UK Catering Boss Retires, Says Attention to Detail "Vital" Online
Kingfisher Services MD says tools including Postcode Anywhere's address look-up "helped business grow".
- (1888PressRelease) March 16, 2011 - Worcester, UK - The founder of national catering supplies company Kingfisher Services is looking forward to his retirement, after decades in the trade and a successful push to move much of the business online.
Managing director Leslie Bowman attributes "attention to detail" to the firm's web-based accomplishments, including services such as Postcode Anywhere's address auto-fill, integrated with their Actinic-powered ecommerce website.
Kingfisher Services supplies catering products and equipment to hotels, restaurants and NHS hospitals. The company's UK customers comprise some of the most prestigious hotel groups, restaurants and private clubs, including the iconic Jimmy Chung's chain and Hendon Golf Club.
Mr Bowman said: "A diverse range of hotel and hospitality professionals use our services, from head chefs and restaurant managers to admin staff. They do not have access to a centralised procurement or purchasing department like many large companies have, so it's really important to make the buying experience as convenient and efficient as possible.
"Attention to detail is vital online. Postcode validation really helps us provide an efficient service. Our customers can be segmented into small independent hotels, and larger ones such as the Dorchester. The housekeeper from the Dorchester will probably never need to provide a postcode, as it's a London landmark. For a small seaside guest house called 'Seaview,' however, there are likely to be several establishments in the same town with similar or identical names.
"We had an example of this recently on our telephone order line, where a consignment of shampoos and shower gels was ordered by the housekeeper of a hotel in a popular tourist destination. Unfortunately it was delivered to a competing hotel opposite with a very similar name - causing a lot of inconvenience!
"This would simply not have happened if the housekeeper had placed the order online, using address validation - and we would have been spared the hassle, embarrassment and expense of rectifying the situation and pacifying our customer.
"Postcode Anywhere gives our customers a good user experience. The hotel and restaurant business is extremely pressurised and time is of a premium, so users benefit from being able to reduce their keystrokes. And after they've placed their order, it gets sent to the right delivery address on time, every time.
"The more professional your website looks, the more confidence your customers have in you as a company. We've been using Postcode Anywhere for almost two years. Postcode validation has definitely helped us to grow and develop the online side of the business. During my career I've had the great privilege to work with Rocco Forte, undisputedly the greatest hotelier entrepreneur in the world. He once told me that he felt that the key to his success in business was purely down to attention to detail. I think that postcode validation is a great example of how we demonstrate Kingfisher's commitment to this legendary man's business philosophy."
While a high proportion of Kingfisher's business is secured through its website, it continues to provide a telephone order line service for catering professionals without internet access. For more information about Kingfisher Services, please visit www.kfservices.com.
To find out more about Postcode Anywhere's range of products for making ecommerce more profitable, including address validation, store finders and postcode profiling services, visit www.postcodeanywhere.com. Learn about Postcode Anywhere's address auto-fill for Actinic ecommerce and sign up at www.postcodeanywhere.com/actinic.
Media contact for Postcode Anywhere
Jim Williams - PR Manager, Postcode Anywhere
jim ( @ ) postcodeanywhere dot com
+44 (0) 1905 888 570
Press centre at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/press
Press Pack download: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/assets/PDFs/press-pack-2010.pdf
About Postcode Anywhere
Postcode Anywhere supplies software and services which improve the day-to-day operations of over 8,000 organisations worldwide. Best known as a provider of address auto-fill and verification software, the company offers a range of data-driven services, including route planning, customer profiling and bank account validation. It is now the fastest-growing reseller of Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF®) and the market leader for online address auto-fill. A multi-award-winning organisation, it has also appeared in Deloitte's European fast-growth technology company list for three years running. For more information about Postcode Anywhere, please visit www.postcodeanywhere.com.
Recent Awards and Recognition for Postcode Anywhere
• Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008/9, 2009/10 & 2010/11
• Red Herring Top 100 Europe - 2010
• Best Small IT Supplier of the Year - UK IT Industry Awards (finalist) - 2009
• Dell Small Business Excellence Award (UK finalist) - 2009
• Small-Medium Sized Business of the Year (regional finalist) - National Business Awards 2009
• Orange Best Use of Technology (Midlands) - 2008 National Business Awards
• Growth Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
• Small Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
• Customer Service Team of the Year (finalist) - National Customer Services Awards 2008
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