Tom Edge on how to run a business

Back in the 1970s, Edward Shumacher wrote a book called Small Is Beautiful. In it he proposed that big business had cost advantages over small ones, but that any advantage was soon lost because they were too big to manage and gave impersonal service.

All successful companies supply products and services that the customer wants – at a fair price. They also sell in pleasant surroundings and offer unforgettable service. Their staff are trained, positive, approachable, enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

When you run your own business you have decided to sell to and serve others. Unfortunately, for many British people, selling is a job that is beneath them and they regard customers as being in the way. But make no mistake, we are going to have to become much cleverer sales people and serve customers a great deal better, or we are going to lose business to competitors who already do so.

Our rewards in life have always been in direct proportion to the quantity and the quality of the service we have given. The more people we serve and the better we serve them, the more rewards we will get. Poor service equals poor rewards, average service procures average rewards. Good service reaps good rewards.

If the car breaks down within a week of his garage fixing it, he sends someone out to repair it, day or night. He gives me a loan car and I leave the broken-down vehicle with the mechanic. Does he charge more? Yes, he does, but he has increased his share of the local market by 400% in the last two years.

My doctor has a target to see 97% of her patients on time. When you go into her surgery, the receptionist comes to you. There is a play area for the kids, a coffee machine, a pay phone, up-to-date magazines, soft, relaxing music and potted plants that look healthy.

To find out how to give unforgettable service in your business, book yourself on a customer service training course. Some are free and many cost very little. Ask your local Training and Enterprise council for details. If you prefer, send off for a leaflet I have produced on customer care. It will outline the basics and I hope inspire you to put what you read into action.

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What about the petrol station that invites you out of the car with a free cup of coffee and a newspaper while its staff pump the petrol, check the tyres and oil, wipe the inside and the outside of your windscreen? They charge top price but pump twice as much petrol as any other station in town.

The bosses keep tight financial control and exhibit the same attitudes as the staff – they are positive, approachable, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The boss also has the best possible marketing tool because he listens and finds out how to serve his customer better from first-hand experience.

To many people, the customer is a pest, to the Americans, the customer is a king, but to the Japanese, the customer is a god. Perhaps that’s why the Japanese are so successful. After all, the success of every business can be found in its attitude towards serving customers.

Since the 1990s, small businesses still have had lots of advantages over larger ones. For a start, they are slimmer with no head office absorbing money. But they are also lighter on their feet, responding to customers’ demands.

Take my mechanic, for example. He cleans my car inside and out, and he cleans my engine. He puts my seat back to my leg size. He offers an overnight service where he picks up the car from the drive and delivers it back ready for work the next day.

Moreover, it is happening. Day in day out, despite the focus on customer care, there are similar incidents occurring all over the land: ultimately orders are lost because of them. Big businesses are more likely to fall foul of this than smaller ones.

When we get here, she gives the kids a sweet, stands up, comes to my side of the desk, smiles, shakes my hand and says convincingly, “It’s nice to see you, Tom”. If she’s been running late, she apologizes and you know she’s done her best.

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