Keith Ramsay

In times when similar, competing products and services - be they cars, clothes, accountancy or TVs - vie for our hard-earned cash, the quality of customer service is usually an organisation's defining factor.

Keith should know. He spent his working life focusing on what customers need before taking a national role to help others follow suit as chief executive of York-based quality standard organisation Customer First UK based at Arabesque House, Monks Cross.

After being a store manager for Marks & Spencer in York, Harrogate and Leeds, Keith held a series of key posts at Marks & Spencer including regional manager, human resources manager and divisional training manager before becoming customer service director at Space New Living - a "customer focused housing association"- in the North West and then taking up his challenging job six months ago.

He says: "I knew Customer First UK and many of the key personalities when I applied for this role. I felt that, together with our partners, Business Link York and North Yorkshire and Business Link For London, we could take the Putting The Customer First standard from strong roots in Yorkshire and London to being recognised nationwide. We are excited by what is being achieved."

Britain, he says, is in danger of becoming complacent about customer service and allowing standards to slip. It is a key reason why some enterprises never achieve their potential.

"There are always higher standards for us all to try to achieve. In recent years, higher disposable income has increased foreign travel and people have seen how seriously customer service is taken in places such as the US. Expectations in the UK have risen as a result.

"Good customer service is a real contributor to business growth. You may be able to buy an almost identical shirt in two nearby stores but your choice of where you shop will almost certainly be decided by the service you receive.

"Customers who receive poor service, whatever sector the business may be in, are less likely to return, while good service not only wins repeat business but customers are likely to increase their spend the next time."

So far more than 400 organisations across more than 20 sectors and in all countries of the UK, including business links, chambers of commerce, training providers, further education colleges, building societies and small and medium sized enterprises, have achieved the rigorous Putting The Customer First standard which can take between three and ten months.

Those which achieve the standard - and not all do - receive a certificate, a plaque and can use the Putting The Customer First logo on their stationery and marketing material.

The message, says Keith is getting through. He gets growing numbers of requests to address national commercial organisations, lawyers, business people in Northern Ireland and companies preparing for their role in the 2012 London Olympics.

Now, even as interest rates rise, as bureaucracy increases and inflation reaches higher-thanexpected levels, a growing number of enterprises want to commit to the standard.

"The market place has evolved from being product driven in the 20th century to being service driven today. Customers are experiencing many aspects of a business from when they first telephone or walk through the door to after-sales service. The Putting The Customer First standard offers a developmental approach which focuses businesses on managing every step of the customer journey.

"Business people recognise that achieving the Putting The Customer First standard is a very cost-effective way of improving their business. It demonstrates that they put their customers where they should be - at the heart of a business.

"What more important message can there be if you want to succeed?"

Which job (other than your own) would you like to have and why?

I'd like to edit a national newspaper as I would have the satisfaction of knowing that the first thing my customers read every morning had been influenced by me.

Greatest achievement?

Being the first in my family to go to university.

Biggest mistake?

Agreeing against my better judgment to appoint someone as my deputy in a previous company. The lesson learned? Always trust your own instincts.

What fools do you suffer least?

People who drain energy from others.

Who do you most admire and why?

I could say a figure on the national or world stage, but I really admire those customers who know they are right and win their case when they take on businesses who try to pull the wool over their customers' eyes. My motto to them is "Keep going!"

What do you need to make life complete?

More time!

How do you relax?

Glass of wine and watching Coronation Street!

What makes you most angry?

Hypocrisy and lack of integrity in public life.

What makes you laugh?

Simple comedy from everyday life situations, best interpreted by comedians such as Ricky Gervais or Peter Kaye.

Why do you make a difference?

One of the earliest adages I learned was "Some people make things happen, some people watch things happening and some people haven't a clue what's going on" and every day I try to make things happen so I don't find myself in the other two categories.

Name the organisation (other than your own) that you see as the perfect one and why

John Lewis - because it offers the best service. Their ownership structure, based on all employees being of partnership status, is unique and very admirable.

Favourite record?

Tony Christie - "Is This The Way To Amarillo?"

Favourite holiday destination?

South Africa.

Your epitaph?

He made a difference.