As a business owner, I have been acutely aware of the impact Covid-19 has had on suppliers within our sector. Many retailers are now experiencing unprecedented levels of service disruption, with lead times being measured in weeks rather than days. This is something we have had to accept, and as a result, we must plan accordingly.
Unfortunately, even engineer visits to repair broken machines can now take weeks when previously it would have taken mere hours. Calling businesses can be a painfully frustrating experience which is often compounded by background noise from crying children or barking dogs, confirming that many call-handlers are still working from home.
The lack of internal communication this causes within businesses can lead to longer response times or even a complete lack of awareness of what is happening within their own company. Government-run departments are even worse, leading to endless waits for calls to be answered which have now become all too familiar during our working day.
While it must be acknowledged that certain circumstances that suppliers face are often out of their control, it is possible for them to keep customers informed of any progression or delays to their orders. Unfortunately, such updates appear to be a luxury of the past, as we are now used to being left in the dark with little information throughout the process.
Recently, my son’s order of shelving was delayed significantly by a closed border, through no fault of the supplier. However, the supplier could have kept my son informed of what was happening by providing regular updates, as would have been the norm pre-Covid. Instead, the supplier chose to disregard my son as a customer and only responded when he had reached out for information regarding the status of his order.
As retailers, should we continue to accept this level of service, or is there anything we can do to push suppliers to provide better service levels? I welcome your thoughts and ideas.
Jonathan James, owner of James Convenience Retail.
