Customer SatisfactionSurvey 2012

Customer Satisfaction IndexTM League Table

Customer SatisfactionSurvey 2012

James Walker Group understands that it is vital to provide its customers with first class products matched with first class

service. We operate in a competitive marketplace and we want you, our customers, to choose us as a supplier because

we are the best.

In 2006 we engaged an independent agency, The Leadership Factor, to conduct our first customer satisfaction survey. The

feedback we gathered was extremely useful and gave us a deeper understanding of our performance as experienced by

our customers. We have surveyed customers annually since then.

Who took part in the survey?

The 2012 survey covered 22 of our businesses and involved interviewing customers around the

world. In total, nearly 1,000 customers participated. We made sure all types of customers took

part regardless of location and sector.

We would like to thank all our customers who took time to speak to The Leadership Factor. In accordance

with the agency’s recommendations, customers were selected at random to take part. If you were not

approached on this occasion, we hope you will still be interested in the findings.

2012: 81.14%

50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011: 79.48%

201281.14%

The aim of the survey

The aim of the survey was to help us understand what is important to you, what affects you and how

well we perform. We wanted to know where we should make changes in order to be a better supplier.

Overall, how well do we perform?

Every year, The Leadership Factor manages hundreds of customer satisfaction projects on

behalf of clients. For each client company, it generates a Customer Satisfaction Index™.

The index is calculated by taking into account what is important to customers and how well it

satisfies those requirements. Because of the large number of surveys it conducts, The Leadership

Factor is able to compare James Walker Group’s performance with that of other businesses.

In 2012, we are pleased to report that our Customer Satisfaction IndexTM is 81.14%. In 2011, our

Index was 79.48%. This improvement tells us our customers are more satisfied with us. This has

pleased us greatly as we have been working hard to make a difference. Our aim is to keep on

improving year on year.

nearly

customers took part

covered

of our businesses22

1000

Looking at specifics, how well do we perform?

Customers taking part in the survey are asked to score, and

make comments, on a range of specific areas that we know are

important to customers. Approaching the survey in this way helps

us get under the skin of how our customers feel about us, and

why they feel this way. The comments also help us formulate our

action plans.

The latest results tell us that customers are most satisfied with

our staff, our ordering process and our products. Compared with

2011, we can report that customers are more satisfied with every

aspect of our performance. The most notable improvements are

for ‘Quotation’ and ‘Provision of information on delivery’.

What do we do next?

Your scores and comments play a key part in informing our

business decisions. Whilst our results have improved, and our

customers are more satisfied, there are some areas where we still

need to make changes. These are all areas which our customers

have said are particularly important to them:

Satisfaction Scores

“ Their service is as good as there is. They are honest and trustworthy. They aren’t just there to sell to us and they are willing to work with us in order to help us grow our business.”

Product QualityKeeping promises and commitments

Product performanceHonesty/openness when things go wrong

Reacting to emergency situationsReliability of delivery

Responsiveness of staffIntegrity of supplier

Expertise of staffHelpfulness of staff

Clear points of contactComplaint handling

Provision of information on order deliveryQuality assurance regimes, for example ISO 9001

Understanding your business needsValue for money

QuotationLead time

Clarity of pricingEase of ordering

Competitiveness of priceDeveloping a relationship

Pro-activity in cost reductionRange of products

5 6 7 8 9 10

8.51

8.12

8.51

8.28

8.02

7.82

8.36

8.47

8.41

8.63

8.62

7.90

7.75

8.48

8.22

7.38

8.19

7.29

8.28

8.55

7.01

8.08

6.64

8.26

What action are we taking?

Every business is responding to the survey to understand the

actions that directly affect you. If you made comments, we will

follow up to understand your requirements.

Making changes is not always quick or easy. In practice this

means that some of the areas we identified as priorities for

improvement last year still require attention.

Every manufacturing and distribution company will develop

action plans to address the priorities for the James Walker

Group and local priorities. Some of these actions will be an

extension of existing plans. However, there are businesses

where we will be intensifying the focus on the experience you

have when dealing with James Walker.

Reliability of delivery

Keeping promises and commitments

Lead time Complaint handling

Oil & Gas customer

Registered Office:Lion House

Oriental RoadWoking, Surrey

GU22 8APEngland

Reg. No.176600 England© James Walker 2012

Six years ago, when we embarked on our project to improve customer satisfaction, we knew we were engaging in a long-term

project to achieve customer service excellence.

We have achieved our highest rating ever this year, but have not reached our goal.

The common priorities above are the areas that all employees in our business units will be focussing on for improvement. Some

companies are adding additional areas as a priority to ensure top levels of satisfaction.

We believed that, based on your comments, we were concentrating on the right areas. For these reasons, we are very pleased that

your satisfaction is improving. We have more to do but the survey has confirmed that we are on the right lines.

Your feedback really matters to us and plays a very important part in our planning. I cannot overstate the value of your comments to

everyone in the James Walker Group.

As a business we would like to thank our customers who took the time to support this process.

Peter NeedhamChairman and Chief Executive

Have your say

On this occasion you may not have been approached to take part in

the survey but you can still play an important role in helping us improve

our service levels to you. If you have any feedback or comments on our

products or services, we would appreciate it if you would share your

views with us.

Please contact Heather Grisedale on:

Tel: +44 (0) 1900 898415

Email: customersatisfaction@jameswalker.biz

The common priorities for improvement are:

Reliability of delivery

We know that in order for you to run your business efficiently

you need to know when your order is going to be delivered.

We need to advise you of delivery dates and adhere to these.

We also need to notify you of any changes or delays as soon

as we know.

Keeping promises and commitments

You expect us to honour any promises and commitments we

make to you. This means calling you back when we say we

will, delivering your order within the timescale we give you and

ensuring our products meet your specifications.

Lead time

We are working hard to reduce lead times in accordance

with customers’ expectations by refining processes and

procedures within our businesses and continuing to invest in

new machinery and technology.

Complaint handling

Unfortunately, sometimes things do go wrong. When this

happens you expect us to deal with problems efficiently

and effectively so your problem is resolved and the effects

are minimised. To do this, we must ensure we have the

right people in the right places dealing with your issues and

ensuring we have the right processes in place to support

them.