The results are in for our 2021/22 Client Satisfaction Survey!
It has certainly been a challenging year for businesses across the country as they have battled to continue to deliver good service in bad circumstances. ‘Working from home’ sounded idyllic for many companies back in 2020, but in reality, we have noticed service standards slipping; as many firms almost seemed to ‘hide behind Covid’.
Thomas and Thomas aren’t like that.
We know we are good at looking after our clients, it’s what makes us tick. However, we also know that things can change. It is no good just sitting back on past successes. We wanted to know that we are doing everything well for you as our clients. No excuses. Nowhere to hide.
This year, we sent out seven magnificent questions! We used smart survey UK to ask ‘quick fire’ questions with a choice of answers for our clients to select. Each question allowed for comments which was incredibly valuable. We received no less than 137 client comments across the seven questions!
Thank you so much to the 67 households who responded. This was a very high level of completion and speaks volumes about how our clients want to work with us to be the very best that we can be.
Here were our summarised findings across each question:
- 100% of our clients said that they found our overall service to have been excellent or good this year. Indeed, over 95% ticked ‘excellent’. We received so many lovely comments – thank you. These comments are a huge encouragement.
- We asked how our clients were enjoying our additional video quarterly market commentary which accompanies the written version. 73% of our clients said that they found the video’s to be of some value or very valuable. However, 25% were keen to express a wish to read their commentary and so we shall most certainly keep it going in writing as well as on video.
- 98.5% of our clients stated that they found their Annual Review good or excellent at telling them all they wanted to know about their financial plan. The one client who ticked otherwise went on to explain that they had not been with us for a full year yet.
- Every year, we ask our clients how confident they feel to invest into the markets right now. This is a telling question, as we know our clients are a savvy bunch! Some 68% stated that they felt very confident or confident to invest at this moment in time. With around a quarter feeling neutral and just over 4.5% saying that they were nervous about markets in general at the moment.
- The quality of information from platform providers scored much more highly this year, with 98% of our clients happy at this service. Many comments were made about how much clients had seen the service and communication from Quilter (formally Old Mutual) improve. This was music to our ears after committing so much time and effort in assisting Quilter with their pilot programme.
- Obviously this year proved very difficult to hold face to face meetings unless it was the only option for our clients. We asked them how they had found the video conferences and phone reviews. This was split down the middle with 55% saying they were happy or neutral about continuing with remote annual reviews and 45% very much looking forward to getting back to Avallenau House. The comments also supported the fact that a good chunk of our clients like coming in to see us. I guess we need to order more coffee!
- Finally, we asked the repeat question – ‘How good are we at getting back to you?’ Once again, we were proud to find that 100% of our clients stated ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.
We are still mulling over the vast quantity of comments that we received. It is so reassuring to know that we kept the standards up throughout a year of lockdowns and restrictions. However, we can also see that the ‘general wisdom’ that people will all just stay in their bedrooms and do everything remotely from now on – is just plain wrong.
Our clients want to get back to seeing us in person. They love the fact that we get back to them swiftly and that they are not just a number. They like us using technology to complement our service – but not to replace it. Very interesting indeed.
Huge thanks to everyone who helped us with this annual survey – you are a truly wonderful group of clients and we wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you.
Darren
