The first priority for all at Lovewell Blake is to deliver high quality service to our clients. Whilst almost every firm has a commitment to high quality service, very few have underpinned their commitment with specific initiatives and performance benchmarks designed to ensure total quality service at all times. We believe this will be of significant value to our clients which will give us a competitive edge. Our aim is to be known as the best accountancy practice in the region for client care.
The Lovewell Blake Experience provides a series of specific service benchmarks for our clients under the following headings:
Certainty
Understanding
Innovation
Clarity
Responsiveness
Relevance
Friendliness
Feedback
To ensure our clients receive this high quality of service we have introduced a series of specific service pledges going well beyond the normal expectations of technical excellence, integrity, confidentiality and trust.
Our service standards focus on the total experience of clients when dealing with our firm and are set out in our eight-point pledge:
1. We offer certainty
Our aim is to ensure that there is a clear understanding with our clients in respect of the work we will perform and the support we require from them to enable us to perform effectively to agreed pricing and delivery dates.
We outline to our clients clear written terms of the engagement and expectations from both parties.
These terms are reviewed regularly with every client. The engagement terms specify the obligations on the firm and the client and the remedies should the obligations not be met.
Fixed prices or agreed hourly rates are available to all clients.
Our clients can be offered a fixed price or an agreed hourly rate with the firm for specific engagements and regular compliance work which has a clear scope.
We confirm dates, meet them or beat the deadline.
On acceptance of any engagement we confirm the date the assignment will be completed. We will meet the completion date or beat the deadline.
We keep our clients informed as work progresses.
If any problems do arise our clients are informed and solutions are suggested.
Wherever possible client service team members are not changed.
We understand the benefits that arise from providing continuity within service teams. By limiting team changes we are able to build a greater understanding of each client’s targets and objectives.
Clients become more familiar with all team members resulting in a larger pool of people who can provide assistance.
At the end of each engagement we will outline how future engagements could be more effectively performed.
2. We understand our clients’ needs
Understanding the needs of our clients is critical to ensure we provide services which will meet their objectives. This allows us to tailor our services to meet each client’s needs and proactively determine ways in which we can add value.
We introduce clients to our own specialists for specific advice where appropriate. In circumstances where we may not have the appropriate expertise, we assist our clients in locating appropriate specialists and in managing the relationship with them.
Appropriate articles of interest are forwarded to our clients.
3. Innovation - We provide ‘fresh thinking’ to drive clients’ success
Our objective is to provide new solutions to assist our clients in meeting their objectives.
We appreciate that in many cases a good compliance service is all that may be expected, by adding innovative ideas where appropriate we can add real value and exceed expectations.
4. Clarity - Our communications are clear and concise
We understand that many of our clients are not trained in accounting and finance. Our objective is to make all communications easily understood.
We aim for a high standard of clarity using simple language and avoiding unnecessary technical jargon. Where appropriate we will use graphical illustrations.
5. Responsiveness - We are available and accessible
We aim to provide prompt and efficient access to our people. Clients are provided with email addresses and phone numbers of all members of their service teams.
Visits to clients’ premises assist us in understanding their operations and in gathering the information we need to provide the best services.
We communicate frequently with our clients so that we can ensure we continue to service their requirements. The level of communication is tailored for each individual circumstance.
We acknowledge client phone calls, faxes and emails promptly or, when the recipient is not available, another member of our team makes contact to see if they can assist or advise when the recipient will be able to respond.
No one waits in our reception areas for more than five minutes. If the person to be seen has been unavoidably delayed another member of our team will assist or advise when that person will be available.
We understand our clients have different attitudes to modern information technology and we use whichever medium is preferred by our clients.
6. Relevance - We keep our clients up-to-date
The world of business and finance is continuously changing. Our aim is to provide opportunities for our clients to keep up-to-date so that they can make appropriate decisions for the future. We provide the latest business information in our newsletters, email news and on our website. Our aim is to provide information relevant to our clients that can be easily accessed and interpreted.
We organise seminars on current topics of interest. For many clients, attending a seminar will be more informative than reading written material. Seminars provide the opportunity to ask questions and talk to us and meet other members of our service teams.
We provide networking opportunities for our clients and invitations to regular seminars and events. We understand the importance of networks in today’s business world. We aim to provide opportunities for our clients to meet each other for their mutual gain.
7. Friendliness - Our offices have a warm and friendly atmosphere
We aim to provide an environment where meeting with us is always a pleasant experience. We want clients to relax and feel able to discuss matters in an environment conducive to open friendly dialogue. The Lovewell Blake Experience.
8. We seek feedback
To continuously improve our service we seek regular feedback. Individual performance reviews for our staff are strongly linked to client feedback.
We continuously survey a sample of our clients to assess our service.
We set ourselves service standards which apply to all aspects of our work and are regularly monitored. A copy of our service standards is available upon request.
Our involvement in the community
Lovewell Blake has a commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, supporting the local and global community in which we live and work.
Ensuring a high quality service to our clients is critical to the success of Lovewell Blake. We welcome any suggestions for improvement. We aim to ensure that the Lovewell Blake Experience is enjoyable and rewarding.
Any comments or suggestions can be emailed to our Managing Partner, Douglas Young, based in Norwich at pdy@lovewell-blake.co.uk or call him on 01603 663300.
|