The feelgood factor

Industrial Laundry Equipment (ILE) would like to wish its friends and colleagues in China and all of its customers in the UK, a happy and successful new year in general and celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Rabbit.

“The rabbit symbolises tranquillity, friendship and affection and these are things that we, as a company, see as being very important. We believe that as a business, synergising with customers and suppliers is key,” explains ILE managing director, Richard Brown.

Look up ‘collaboration’ in a dictionary, and you think you know what it means: working together to achieve a goal. In business, that goal is growth, and businesses have long been looking for ways to improve team collaboration to get there, but the team is not just internal and ILE believes it should encompass everyone who deals with anyone else both directly and indirectly.

When digital options, like FaceTime and Teams, started making it easier for businesses to stay connected during lockdowns, did this also remove the real connection?

Room for improvement

Collaboration has to be a two-way street, but most contacts between a company and its customers are missed opportunities. The first contact will most likely be through marketing and is usually void of all collaboration — pictures and basic information that appear similar/ slightly different to everyone else’s.

The next person likely to encounter a customer is someone from sales. He or she seeks you out, even offers you incentives, but all the salesperson’s talk is designed to sell you a product, and then he or she potentially disappears off the scene. Finally, when a customer has already paid and reaches out to a company’s customer support team, trying to speak to a ‘real’ person can feel nearly impossible. Company employees can talk to the customer, or at the customer, but rarely with the customer.

“ILE doesn’t do this and tries to make all interactions as personal as possible. If you have a breakdown then we will not just log it and send an engineer, we will talk through the issues, ask for photos and videos, have video chats and then arrange that our engineers do similar as this gives a better chance of a first time fix and also keeps the customer happy and informed throughout,” says Brown.

“From a sales perspective, we also like to interact fully and find out what you need based on detailed conversations about the requirements rather than just quoting on something a customer thinks they need. Visiting the site and having a personal conversation is also important to us as it helps strengthen the relationship and ensure that everyone is happy throughout.”

Know where to grow

“Two-way communication with our customers gives us specific and measurable data about the direction they want to see us go,” says Brown. “It’s a collaborative approach where we ask for feedback on the current options and bring that information back to the team for improvements. We have made many changes to our equipment, stock holding and business approach as a result of great customer interaction and we will continue to do so.”

Broaden those relationships

According to Brown, many companies become too focused on themselves and what they are trying to achieve, without giving thought to the rest of the industry and how working together could really help everyone.

He says: “If you think about a laundry, the machine supplier is only a tiny cog in the machine and potentially one of the ones the customer interacts with the least, but chemical suppliers, finance companies, linen suppliers, suppliers of belting and consumables, magazine editors, independent engineers and so on will all be in contact with the customer, so we feel it is important that we value all of these people equally as highly as the customer. Regular conversations, friendships and recommendations are important as this will ensure that we are also recommended as a company in return.”

Annual dinner

event Both Richard and Debbie Brown, directors of ILE, firmly believe that friendship and appreciation is key to a strong business and this is why the company’s annual dinner is always very important to the company.

The concept is something that Brown introduced elsewhere initially and has now been hosting for over 10 years. It is not an inexpensive event and other companies could easily look at it as a waste of resource in such challenging times but the annual get together is extremely important to ILE.

Brown comments: “I have always believed in giving back and being humble. If you sign a big deal, it is not just about you as there will always have been an element of luck and some external input from others which has helped during the process (even if you aren’t aware). This is why we try to value everyone we deal with as a business, equally, whether they are a small customer, larger customer, someone who is merely enquiring or a supplier that will never spend a penny with us.

“One of our favourite venues is the historic Coombe Abbey Hotel in Warwickshire as all guests enjoy the beautiful surroundings and atmosphere. This year we were joined by around 100 customers, colleagues and suppliers for a medieval banquet designed to let everyone let their hair down and have a good time networking and building upon relationships.

Debbie Brown adds: “While this a costly event to hold and some would say it is not a necessary expense in these times, we see things differently and feel that it is the most important thing we can plan for.

“It is wonderful to see customers and suppliers chatting in a relaxed environment and forging stronger relationships but not feeling as if they are at a ‘work’ event.”

Mark Johnson from A1 Laundries chips in, saying: “We absolutely love the approach taken by ILE as we feel that we are important and like how we can pick up the phone to ask for anything at any time. We have phoned out of hours and received help and advice and we have had similar conversations and support from engineering companies and suppliers associated with ILE. Events like this are a great way for all parties to interact and show appreciation for each other.”

Jack Wood from JPW Mechanical & Electrical remarks: “We work for many companies and the majority are great to work for, but ILE hosting events like this goes a long way and is really appreciated.”

“ILE very much appreciates the warm feeling from our industry friends and will continue with its inclusive ethos.

“So, as we enter the Year of the Rabbit, it is the perfect time to encourage everyone to share these values as working together and appreciating each other is the way forward. It even helps overcome problems and adversity,” concludes Brown.