Consistently excellent customer service has always been one of our key business drivers here at Excel Vending – without our customers we are nothing, and we want to give our best to each and every one.

Of course, it’s very easy for businesses to wax lyrical about how wonderful their customer service is, but how many of them actually demonstrate it? We have always recognised that in order to give good customer service, we need to start at the very core of our business – our people. Over the years we have learned that investing in our staff pays dividends in many ways, and one of the ways we do this is with regular staff training.

Last week we had Phillip Millard of the Vending Intelligence Agency in the office to deliver our annual Customer Ambassador programme to our staff, this being the fifth year we have taken part. We think it’s important to do industry courses such as this on a regular basis instead of just one-offs, as they are updated and developed regularly and it allows our staff to refresh their skills.

Phillip has an extensive background in the vending industry and at one point ran his own vending company. He recognised that there was no vending specific training available so designed a training programme for the company he was working with and has been delivering training ever since. As well as the Customer Ambassador programme, he is also delivering management training to some of our staff.

The Customer Ambassador programme, undertaken by 600 vending operators throughout the UK, trains staff on how to be ambassadors, not just for their vending company, but for the industry as a whole. Staff learn crucial soft skills in customer service, such as how to handle difficult situations, what language to use (and not to use) when dealing with people, and how to rectify problems. No business runs 100% smoothly 100% of the time, so it’s vital that our staff are able to solve problems efficiently and calmly, while retaining customer confidence, satisfaction and loyalty.

While training internally is always important, by externally training staff they feel invested in. And when our staff feel invested in, they are motivated and we get the best out of them. It’s this approach to business that has cemented Excel’s exceptional reputation and ensured our longevity in the vending business. We’re proud to say that our staff have won industry awards and are regularly praised by the customers they serve, and we believe they are a major factor in the continued success of the business.