Graham Plumbers’ Merchant started an extensive research programme in October 2011 resulting in feedback from 40,000 customer surveys and the overall results were extremely positive.

The Graham Customer Score Survey is cemented in the heart of the business – ensuring the merchant is able to react quickly to the requirements of its customers at a local level, supporting its aim to be the best local plumbers’ merchant.

The Graham Customer Score survey is based on the Net Promoter Score metric, which is also used by successful customer focussed companies such as Apple, and offers an accurate method of gauging what customers are thinking. Customers who had made recent purchases were contacted by telephone and asked to rate, on a scale of one to 10, how likely they would be to recommend Graham to a friend or colleague.

A rating between zero and six signifies a negative response and a rating of nine or 10 is a very positive response. Results are then placed on a scale that runs from a score of -100, which would be given if all the responses were negative, to +100 if all the surveys came back positive.

While the average business achieves a result of around +16, Graham recently achieved a fantastic score of +41, showing that its customers are overwhelmingly happy with the level of service they receive from Graham.

After collecting the scores, the Graham customer care team also asks its customers general questions around the merchant’s service, support, product offer and staff knowledge, to help determine why they gave certain feedback and in some cases, what Graham could do to improve upon it.

Ian Kenny, marketing director at Graham, said: “Knowing how to keep your customers happy is an integral part of any business. The Graham Customer Score isn’t just a number – it’s a means of listening to the needs of plumbing and heating engineers and acting on their feedback as soon as possible.

At Graham, we have dedicated significant time and resource to collect this data and we’re delighted with the positive feedback so far. The Graham Customer Score will remain at the heart of our business and we will continue to engage with customers at a local level to ensure we deliver the products and services they require.”