Cook’s of Bedford – A Family Business with a Very Professional Reputation
– Continued from page 15 We also have one exception to this rule:- Any THS supplier representative will
always be welcomed, with or without an appointment, such is the value we place on our THS connections. Also, we constantly visit manufacturers to build relationships and seek
interesting offers for our customers. The development of THS Direct is invaluable to any THS member. it offers an
ever-increasing range of products on a next day FOC delivery service with no minimum order levels. As a result we can keep our stocks (and therefore our financial commitment) to minimum levels.
ToolBusiness and Hire: Have you any ideas and suggestions that you might have for consideration by THS, especially new initiatives brought in in the last year or so by THS?
James Carrier: What I can say is “Watch this space”, THS, with Nick Swash as Chief Executive,
never stands still!!
ToolBusiness and Hire: How in general terms do you see the medium term future? What could guarantee the independent dealer a future in your opinion?
ToolBusiness and Hire: What is your measure of the customer experience in your shops? How do you
read your main customer base - is it mainly tradespeople or is there a mix of DIYers, householders etc who need to rely on your help and advice. Do you differ from other competitors “down the road” and why?
James Carrier: This is a difficult one to answer!!!! To be brutally honest we have never carried out a customer survey. Maybe we
should some day. But we do measure our customers’ experiences by the growth Cook’s is enjoying, year on year. We believe that if we get it wrong they won’t come back!! We also have a very large number of accounts and trades people who have
been loyal customers for over 30 years, and we feel that speaks for itself. That does not mean we are satisfied, so we always strive to offer the very best level of service. Of course, the real test comes if it goes wrong. How the staff and company deal with the customer so that they go away satisfied is crucial. That sometimes means jumping through hoops, but I have always stressed that this is the opportunity to keep the customer and show them that you care and put things right quickly and efficiently.
ToolBusiness and Hire: How important is the THS connection to the business and what role does the THS Tool Show have in purchasing decisions?
James Carrier: THS is extremely important to Cooks. We deal with over 120 of the 180
suppliers to the group, and are always attempting to include more THS suppliers into our portfolio. We are very strong supporters of the THS Own Brand, which offers extremely competitive prices on a range of products designed for trade use.
ToolBusiness and Hire: Do you take advantage of Draper special offers for example, or do your own
via THS suppliers?
James Carrier: We have always supported distributor offers where possible, like the well-
known THS, Draper, Sealey and Toolbank Xmas promotions. The THS Media Centre is second to none because it offers a vast range of
products that you can select and build your own promotion sheet from a single sided A4 to a 16-page leaflet. This normally takes 4 or 5 days from inception to delivery, so it is a very efficient system.
16 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
James Carrier: In my view we need to consider 7 main areas for independent dealers to think
about. 1. Exclusive products. 2 A good assortment of products. 3 Good logistics, with next day delivery the minimum standard required. 4 AQuality net-priced catalogue 5 A data management system to help you analyze what your customers’ needs
are now and in the future. 6 Join THS!! To take advantage of all that it can offer independent dealers. 7 We are about to up date our Soft ware on our OGL system, which will offer
Cooks a totally new dimension with regard to processing customer orders, a far better control over the day-to-day running of the company, a lot of money needs to be spent but the rewards should be more than cost effective.
ToolBusiness and Hire: Thank you James for your very candid responses, I am sure our readers will
find your views very interesting. Before you go, are there any other ideas and notions that you would like to explore or consider?
James Carrier: As an independent dealer, we must all make our customers aware that they are
dealing with the owners of that business, and constantly remind them that we are not only competitive, but they, the customers, are so much more than an account number in a call centre to us. Service and skill help us maintain our edge.
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