Acorn gets tailored support from Trading Standards to enhance customer service and safeguard business reputation
Helping the business reduce the number of complaints it receives and remain compliant, stairlift giant Acorn Mobility Services has received expert guidance from Primary Authority and Wakefield Council.
Primary Authority is a way for companies to receive tailored advice on meeting environmental health and trading standards through a single point of contact. The scheme helps make regulation work more effectively across different sectors.
Wakefield Council provides advice to help protect consumers and business reputations, as well as keep regulatory costs to a minimum.
There is a Primary Authority partnership between Acorn Mobility Services and West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS), which delivers the Trading Standards function on behalf of Wakefield Council.
According to a recent case study, the expert advice provided in this partnership has enabled Acorn to put more resource into developing its ambitions and growth of its operations.
Acorn’s UK customer service manager, Catherine Beecroft, said: “Customer satisfaction, being fair and transparent, is central to our business ethos. Working in partnership with West Yorkshire Trading Standards helps us to act out our business ethos.
“WYTS really understand our business DNA. Acorn always strives to conduct business within regulations and remain compliant and it’s nice to know there’s always a helping hand to offer impartial advice and guidance.”
Acorn wanted to use its partnership with WYTS to develop its complaints handling and customer services standards. According to the case study, Acorn now better understands how the Consumer Rights Act 2015 affects its work, which has helped the business avoid problems related to how it markets its products and be confident that it is remaining compliant.
In addition, the partnership helped Acorn to identify any areas of concern and improve its procedures in order to avoid future risk, enabling the company to develop more effective customer services and complaint handling processes.
In 2016, Acorn Mobility Services achieved ‘Highly Commended’ in the national Primary Authority Awards, becoming the first company in the mobility equipment sector to receive such an accolade.
