Waterloo Air Products plc has joined the Institute of Customer Service and says it is the first UK manufacturer of air distribution products to do so.

Waterloo engages with a wide variety of customers from the public and private sectors and high levels of customer service are an essential part of its customer interface.

The Institute of Customer Service helps companies to improve their business performance as well as the way in which they interface with customers and address their expectations. It offers a variety of tools that includes professional qualifications, training, research, benchmarking and personal development programmes, that can deliver tangible benefits

Waterloo’s managing director Ron Edmondson said: “Customer service has always underpinned our operations. The company is a strong advocate of continuously improving standards and the way we interact with our customers, not just at corporate level but individually as well.”

He continued: “Everybody in the company has a role to play. We recognise that there are strong links between customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. By investing in further training through the Institute of Customer Service our employees will be empowered to deliver higher levels of their own customer service.”

As a member of the institute Waterloo will use its benchmarking and accreditation scheme to help ensure that its staff benefit from training and development using the latest tools to support continuous development and improvement.

The company is already initiating surveys internally and externally to gauge employees’ views on the business, as well as customers’ perceptions. It says the data gathered will provide valuable information that will help it to strengthen its relationships with stakeholders.

Waterloo’s business development manager Rachel Roots said: “Waterloo continually strives to deliver company-wide excellence in customer service. Becoming a member of the Institute was a natural progression for Waterloo that will build on our own internal processes, measure our performance and help to set new standards.”