When Jack Paddison joined quality leather goods specialist, Radley and Co. as IT Director in September 2006, he inherited an automated back office system from Lakeview which had been in place for some five years and which, by common consent, had proved successful as a ‘reliable engine room of the business’.

By contrast, on his arrival Paddison felt that Lakeview’s customer service at that time did not always match the quality of the company’s product delivery.

And this view broadly coincided with that of the new senior management team at Lakeview, who had just completed an MBO at the leading provider of business management software and technology. Lakeview’s goal looking forward was simple: to deliver unmatched customer service quality to its target SME marketplace.

As a result, over the past year the two companies have worked together to create an open dialogue which not only ensures that technical problems are dealt with swiftly but which has adopted a more proactive stance in looking at software developments to support Radley’s evolving and rapidly growing business.

“Quite simply,” confirms Paddison, “the significant improvements we have achieved have been down to one thing – communication.”
Both companies recognised however the value to be gained from ensuring that Lakeview’s service delivery matched the quality of its product offering. In particular, there was a perceived need to improve response times, both in terms of dealing with queries and, more proactively, in driving software development.

“In seeking to provide companies like Radley with a market-leading level of customer service,” says Lakeview managing director, Graham Marcroft, “we recognised that this was not an overnight fix. It would require commitment from the top of the organisation, supported by the right customer-focused structure and processes and a recognition by all staff as to the part they must play in delivering a positive customer experience, every time.”

Paddison is equally pragmatic. “In achieving the service quality we wanted, we understood that effective communication had to be a two-way process. Equally, there are no magic solutions to be had: in order to secure the desired gains therefore, we simply had to keep at it.”
An initial series of face-to-face meetings was undertaken to establish the framework for an improved working relationship. “It was agreed that the key to success lay in improving customer access to relevant Lakeview specialists throughout the business,” confirms Lakeview’s Technical Team.