You could argue that providing decent customer service isn't really that difficult. If you've got good staff in place, with good experience, good product knowledge and a good attitude you should find the rest comes easy.

Maybe that's why most of the retailers we talk to - both good and bad - don't always have a clear customer care strategy. There's no formal approach, no rigid procedure, just a reliance on the way they've always done it. Sometimes that's fine, but sometimes there's undoubtedly room for improvement.

The latest winners of the kbbreview Customer Service Award offer an interesting comparison. Chosen by our Mystery Shopper from around 100 showrooms he visits every year, the first - Jacques Bathrooms in Solihull - favours a laid-back, old school approach based on common sense principles. The other - Mark Wilkinson's store in Tunbridge Wells - prefers a more considered strategy based on highly regimented staff development and training. Both are obviously getting it right, but in different ways.

Taking Jacques Bathrooms first, you sense that its approach to customer
service rests largely on the experience, knowledge and charm of the two down-to-earth Brummies that run it. They're not the sort of people who write manuals and organise seminars for their staff. In fact, the last time showroom manager Roger Fowler visited one of his suppliers for product training was back in 2001, but that doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing.

"We've been in this game a long time," Fowler tells me. "I've dealt with a lot of companies - Jacuzzi, V&B, Showerlux, Majestic - for over 30 years. Our staff are very experienced; one of our fitters is 79, most of them have 19-20 years behind them. If new products come out we have the guy come to the showroom at seven in the morning to give us basic training."

To Fowler, good customer service is simply about "making a fuss" of his customers and building trust. "They like that," he says. "They want a bit of
attention, they want somebody there to help. But another big part of our success is it's light-hearted; we have a laugh with them, get them smiling, you can get the money off them easier! We don't fail very often."

The other half of the two-man team is owner Dave Jacques. Both claim they're in the store by 6.45am every day. "Other showrooms are started by sales people, mine was started from the tools," Jacques says. "It's the plumbing and installation side customers like. I design bathrooms that actually work. Technically, some of the others haven't got a clue."

At your service

As you might expect, Mark Wilkinson's Tunbridge Wells showroom has a slightly different take on customer service. The principles, however, are much the same. Despite the door entry system, which sales and marketing director Richard Jackson admits isn't ideal, the store's approach is fairly relaxed. "We tend to walk to the door and open it as they arrive. Even people with lots of money can feel intimidated if there's nobody about; in our showroom they're greeted by a human being, we give them eye contact," he says. "The entry system isn't because we're up our own backsides, it's because the store has had a couple of staff threatening situations.

"Essentially, good customer service is about treating people as you'd like to be treated yourself. When they enter we have an Arts and Crafts kitchen on one side and a Cooks Kitchen on the other. Then there's an area where the staff sit. You don't want to be too far forward in the showroom, that's intimidating, but so is being too far back."

Despite the best efforts of companies like Mark Wilkinson and Jacques, Jackson admits the general standard of showroom customer care isn't always what it should be. "It's variable," he says. "It goes from very good to very poor and that's down to the calibre of the staff. It's not always their fault, the biggest problem is the lack of training in the industry."

It's a familiar complaint. Staff at Mark Wilkinson are all formally inducted and trained. If the right people can't be found, they're home grown. "At interview, people are questioned as to how they would deal with specific clients," Jackson says. "Successful applicants are then given a full week of technical training, then given time in the customer care office. They can be at head office for as much as a month depending on previous knowledge, then inducted into the showroom. Then they go on follow-up conferences, some of which I've set up myself."

New recruits also take a tour of the company's factory and granite yard, get in-depth tuition on woods and veneer types and are sent on appliance training days with firms like Gaggenau and Miele. "You know what they say in the army?" Jackson says. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."

Approach

At the moment, the Tunbridge Wells office houses up to three staff with a designer on hand at all times. "If they are tied up, the admin lady will speak to the customer," Jackson continues. "I'd be disappointed if we didn't get the same result."

Back at Jacques, Fowler admits good staff - in his case installers - are not easy to find. For him, it's all about finding people who have the right personality and can liaise with customers. "They need to be pleasant and punctual, it's what good customer service is all about," he says. "It means they're asked back and you build up a trust."

Again the showroom strategy is very relaxed, although for some customers the reception desk might seem disconcertingly close to the door. "We ask them if they want any help, tell them to have a look round and to give us a shout if they need us," Fowler explains. "Dave will go out to take measurements, then I do some 120 scale layouts, we don't have CAD. Every single item is costed separately, then Dave does the same on the installation side and we put the two quotes together if they want the full service."

Small things, he says, can make all the difference, and help build good relationships. "A lady came in recently looking for a plug for her basin, the chain had snapped. I gave her one from the spares box and didn't charge her anything. People don't forget things like that. About four weeks later they decided to do their bathroom and I ended up with a £27,000 order."

Jacques agrees: "We have people who ring and say, 'my tap's exploded and I don't know a plumber.' I'm not going to make any money by helping them but ultimately it will get us more business. We want people to phone us, we want to be part of this community."

So how do the respective companies deal with difficult customers? "What you have to do is immediately react to a problem," Jackson says. "If a client is frustrated, go and talk to them, don't hide, talk to them and resolve the problem."

In typical matter of fact fashion, Fowler at Jacques explains his own
approach: "You get over it and move on. Many times people are wasting your time too, but you have to treat them all the same. Some you win, some you lose."
It's clear that although the two showrooms might take a different approach to customer service, the underlying principles are quite similar. The advice might be largely common sense, but does every retailer take it on board?

"I employ professional intelligent people but there are a lot of unprofessional unintelligent people in the industry," Jackson says. "There are a lot of people in the kitchen industry that will know how to deal with things because they're naturally nice people and they've got natural ability. But there are a lot of places where you walk into a showroom and walk straight out."