Mitre 10 asks customers to add their 10 cents worth

January 8, 2013
For Immediate Release

Mitre 10 asks customers to add their 10 cents worth

Changes in service and product lines are being driven nationwide at Mitre 10 following the in-house development of a unique customer feedback solution.

Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 MEGA customers are now able to provide specific feedback on their experience in store, the service and the range of products following every purchase. Checkout operators, docket messaging and in-store signage direct customers to a specific webpage where customers can rate their experience. A unique transaction code found on the docket opens the survey to individual customers.

Since the launch of the ‘My 10 cents worth’ programme in late September customers have responded at an average rate of around 1,000 per week.

Mitre 10 General Manager Marketing Dave Elliott said the programme is a unique customer satisfaction tool aimed at overcoming natural Kiwi reticence.

“New Zealanders are a little unusual in their attitude to service as they tend not to complain – they just don’t come back.

“My 10 cents worth overcomes that reticence by encouraging our customers to go on-line and tell us about their good or bad experiences, the product range and other aspects of their in-store experience that may like or want improved.

“It’s a unique tool and is providing us with invaluable feedback at individual store level as well as nationally.”

Mr Elliott said the question in the survey about product lines was helping to fill gaps in product offerings while others questions allowed obvious issues to be quickly identified and remedied.

“In one store there was a noticeable thread of complaints about checkout waiting times and when we drilled down into the feedback the issue was narrowed to weekends only. Now more staff are being rostered for weekends at the store and the complaints have dropped.”

Mr Elliott said another benefit had been the availability of good information to individual store owners within the co-operative.

“One store has taken the initiative of calling customers to discuss and fix poor in-store experiences and another is displaying customer comments in the staff room to remind and encourage staff to focus on service.

“Customer service including our price promise, being a trusted business and DIY in our DNA are the planks that underpin our business so having this detailed level of customer feedback is a critically important tool for us in meeting customer expectations.”

A weekly percentage score and individual comments on stores are provided across Mitre 10’s national store network with stores able to monitor how they compare to the national average.

“We are highly pleased with the level of feedback we’re receiving which is overwhelmingly positive and the information is so good we can tailor responses to individual stores. That’s a powerful tool for us as, despite already being New Zealand’s largest home improvement and gardening supplies retailer, we need to keep improving to maintain our status as one of New Zealand’s most trusted brands.”

“We’re always looking for best practice and know that it is our customers that can tell us what this is. The more our customers talk to us and the more we listen the better we can make our service.”

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