Dedicated problem solver, Niall Dobson, discusses his time on I’m Running Sainsbury’s and the thinking behind his customer surgery
It’s not every day you’re presented with an opportunity to read letters addressed to the Chief Executive of one of the UK’s largest retail chains. As part of my challenge, I was able to do just that: read Justin King’s post to see what customers were writing to him about.
What struck me most was the fact that people were contacting him about issues and concerns that could so easily be resolved in-store. Of course, there were some serious complaints, but so many letters addressed small frustrations or simple comments.
I realised I had been presented with a huge opportunity to listen to what customers had to say about the stores they shopped in – and to help resolve them as quickly as possible. I decided to trail a customer surgery, and took it to a new store where I could test my idea in a new territory, with both customers and colleagues I didn’t know.
On the first day I didn’t feel very confident; I didn’t know what to expect, what customers would say, if anyone would even talk to me – but the opinions, comments, complaints, compliments and the odd medical concern came flooding in.
Although it was a surgery, I had to explain on three occasions that I was not, in fact, a doctor. In the small amount of time I was there, more than 250 customers took the opportunity to tell me exactly how they felt – the good, the bad and the absurd!
I’m Running Sainsbury’s, Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4
Comments
It was a shame NIalls that the main woman at your head office wasn’t behind you. it must be like pushing a pea uphill working for people like that.
niall you were hogtied from the start,sainsbury’s do not give ordinary workers any say, everything goes to head office. The glimpse we have seen of head office screams — you do what we want — customer service’s attitude we are always right — justin please get an original idea to put sainsbury right — you have convinced the public that all is on the skids at sainsbury’s — ps dont worry about tesco they are just as bad.
Great idea Niall, hope to see it at a store near me soon. I prefer to shop at Sainsbury’s generally than go to the Tesco corporate production mill. Good to see Sainsbury’s still care about customers
I wish Niall would come and visit Clifton Down Shopping Centre Sainsbury in Bristol as a mystery shopper. It’s a strange store and it is the only Sainsbury in a fairly upmarket area, the trouble is they never think of their resident customers, only students. I have defected to Waitrose and its their own fault. It is like a third world supermarket, messy, disgusting loos and unhelpful part-time staff. I bet they don’t keep managers in that store for very long. The nearest Sainsburys is similar in Queens Road and the larger Sainsburys is a nightmare of a car journey away, over the docks with delays caused by Bridge Swings. Waitrose is just nicer, polite staff and good stock but so so much more expensive. Niall please, please contact an ordinary housewife from Clifton.
Niall, you are doing a great job! You should definitely do something about Sainsbury’s in Victoria Street, SW1. Just getting in there is a nightmare as you have to fight your way through the people standing at the tills to get into the store!! what were the designers thinking of???
Niall – what a terrific job you did for customer services – your a truly dynamic troubleshooter. Your jobs was made even more difficult by unhelpful power people who offered little support such as the store manager and the lady at HQ. They could learn a thing or two from you. Well done.
Well done Niall, great job, great customer service Sainsburys should look at doing the Cabinet Office Customer Service Excellence standard with you leading it
I think thaty Niall Dobson should be required to attend an elocution class as it was impossible to understand most of what he was saying and why does everyone in Sainsbury’s staff keep saying OKAY. I was always of the opinion this was a slang expression and a lazy way of speaking.
His idea was not all that earth shattering. One would imagine that management with all their supposed know-how could come up with better ideas.As for that staff member last week going about trying to sell hot cross buns she would drive me out of the store in double quick time. Have you such a margin on sale of hot cross buns that you can devote a salesperson to promoting them?
fantastic job Niall, might be an idea if sainsburys replaced you with that totally negative customer services director from headoffice, all she seems to want to do is protect her own little empire . She should be comming up with ideas like yours just as well justin king saw you have potential , good luck
sainsburys has never been customer obsessed really. i worked for them for 20 years and even that far back they were unintereted in change. i would ring head office to tell them the great new ideas morrisons had and the reply was always we dont want morrisons customers anyway? thats the reason they stood still for ten years! i spent 5 years every season literally on the phone trying to get rhubarb into the bradford store (15 miles from the rhubarb triangle lol in wakefield) non ranged … non ranged… ended up selling the customers some from my uncles allotment cheap too ! did change tbh but was too little too late they let morries and asda sneak in themselves never listened to the northern stars in their colleagues .
ps. great show by the way
First of all well done, secondly i think you could do a good job of training the customer service director at head office. How negative is she. May be shes the reason why some stores have problems if shes making the rules. Anyway great idea dont let people who think they know it all bring you down, because in this case shes miles off.
Niall
I thought you were fantastic – I wish you would come to my local store in Colchester. I think the idea of a complaints tent once every month is brilliant!
p.s. I thought the lady at HQ was totally unsupportive, which is typical of someone who is not working on the shop floor. Hurray for you!
just watched the recording. The store’s management was a shambles and if Niall were to succeed he would need to have the authority of a deputy manager.
It was almost unfair sending him to a hostile store management with absolutely no support from Sainsburys’ customer service director.
Although I find it a fascinating must-watch programme, I do think that Sainsbury’s idea to carry out these experiments is akin to asking a hospital porter to ‘have a go at brain surgery’. It will be interesting to see how many of these ideas are sustained – in the main I think it is just a scheme which attracts enthusiastic wannabe’s who, as you would expect, have a very short sighted approach to the overall complexity of running such a store.
Niall, I thought your idea was fantastic and with a bit of tweaking could really work. You and the manager Martin really worked well together, the program left me wanting to see more. Make a series I say, come on channel 4. Justin your staff at Finchley Road did you proud. I love Sainsburys !
Well done Niall, we could do with you visiting our store at Tollgate Stanway Colchester, we have all the problems and more that were covered in your programme. Did they use a wide angle lens when they filmed in your store, as we certainly don’t have wide aisles like that? Ours are usually filled with trolleys and boxes and still a lot of the shelves are empty of basic commodities.
Congratulations Niall. As a manager of 30 years experience I would promote you to Area Manager level. if I was Justin King. In fact you would probably be an improvement on the current customer services director…. As a young businessman I thought you towered over the Appentice entrants.
Fantastic show! Really enjoyed every minute. Well done Niall
I think that the show is entertaining – but Niall didn’t really know how to respond to some of the complaints which made him look unprepared and I didn’t feel he did anything special, just agreeing mostly.
It appears the company hasn’t changed at all since I left in 2005. They have never given any support to stores and I believe this show will be rather damaging to them. It may be free advertising, but at the same time they are showing how little help they give the people on the front line. It’s a farce, very much like The Apprentice. “Think you can run a shop? Well, here, have the keys to a flagship and get on with it then. Just don’t expect us to show you what to do.” Disgraceful. Yes, a lot of retail is thinking on your feet, multi-tasking, learning moral courage (i.e. being able to say “No” to people, even if it makes you Mr Nasty) but these companies have to learn to treat their staff properly. I firmly believe that this is half the reason why all the big names are struggling/going under in these times. All the old-school, looooong serving employees are leaving and retiring leaving the new breed to pick up the pieces with no-one to guide them. It’s all about profit and precious little else. Sainsbury’s have *always* thrown their staff in at the deep end. I worked for them for over four years, and eventually became a supervisor for dry goods but they never actually trained me on how to do anything, they just expected you to get on with it. It’s time people saw what these boys and girls have to put up with from their colleagues, never mind the customers. Retail is one of the hardest jobs out there. Physically, emotionally, mentally.. I could go on!
great program,but it was very hard working with neils ,he was great fun but the customers wernt allways right !!!!!!!!!!!!
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