Interview with Georg Gayer

Question: Perfect Service – the name sounds very ambitious. What is this project about?

Gayer: The “Perfect Service” project aims to improve our services in all divisions. It is true that we are already very good today, which is reflected in high customer satisfaction and low complaint ratios. But we cannot rest on these laurels if we desire to expand our leading market position even further. “Perfect Service” therefore has two main goals: by optimising our service, we increase customer retention and the Group’s turnover. At the same time, we save money as the number of costly complaints continues to decline.

Question: Speaking of customer retention, what makes service so eminently important in the mail order business?

Gayer: That’s easy to explain – mail order business means doing business at a distance. Unlike the local grocer, mail order companies have no face-to-face contact with their customers and therefore need to offer added service to retain them. If we are just average or a bit better, this is not sufficient to make customers come back time and again – we need to be perfect.

But that is not all. Our service must be constantly refined and optimised to meet customers growing requirements. What is a standard today can quickly be outdated tomorrow. Customers expect their goods to be delivered ever more quickly and reliably. If a company is unable to keep pace with customers’ growing requirements, the gap between expected service and delivered service will gradually widen. We call this phenomenon the “satisfaction trap” – and it is one of the reasons why we have launched the “Perfect Service” project.

Question: You just mentioned the problem of complaints. What can TAKKT do here to get even better?

Gayer: We always aim to deliver such excellent service that our customers have no reason to complain. This is because whenever a customer complains about a product, this costs at least five times as much as a regular order. There is also the risk of losing a dissatisfied customer altogether. We therefore work hard to identify and eliminate sources of error throughout the Group. It goes without saying that complaints can never be avoided completely. The important thing therefore is that we deal with them professionally. It is exactly when customers are dissatisfied that we have to offer them perfect service and find the best possible solution for them. This means that we listen carefully and take their complaints seriously. This kind of commitment pays off – customers offered excellent assistance to solve their problems are often even more satisfied with our service than those who never had a complaint.

Question: Let’s talk about the implementation of the project. What is your approach?

Gayer: First of all, we have defined high service quality targets for the whole Group, which serve as benchmarks to measure our service. At the same time, we have made complaints handling a management task; the management teams of our companies must analyse at least one complaint per month at their meetings. They develop solutions to avoid this specific complaint in future. Once a solution has proven its value in day-to-day business, it will be implemented at other companies – the TAKKT holding company ensures that the required know-how is transferred between all companies. This way, we have established a highly efficient Group-wide best practice system. This is one of the key elements of “Perfect Service.”

Question: How can TAKKT employees contribute to this process?

Gayer: The system is based on employees’ suggestions for process optimisation. After all, they know their day-to-day processes best. Employees who have a suitable idea simply contact their superior. Ideas that have paid off are also passed on to all Group companies. The company’s suggestion scheme continued to gain in importance in 2004, which is reflected in a clear increase in suggestions received. About one third of these ideas are put into practice.

Question: Could you give us some examples for successful suggestions?

Gayer: We have implemented a bonus/penalty system which motivates our partners to meet high quality standards. It is not possible for our customers to say whether we or our suppliers have done something wrong. Faults such as delayed delivery or transport damage are strictly charged to our suppliers, while good service is rewarded. Moreover, we try to talk with our partners personally. Ultimately our suppliers are also grateful when we identify sources of error and create greater transparency.

Question: Let’s take a look into the future. To what extent will “Perfect Service” influence TAKKT’s development in the future?

Gayer: I am convinced that the project will make an important contribution to TAKKT’s future success. The measures we have initiated so far will help us work even more efficiently and in a more service-oriented manner – leading to greater customer satisfaction and increased turnover. The project will help us set new, exemplary standards of service. And we should not forget that fewer errors mean lower costs and therefore higher profits – which means greater job safety for our employees and good dividends for our shareholders.