Mary Queen of Frocks episode three review: The grand opening

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In the previous episodes, we saw Portas outline her vision to create a home for that ‘invisible’ demographic of forty-somethings with a desire to dress fashionably. Portas then handpicked and thoroughly trained her crack team of frontline staff in the run up to the launch.

 

While opening day was not without its hiccups – stock was still arriving minutes before opening – the “most important critics” of the project voted with their feet, making the tills ring in a phenomenal £18,598 (almost double the forecasted amount) on the first day of trading.

 

Throughout the series, Portas’ focus on the customer has been at the forefront of her thinking, demonstrating the real and tangible impact this brings to the bottom line. “The key to delivering this is brilliant service that will keep shoppers coming back for more”, Portas said. Certainly, the satisfied shoppers’ enthusiastic endorsements seem to indicate that her model is working.

 

Portas took the time to praise her staff for their efforts. The value she places on them translates and their enthusiasm is clearly evident. We see Mark take the initiative to beef up his product knowledge and learn some conversational anecdotes about the history of fashion in order to better engage with customers.

 

Unexpected extras like this must not be overlooked, as they greatly enhance the overall customer experience. 

 

While the head of House of Fraser focused on the harsh reality of numbers, dryly referred to by Portas as the “show me the money” approach, Mary herself was unwilling to compromise on service and delivering a complete customer ‘experience’. Portas insisted on securing a large chunk of the store for her department, and placed a real emphasis on her retail assistants, outnumbering staff on similar House of Fraser concessions by two to one.

 

This clearly paid off. With the launch of the concept proving a resounding success, House of Fraser offered a rollout across the UK, presenting Portas with a new set of challenges.

 

Rightly, Portas’ initial fear is that customer service levels will suffer if the original service model cannot be rolled out across the franchise. After agreeing with House of Fraser that her original team will train the next generation, she agrees to go ahead with plans for a UK-wide launch (with the caveat of orange name badges, of course).

 

The Institute of Customer Service’s recent ‘Bottom Line’ report has confirmed that customer service is the key strategic driver for business performance. By proving a tangible return on investment, this series has shown that customer service is the key differentiator for businesses, and is the responsibility of the entire company, not just customer-facing staff.

 

For example, in this latest episode, as the Aurora dress sold out, it became apparent that replenishment and deliveries are an integral part of the overall customer experience.

 

Though it has historically been seen as a ‘bolt on’, a new vanguard of retailers, Portas included, understand that customer service is the last bastion of differentiation for businesses - it must be embedded in their culture, and be at the very heart of their growth strategy. As Portas puts it, it’s “not just about selling frocks”.