it is today, servicing around 900 sites across the UK. With a career spanning nearly 40 years Phil has undoubtedly learned a lot and seen quite a few changes. I caught up with Phil to ask him to share his experiences and advice.

 

Q. What was your inspiration to work with plants and flowers in the first place?

A. I had worked for a wholesale flower and plant nursery and had developed a love of flowers and plants so it seemed a natural progression.

 

Q. What has been the toughest part of growing your business and how did you overcome it?

A Starting out on my own, with no capital or income. I didn’t join my brother financially for a few years, so I didn’t milk his profits. It was a stressful time and I got shingles through the worry of it, but the sheer need to succeed drove me on.

 

Q. What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?

A. Constantly look at your cash flow.

 

Q. If you could go back and give some advice to the 20 year old you, what would it be?

A. Don’t try to start something in half measures – give it your all.

 

Q. What has been the biggest contributor to the success of Planteria?

A. The next generation being given a free hand in the business.

 

Q. What has been the biggest change in the industry during the 39 years Planteria has been running?

A. Customers’ expectations are always increasing.

 

Q. What are the most exciting developments in corporate horticulture?

A. It has become the accepted ‘norm’ in office, you no longer have to sell the concept, you just have to understand your clients’ needs and show them why you are the best provider.

 

Q. What is the thing you are most proud of about your business?

A. Our level of service and our staff.

 

Q. When do you want to retire.

A. Never, completely!


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Fresh Flower Care – Top Tips.

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At Planteria, we pride ourselves on the quality of the flowers we supply to our customers. Our weekly fresh flower service brings you a perfect arrangement in a beautiful vase, so no mess or fuss involved.

If you have fresh flowers at home, you’ll want to ensure they last as long as possible, so we thought we’d share a few simple tricks of the trade you can use to make sure you get the best out of them.

Flowers can be incredibly delicate and it is often difficult to prolong their life. The main reason a cut flower dies is due damage and bacteria in the microscopic tubes found in the stems, ‘Xylem’. The Xylem tubes draw water up through the stem to supply the flower. These tubes can be damaged and blocked easily restricting the flow of water and nutrients the flower receives.

 

The following steps can help prolong their vase life.

  1. Remove all lower leaves. When preparing your flowers, ensure all leaves below water level are removed. If the leaves sit in the water they begin to rot and decay. This is will then cause an increased amount of bacteria in the vase.
  2. Angulate the cut using sharp scissors. An angled cut will increase the surface area of the stem, allowing a higher quantity of water to be transported due to exposing more Xylem tubes.
  3. Use lukewarm water in the vase. Slightly warmer water has a reduced amount of naturally occurring air pockets allowing the water to flow through the stem at a faster rate. This provides the moisture the flower requires for turgidity.
  4. Provide the flower with a source of energy. Well we can’t live without food or water, so how can a flower? A little bit of sugar dissolved into the water can in fact provide the flower with extra energy that it no longer receives through photosynthesis.
  5. A little bleach too. It’s true, a little bleach can in fact help. This reduces the bacteria in the vase water however, ensure no more than a teaspoon and stir thoroughly before adding the flowers to the vase.
  6. Recut an inch off the stems every 2-3 days. The will simple get rid of the blocked and damaged Xylem tubes ends.

Enjoy your flowers!

 

More flower facts…..

You may have heard the term ‘flower power’ but there’s truth in that phrase! Ever wonder why flowers are given as gifts or to cheer someone up?

According to behavioural research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey USA, nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health – flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behaviour in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.

“What’s most exciting about this study is that it challenges established scientific beliefs about how people can manage their day-to-day moods in a healthy and natural way” said Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Rutgers and lead researcher on the study.


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NPS score still on the up!

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Our Net Promoter Score system (NPS) tracks the level of satisfied clients by asking them the vital question (“how likely are you to recommend us?”). We are very excited about our progress over the last year and are pleased to show you this graph showing the results of all our training and effort in striving for the ultimate customer service. Many thanks to all of you who contribute to this – we love to hear your feedback, whether it be positive or negative – as it allows us to be true to our core values and continue to improve.


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More efficient, more effective. Never say Die.

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With the wild weather that has recently hit this country, we suffered, along with many other companies, several power-cuts which disrupted the progress of day-to-day work. Rather than sitting tight and just waiting for them to happen, we have installed a substantial generator to ensure we can keep rolling through any power-cut! ‘substantial’ is the operative word – our operations manager reckons it has enough power to keep the local village going!


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What Workers Really Want

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More than simply working to survive, modern workers in developed nations desire to be able to take pride in their work, make a meaningful contribution, and gain respect from their peers. The journey towards achieving respect in the workplace is a very personal one, but you can help your workers to achieve their career goals by providing them with an office that promotes their mental well-being.

Luckily for business owners looking to raise company morale, small easy-to-do things can make a big impact. This means that improving the mood of your workers can be as simple as offering free coffee, vouchers, office plants, or thoughtful useful gift items. This article will address some ideas which you can use in your company to help keep your workers happy, healthy and support them to achieve to the best of their ability.

 

Perks at Work

Place yourself in the shoes of your employees and ask yourself what kind of working environment you are promoting. What does their average day look like and how could you improve that? These are the kinds of questions that top companies are asking themselves when they’re looking to fix their offices. Google, for example, doesn’t hold back when it comes to ensuring its workforce are well-fed, hydrated and healthy; they provide free breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as free coffee to keep the caffeine flowing. Alongside these very ingestible perks, Google recognises the negative effects that stress can have on work-output, so they also offer on-site massages.

Your company might not have the resources to feed all its workers every day of the week, but you can apply a similar mentality when it comes to choosing which perks you should prioritise.

 

Office Pets

Office pets don’t necessarily mean buying an animal for the express purpose of having it inhabit the office. Chances are, plenty of your staff have pets of their own; asking them to bring their pets to work occasionally will come completely free of charge for your business.

small dog on top of toilet

There are plenty of benefits to bringing staff pets to work. Dogs and cats are well known for reducing stress, so this could be a cheaper alternative to Google’s on-site masseurs. On the other hand, there’s no telling how well-trained the pet is until they’re already in your office; no-one wants dog dirt on the office carpet!

 

Office Plants

A perk that shares qualities with office pets but won’t leave poo on your floor is the office plant. As well as adding a splash of colour to what might be a monotonous black and white office environment, office plants are also known for reducing stress and boosting health by improving air quality, and helping to connect your people to nature (known as biophilia).

You can use plants to decorate your office; to fill space softening the corporate image and blank white walls, to provide privacy or break up large open plan spaces, and to improve the acoustics, which works in a similar way to using soft furnishings. Plants are living organisms, so it’s important to choose a plant that suits your office. Perhaps start with easy, low-maintenance plants to see what your office can handle taking care of in the beginning.

plants in hanging baskets in office

If you choose to have plants placed around the office at intervals, you can connect your workers by establishing a watering rota so that each of your employees is sure to appreciate the greenery and reap the benefits of interacting with nature during office time. Alternatively, you can gift each desk with an individual plant of its own to promote feelings of individuality and creativity. Planteria offer a variety of plant displays for your office needs, and offer a free design and quote service, plus aftercare so that all the watering and pruning is taken care of by the experts.

 

Fitness

Another way to reduce absenteeism in the workplace is to encourage fitness training among your employees. Fitter employees will likely be healthier employees with stronger immune systems. You can encourage this by offering your workers vouchers for the local gym, or you can go an extra step and encourage in-office yoga meetings which will have the added effect of bringing your workforce closer together by exercising as a group.

two ladies doing yoga on blue mats

Yoga  is a particularly useful exercise as it encourages participants to relax and clear their minds, allowing your workforce to be able to concentrate clearly on whatever tasks follow their yoga practice, eliminating any worries and stresses experienced during the morning routines.

 

Office Bar Friday

Show your workforce that you also get that Friday feeling, and perhaps treat them (and yourself) to something special when Friday rolls around. The appearance of an office bar during Friday’s final working hours will encourage your workforce to socialise, which will subsequently cultivate a stronger bond between your workers, which will increase productivity. Far from being just another cog in the corporate machine, you’re showing your workers that being a team is important, and by providing the drinks, you’re showing them praise for the week’s efforts.

man and woman smelling wine

There are lots of ways to increase productivity and mental-wellbeing in your office, not to mention that providing office perks means that your employees are more likely to stay with your company, rather than job hopping. Indeed, the average Brit will change employer every five years on average, according to the BBC. If you want to cultivate a strong workforce that’s going to stick around, it’s vital that you think about more than your workers’ needs; you should also address what makes them happy and content. Think office food, office pets, office fitness, office parties and of course plants!

tall three tiered plants in planter


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We’re on a high for the End of the Year!

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Over the past year we’ve been busy. Our No.1 focus was to get our service from a good standard, to a great standard, to exceed all expectations…it’s been hard work and our service team have really dedicated themselves to creating ‘raving fans’! And look at the results!

Our ‘10 minute response time to all service queries’ has increased by 40%!

Our ‘solution to query provided within 2 hours’ has increased by 32%!
…in just 6 months.

We think they deserve a large pat on the back! Watch this space for next year – we’re on our journey to create raving fans…


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