During my training, I completed several additional courses, including one on customer care. This course provided an insightful introduction to the importance of delivering excellent service and understanding the expectations, desires, and needs of our customers. It was made clear that having a strong understanding of customer needs is essential for success as a chef.

After completing the customer care course, I received another nationally recognised qualification called "Welcome Host," which was certified by the English Tourist Board. This program took customer care beyond the restaurant setting and emphasised the wider impact of the hospitality industry on the local economy. It was designed to instill in me an understanding that my actions as a hospitality worker would have a direct effect not only on the business I worked for but also on the broader industry and community.

I achieved some of the highest exam results in my cohort, earning me an award and setting me on a successful path as a professional chef. As a result, I was offered a permanent position in the chef brigade and my true training began.

What did I learn as a Chef?

As a chef, I learned not only how to cook exceptionally well but also the importance of teamwork and customer focus. The success of the business depended on all members working together as a cohesive unit, with no one person, job, or team considered more or less important than the others. It was understood that the weakest link in the chain is the one that the customer would encounter and it would diminish their dining experience. Every task, no matter how minor or seemingly unrelated to the customer, was a crucial part of the chain.

“Chefs don’t only “focus on”, but commit to every element of a dish, like

it’s the only one they will ever make. “

As a team, we had a clear goals:

1. Engage with the customer

2. Listen and take action to exceed their expectations

3. Build a relationship that would encourage them to return.

By putting in the necessary preparation and effort beforehand, you can ensure a successful outcome. Every guest has the power to make or break a restaurant, and it is up to you to determine which of those outcomes they choose.

I needed to be closer to customers

While I really enjoyed Cheffing and had made a success of it, as a Chef you usually don’t get to meet customers and I had realised I wanted to work on the front line and be closer to my customers. Food Retail looked to be a buoyant proposition and a great environment to work in, so I joined Sainsbury’s, a large grocery retail chain. The focus on Customer Experience was starting to come into prominence. Mystery shopping was introduced, and this gave valuable first insights that I could use to improve things for customers. I managed multiple departments including Stock Control and spent a couple of years in Restaurant Area Management. While managing a store, I could now see a difference from how a professional kitchen team worked, against how a Supermarket team worked, and while they are very different business models, they have the same customers, with the exact same needs.

Although I enjoyed being a chef and had achieved some success in the field, I wanted to work more closely with customers and be on the front lines of service. I saw great potential in the food retail industry and decided to join Sainsbury's, a large supermarket chain. At this time, the focus on customer experience was beginning to increase, and mystery shopping was introduced to gather valuable insights for improvement. I managed multiple departments, including stock control, and spent a few years in restaurant area management. While managing a store, I was able to see the differences, and synergies in how professional kitchen teams and supermarket teams operate, and although they are different business models, they serve the same customers with the same needs.

My move out of store was to an Area IT Implementation Manager position, to manage the rollout of a new epos system, coincidentally the same system used in Sainsbury’s restaurant chain, so I knew it well. I saw this as a great extension of the experience I gained at Sainsbury’s but of course, IT-focused. I could still see the same disconnect from customers that I had seen at Sainsbury’s. The understanding was just not there, and it was impacting outcomes. Nevertheless, the rollout was a real success and when complete, I become store manager of a large store back in my school town of Falmouth. By this time, I had an idea in my head that if I could put the customer focus seen in professional kitchens, into a retail environment it could have a big impact.

This resonated with the team and they got behind my focus and the results were great. Sales began to trend up and upon introducing our own customer suggestion box, I could see that the customers were gaining confidence in the store and seeing its standards improve. One particular customer comment has always stayed with me…

“The team seem to really care about me now, it’s nice”

I now had my “career plan”

By this time, I had decided to make “Customer” my career focus, regardless of the type of role I had, and could see that to win in CX I would need to have credibility across multiple business disciplines. If I could gain a good cross-business experience, then move into customer experience management, I would be well placed to have a high value add.

When I looked back at my career so far, I could see some good solid experience in Sales, Retail Operations, IT, and of course Customer at grassroots level, but my time in an Area role with Woolworths had shown me a side of business that I enjoyed and a timely approach by the Post Office saw me join as a Sales Account Manager. Post Office quickly established itself in my mind as a company where I could make a difference and gain experience of the major business areas, intending to then move into customer experience at the right time. 

My approach was always, and still is, that if you want to work in customer experience management you need 3 things behind you…

• Experience in the areas you are supporting and asking to improve

• Strong focus on human behaviours

• Substance, credibility and high value add

Starting with sales and business development, I intentionally devolved my experience through many positions with Post Office, covering operations, process, innovation, IT and digital adoption, project management and many more. Post Office is a great business to learn in and the support to develop is fantastic. Always working towards my goal of moving into a Customer Experience position, where I could use my solid knowledge and experience, I had gained from previous roles.

I decided that the time was right to propose the customer experience role I had been working towards. CX had also now evolved out of mystery shopping and with voice of customer systems, the insight was there to be able to make a difference. I wrote a proposal, and job description and made my case to our CEO. After some discussion, the proposal was accepted, and I started as the first Head of Customer Experience Strategy and Deployment.

I brought human behaviours into focus

I put in place some early quick wins that relaunched voice of customer with our branch network and added some basic tools to help fuel the conversations our field teams could have. The uptake was great, and the focus saw our customer metrics improve. This was enough for the position to have proved its value add and to become a permanent role.

I aimed to find a set of Drivers; things humans cared about that could be the basis of my programme. These behaviours became our “Customer Drivers” and the core of my XM programme. I integrated them into everything, they are easy to talk about easy to explain and can help form tangible action plans…