Divide profits and conquer (how co-ownership helps John Lewis to build good customer relationships)

Citation

Russell, S.-.-J. (2010), "Divide profits and conquer (how co-ownership helps John Lewis to build good customer relationships)", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 18 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2010.04418ead.003

Divide profits and conquer (how co-ownership helps John Lewis to build good customer relationships)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 18, Issue 5

RussellS.-J. Quality World (UK), February 2010, Vol. 36 No. 2, Start page: 22, No. of pages: 4

Describes the customer relationship management (CRM) approach adopted by John Lewis, part of the John Lewis Partnership (including Waitrose), the UK’s largest department-store chain, which has a long history of great customer service from helpful and knowledgeable sales people, and where there is a strong emphasis on customer focus and employee training. Points to the partnership structure of the company, where the company is owned equally by each of its employees and where being partner-owned means the business is oriented towards driving partner happiness in the workplace. Notes that the success of the company in CRM is shown by the fact that in 2009 it was voted Britain’s favorite retailer by Which? magazine and Verdict, while topping the UK Customer Service Index with the highest ever recorded score and record-breaking sales of 500 million pounds sterling in the Christmas 2009 period, despite the global financial crisis. Outlines the processes involved in John Lewis’s CRM strategy. ISSN: 1352-8769 Reference: 39AG554

Keywords: Customer service management, Customer services quality, Quality management techniques, Department stores, Employees, Motivation (psychology), Shopping, Retailing, Retail trade, Customer relations, Customer requirements, Customer satisfaction, Customers, Organizations, United Kingdom