INVESTOR IN CUSTOMERS

9th March 2012

Following the success of our first assessment in 2009, over the last three months we invited Investor in Customers (IIC) back in to provide another in-depth independent review of our business. We’ve done it again and our scores have dramatically improved. We are simply delighted. IIC sent out questionnaires to over 10,000 Exodus travellers and the response, scores and comments have been stunning – many thanks to all of you who participated. We will not be resting on our laurels – the comments and feedback were insightful and challenging. We’ll be tackling some of the common themes and you’ll be on the receiving end of further improvements and developments during 2012! 

Neil Craig, MD at IIC commented:

“Exodus has made some significant changes in the past few years in the aim to offer the best customer experience, and their results show how successful they have been. As well as improving their scores from last year to an impressive 8.56 out of a possible ten Exodus is now the top travel company in IIC’s database.
Travellers praised the extra effort the company goes to when supplying information about trips and other personal touches that made an Exodus holiday stand out from the rest.”      

Investor in Customers
Awards are based on independent research amongst customers, staff and senior management alongside assessments conducted by IIC staff themselves.
The award is based on the following four principles:
•    Companies should understand their customers’ needs
•    They should be meeting those needs
•    They should be delighting customers in the service they provide
•    They should seek to develop a long term relationship with their customers

Visit Investor in Customers website.

Previous Award - click to view the details

In September 2011, we will begin the application and vetting process for IIC once again, and will be looking to build on our previous achievements, both in terms of our overall score but also in developing our already impressive customer service credentials.

 
DECEMBER 2009


We are delighted to announce that we have just been awarded a maximum score of 3-stars by Investor in Customers (IIC), after an in-depth independent review of our business.
IIC are service standard experts who offer awards to companies for customer service excellence.

They sent out questionnaires to a sample of our customers and over 800 of you took the time to respond, nearly 30% of the sample – many thanks if you were one of the people who responded! Staff and management in London also completed questionnaires.

At Exodus we are proud of the fact that we are pioneers in the travel industry and we are the first travel company to be audited by IIC. We’re looking forward to see if any other travel companies follow our lead and put themselves through the process. IIC have reviewed many non-travel businesses over the last few years and found that the feedback they received from our customers and staff was some of the best they have seen.

Neil Craig, MD at IIC commented:

“Amongst the very select group of 3-star companies, Exodus stand out as having the customer very much at the heart of their business and being the driver for service and process developments within the business. For a company of their size, with thousands of customers, they are remarkably close to their customers. This close relationship is reflected in their “loyalty” scores which are exceptional.”

At Exodus we recognise many companies spend a great deal of their time and effort generating new business but over the last 35 years we have focused our attention on our existing customer base. We find that our clients travel with us time and time again. For example, members of one group who first travelled with us back in 1989 have now done over 100 trips between them! We also have nearly 2,000 customers who are eligible for the 10% loyalty discount, as each of them have travelled on more than nine Exodus holidays!

As well as the award, IIC have given us some valuable feedback on aspects of our customer service that can be improved in 2010 and beyond. In the last year we put new systems and structures in place to improve the efficiency of the business, and we will continue to look for ways to improve the way we work. If you have any suggestions then please do not hesitate to let us know…!

Investor in Customers (IIC)
IIC was established in 2006 and offers companies the chance to gain the IIC award for customer service excellence. Awards are based on independent research amongst customers, staff and senior management alongside research conducted by IIC staff themselves. The award is based on the following four principles:

• Companies should understand their customers’ needs.
• They should be meeting those needs.
• They should be delighting customers in the service they provide.
• They should seek to develop a long term relationship with their customers.

Visit Investor in Customers website.