Andrew McMillan

Customer Service & Engagement Speaker

Andrew McMillan is one of the UK’s most respected speakers on Customer Service & Customer Engagement, having been part of driving force behind John Lewis renowned customer service for 28 years.

After leaving John Lewis, Andrew McMillan worked for a consultancy firm, where he led projects for Plymouth City Council – a project which subsequently won a national award and supported a number of NHS Foundation Trust to implement better patient experiences, as well as working for a number of private sector clients.

Having started his career as a trainee at the John Lewis Partnership, Andrew McMillan worked his way up through the company, from various stores, to finally to the head office where he took control of the stores Intelligence Team, and then onto lead the customer experience for the department store division.

During his time at John Lewis, the organisation frequently won awards for its customer services from respected publications such as Which? Verdict and Retail Week.

Andrew McMillan also joined the Customer Experience Committee at Revo during his time at John Lewis; he chaired the committee from 2010 to 2017. Formerly the British Association of Shopping Centres, Andrew helped to run their annual awards programme and raised the profile of the importance of customer service and engagement in the retail property sector.

SPEAKING TOPICS

No matter what size the business, Andrew McMillan helps companies to identify what makes them different and how they can provide the best customer experience for their clients. Andrew will examine all roles within the company and can help shape company culture. Andrew has spoken at conferences worldwide, across all commercial business sectors as well as government, health and not for profit and each presentation is tailored to each client. His presentations cover –

• Customer Experience – What do your customers really experience when they interact with front-line employees and how do they subsequently feel about your organisation?

• Differentiation – Why are you in business from your customers’ perspective? Why would customers choose your business over your competitors’? What attitudes and behaviours should your business be adopting to ensure potential customers always choose you?

• Productivity – Fun at work can be seen as frivolous and rarely finds itself on the leadership agenda. However, it can create an environment that attracts millennials, reduces employee turnover, improves productivity and employee engagement. Really engaged employees deliver a better and more consistent customer experience which in turn improves reputation and turnover. Perhaps not so frivolous after all!

• Leadership of Change – Inspiring and engaging leadership at every level of seniority seems to challenge organisations globally at a time when agile responsiveness to change requires confident, capable leadership more than ever before

• Marketing – Many organisations attempt to create their image and personality through marketing, which can be a disappointment to customers if the reality falls short of what is promised. Rather than working from the outside in, smart organisations start from the inside out, creating their business personality through engaging their employees with a common purpose and using that to drive their customer experience.

• Sales – So many organisations take a short term view to sales – maximise the sale today and don’t think about tomorrow. However, taking a longer-term view of customers and focussing on their individual needs rather than the immediate needs of the organisation can, over time, build a degree of trust and loyalty that will provide a robust defence to the unpredictable economic challenges organisations will inevitably face.

• Retail – To tempt customers away from their tablets, smartphones, and PCs, high streets and shopping centres need to offer a personally affirming experience to make customers’ effort in visiting them worthwhile. Other sectors are successfully using this retail-based strategy to differentiate themselves in a globally commoditised marketplace, yet many retailers seem to have forgotten how to do it.