John Lewis Aims for Top Aftercare With Sitel's Bespoke CRM

Sitel, a leading business process outsourcing (BPO) provider has been selected by John Lewis to provide technical support for all electricals customers across the UK from Sitel’s contact centre in Exeter.

All of the John Lewis electrical and technology customer after sale support will be consolidated under Sitel and centrally managed using Sitel’s bespoke CRM system.

John Lewis, "Britain’s Favourite Retailer 2009", is nationally recognised for providing excellent customer service.

When the company determined that they wanted to enhance their in-store technical support service to give customers the added flexibility of solving technical queries from home, as well as coming into their shops, they began a search for a contact centre partner.

Sitel was selected after a competitive pitch because Sitel had experience working with a number of other international blue chip leaders in the electronics space, demonstrating a proven track record in design and delivery of efficient support processes that offered John Lewis the balance of cost whilst retaining quality of customer service.

Sitel has also been a valuable partner throughout eight years of service on John Lewis’s free 90-day software support team. With the Sitel solution, John Lewis has benefited from a bespoke CRM system created and managed from Sitel to centralise all new customer purchasing and after-sales information.

As a result, if a customer contacts the new technical support centre or visits a John Lewis shop, the customer experience will be seamless with shop Partners (staff) being able to access and update on progress with any product.

Lesley Ballantyne, Director of Operational Development, Retail Operations at John Lewis said:

“In searching for a contact centre provider, it was critical that we find a partner that could make the John Lewis brand come to life in an outsourced environment. It was our highest priority that there be no change to the perception of customer service or brand experience despite moving the operation off-site.”

"Sitel brings significant experience in customer care for electronics and innovative ideas for improving the customer experience. We’re confident this partnership will give greater flexibility for our customers whilst retaining our high customer service standards.”

Tim Schuh, general manager, Northern EMEA at Sitel added:

“In today’s competitive retail landscape, customer care is paramount to maintaining customer loyalty. John Lewis has the highest standard of customer care and we understand the decision to outsource any part of the customer experience is not taken lightly.” 

“We feel strongly that we can not only deliver the best possible aftercare experience to John Lewis electricals customers, but we can do so in a way that is cost productive for the company.”

Sitel’s Exeter centre will field phone and email support enquires from John Lewis electrical and technology customers and will provide technical support and administration. Info: BusinessWire / www.sitel.com.

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