I really enjoyed watching The Fixer last Tuesday on BBC2. With her usual style and panache, Alex Polizziadvises a failing family car repair garage, Guidebridge MOT in Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester.

Honestly (some would say brutally) she administers her hard truths about customer service, organisation and marketing.

When the fleet inspector arrives (fleet work is the name for servicing done for companies with many vehicles to service), he tells her that he likes to find the s**t in people! This is apparently an acronym for:

• Sincerity
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Trust

With usual sharp wit, Alex responds “so you want me to help them get their s**t together.”

Customer service has never been more important in my opinion. The family were under the impression that their customer service was good. They then demonstrated otherwise by keeping customers waiting without any explanation of when their vehicles would be ready. Not only that, but customers were made to wait in an area that in her own words “one would want to slit your wrists in”.

In the training business, there are times when clients need answers to questions that only trainers can respond to, so sometimes although we prefer to give all clients immediate responses to their questions we may need to wait for a response ourselves. It is important at all times to keep the customer informed of progress. A polite email or phone call is all it takes to explain any delays so the customer knows exactly when they can expect what they are looking for. It is imperative to keep communication going, nobody likes to be ignored.

A lack of marketing seems to be a common theme in the series. Alex suggests to the garage that they revisit an old idea “Women at the Wheel” where women were invited to a free session enabling them to learn to change a tyre, fill their oil and water etc. Everybody loves a freebie, and if it encourages potential clients to revisit you, even better.

Once customers receive a great or free deal, you have built a relationship with a potential paying client - you now have their trust and have gone a long way towards sorting your s**t out!  These potential clients are much more likely to come back, and loyalty is what you are looking for especially in the service industry.

The highlight of the programme for me was when Alex turned up to the “woman at the wheel” event dressed in leathers.

Alex Polizzi in Leathers

I loved the look on the daughter's face when she emerged from her car!

Reaction to Alex Polizzi in Leathers

The look on the face of her crew perfectly describes the moment too. Alex tweets this image with a comment “here are the crew admiring me!”

Crew Admiring Alex Polizzi in Leathers

She practices what she preaches and engages with her fans, responding to tweets and making them feel special. This is something that all business should aspire to do.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter are used by small and large businesses as part of their marketing. Not only are social media and content marketing powerful tools in communicating your business message and building relationships with customers, they also have a huge impact on your SEO (your position in the search engines).

So follow Alex’s advice, think hard and creatively about customer service. It’s important not to take things for granted, you may not be as good as you think or as good as you could be.

You might like to attend one of our customer service courses or send an employee. If you want to improve your marketing and search engine position, I would recommend our SEO training, Content Marketing Training and our Social Media Training.

Stay up to date with technology, and the ways your customers search for products, this is changing all the time. Think smart phones, personalised search and apps, look and see how your site looks on a mobile. Of course, we provide mobile development courses too, including our new Dreamweaver & jQuery Mobile Web Design course allowing non-programmers to have a go at designing their own apps.

This reminds me of my last point – research what your customers want and need, change your service or products regularly to match what is currently popular and never rest on your laurels.