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Frequently people come in off
the street with a button that’s
just come off – we’ll fix it there
and then – again for no charge
confident in the knowledge that
he or she will regard us as a
lifesaver and talk about The
ZipYard to others.
SYSTEMS
The sophisticated till system
included as part of the ZipYard
package has a customer
relationship management
feature which tracks customers
each time they come in and
allows us to make notes. If a
regular is getting ready to go on
holiday I can input this into the
system. Then I can wish them
a happy holiday when they pick
up the clothes and ask them
about it the next time they’re
in. Building relationships is
paramount– and as a result the
average repeat customer visits
us about once a month. Some
have used us over 200 times
spending several thousand
pounds.
Outstanding customer
service means that we have
to be prepared to do whatever
it takes. Last year a groom
and his entire male entourage
turned up the day before the
wedding in a panic because
they had only just discovered
their suits were ill fitting. We
stayed open through the night
to finish the work and to get the
party to the church on time and
looking their best.
Another customer spent over
£400 altering her wardrobe
after a successful diet, and an
elderly lady brought in all of
her clothes to be taken in - all
bundled into storage boxes and
carried up the high street to us.
Nowadays very few people
have the time or skill to mend
their own clothes –and a lot of
our work involves repairs - but
even I was surprised when
one of our regular customers
brought in a pair of her son’s Y
fronts for us to fix a tear!
For many of our customers
we have become their
‘personal’ tailors. One wellheeled man left a message
on our answering machine to
say his wife was bringing in
a ball gown the next day so
‘please leave space on your
machine’ for her. They expect a
very fast service and we rarely
disappoint. A regular moved
out of the area but saves up his
repairs until he comes back to
visit friends – travelling over 160
miles for our quality of service.
Grateful customers send
flowers, wedding cake, thank
you notes and gifts.
THE FUTURE
Managing customer
expectations isn’t easy and it
has been a big challenge for
us to be able to turn round
work quickly as the volume
increases. Recently we dealt
with 90 paying customers in
one day which is ten an hour!
We already open seven days a
week and are looking to employ
another seamstress to focus
full time on express work and
have installed a second till to
cope with the queues that had
begun to form outside the door
in busy periods.
We are looking ways to
extend the range of services
we offer including a paid for
delivery and collection service
which will appeal to our busier
user clientele.
At the moment I manage
ZipYard with the help of one
other but I will be recruiting
additional customer facing
staff to free me up to do more
marketing and work on plans
to open another ZipYard in the
North West.
CUSTOMER STORIES
“To Danuska with eternal
thanks. You u saved my day.
It means so much more than
words could ever say.”
- Breeda (bride)
We frequently see brides who
have bought a dress form the
internet. On one occasion a
woman came in to the centre
in tears with a dress that fitted
terribly –by the time we had
finished she was parading up
and down with a big smile on
her face.
DPS APRIL 2014.indd 117
Contact: Emma Downes
T: 01530 513307
E: [email protected]
W: www.thezipyard.co.uk
12/03/2014 10:21