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Prevention, Not Crisis, For Frontline Teams

2 July 2025

Samaritans Awareness Day on 24th July highlights the importance of listening to and supporting others. It’s a reminder that in difficult times, you can call them on 116 123 and...

What Can We Learn from the FCA Financial Lives Survey?

10 June 2025

The latest findings of consumer attitudes and experiences in dealing with financial institutions are published. Since the previous survey in 2022, Consumer Duty has been introduced. So, has this focus...

Inside the Making of the Vulnerable Customer Compliance Pathway

4 June 2025

In this Q&A, Vulnerability Consultant Jenna Birchall shares how the Vulnerable Customer Compliance Pathway came to life, the key challenges firms are facing, and how its step-by-step structure is helping...

Why Don’t Bereaved Customers Complain?

30 April 2025

The FCA suggests that there is scope for firms to improve services following a death or diagnosis of terminal illness. What’s more, we know there are plenty of customers who...

Changes to Communications to Aid Understanding

11 April 2025

Supporting consumer understanding has been identified as an area for improvement in the latest FCA Findings. Every business has to communicate important information to enable the customer to make informed...

Case Study: Wessex Water

4 April 2025

Wessex Water supplies water and sewerage services to 2.9 million customers across Dorset, Somerset, Bristol and surrounding areas in South West England. The company is committed to providing service excellence...

Northern Ireland Utilities Redefine Vulnerability

17 February 2025

As a Titanic fan, I find Belfast a fascinating city and I’m delighted to return to the city this month. However, this is a visit for work, not pleasure, as...

What Help Is There For SMEs Facing Financial Difficulties?

14 February 2025

Rising costs have increased the number of customers who can’t pay for essential services. They are struggling to balance income and outgoings and often face a deficit at the end...

Key Points from Beyond the Conversation: Bereavement and Terminal Illness

12 February 2025

Our first Beyond the Conversation panel discussion was hosted on Monday 10 February. Helen was joined by Lucy Carpenter, Ollie Wright and Mark Guyment to discuss Bereavement & Terminal Illness....

Improve the Performance of Customer Service Teams

6 January 2025

Your frontline customer service teams are the primary point of contact between your business and customers. Therefore, the appearance, attitude, knowledge and actions inform the perception of your brand. So,...

Back to Basics With Vulnerable Customer Service

2 December 2024

Following several years of regulation around the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, it can feel like a bombardment. Compiling reports, evidence and outcomes is quite a facing with cost and...

How to Empower Customers to Make Decisions

5 November 2024

There are many reasons why your customers might find it difficult to make a decision. While we can offer advice, we must avoid pressuring them into any course of action....

Show Me That You Know Me

4 October 2024

To provide the best customer experience, you need to understand and respect the people you serve. That isn’t straightforward because their life experience, values and perspectives will be different to...

Considering Bereavement

18 September 2024

Is it right and fair that at a time when we are likely to experience low emotional resilience, we are presented with a considerable list of demands? In this article,...

Will AI Replace Customer Service Agents?

7 August 2024

The benefits of adopting AI in customer service are widely shared. With the promise of efficiency, speed and reductions in operational costs, it’s little wonder that companies are signing up....

How to Encourage Disclosures of Vulnerability

9 July 2024

I recently took part in a discussion where concern was raised by a firm because they hadn’t reached the target of 47% of customers disclosing vulnerable circumstances. This raised concerns...

Understanding Why Customers Leave

4 June 2024

How many customers has your business lost in the last 6 months? You may not consider this an important metric to measure and you are not alone. Yet, understanding why...

How to Evidence Consumer Duty Outcomes

6 May 2024

Consumer Duty regulations are outcomes-based. They require firms to identify the cause of poor customer outcomes and take action to put things right. The challenge comes in how to monitor...

Are Your Internal Data Sharing Processes Working?

16 April 2024

One of the recommended strategies for improving vulnerable customer service is cross-sector data sharing. This is where two or more organisations collaborate to better identify and serve customers facing difficult...

Responding to Suicidal Conversations with Compassion & Care

15 April 2024

Having difficult and serious conversations about suicide can be upsetting for all concerned, and put simply, our response can make a difference between life and death. A confident, compassionate and...

Vulnerable Customers and the Complaints Process

5 March 2024

Every business will face customers who wish to express their dissatisfaction with the services provided. For this reason, it is important to establish an effective complaints process. However, I’ve seen...

Creating a Vulnerable Customer Persona

6 February 2024

Consumer Duty requires companies to consider inclusivity in every decision. The FCA wants us to plan products, services and processes with the perspective of our customers in mind. Especially important...

The Vulnerable Customer Journey

9 January 2024

When was the last time you reviewed your customer journeys to monitor the experience? It’s a process we’ve been working on as part of our website update. The challenge is...

Glad Tidings We Bring

30 November 2023

The festive season is a time of hope and giving, so let’s enter into the spirit of Christmas in this article. Although this has been a challenging year for many,...

Unbanked & Financially Vulnerable

7 November 2023

It may seem impossible to live in modern society without a bank account, however, research from the Financial Conduct Authority suggests that around 1.1 million UK adults are ‘unbanked’. Why...

Which Customers Are Most Vulnerable to Scams?

10 October 2023

Providing a positive customer experience is a focus for most businesses, but sometimes the damage to your reputation comes from external sources. Fake websites mimicking legitimate organisations are one of...

Collaboration to Reduce the Risk of Suicide

5 September 2023

In January 2023, the Government announced that a cross-party Suicide Prevention Strategy would be published this year. Encompassing the NHS, schools, transport services, prisons and the media, with advice from...

Inclusive Holiday Season

7 August 2023

August is a peak time for holidays, whether it’s a day trip to the beach or flying off to an exotic destination. These adventures provide a chance to reconnect with...

Do You Communicate Effectively?

17 July 2023

We speak, listen, question and write every day and, with the right techniques, these skills can deepen personal and professional relationships. So, how do we ensure that our communication skills...

Exploring the Value of Compassion

13 June 2023

One of the underpinning messages that I promote is the importance of compassion. We never know the full extent of what is going on in people’s lives and how this...

Be Aware of Economic Abuse

16 May 2023

In April, the Government published two documents that aim to address the issue of economic abuse. With this issue in the spotlight, I wanted to explore this form of financial...

How Does Stress Affect Customer Service?

14 April 2023

April is stress awareness month, so I want to bring your attention to the impact that stress has on customer service. Financial, economic, social and work pressures make us all...

How Can We Encourage Digital Engagement?

14 March 2023

Digital skills have become an essential requirement for negotiating modern life. We are increasingly directed to book, apply, communicate, bank, shop, learn and work online. This brings many advantages, however,...

Improved Services for Vulnerable Customers

10 February 2023

In this article, I want to champion some of the fantastic solutions that organisations have developed to improve services for Vulnerable Customers. Benefits Calculator Changing circumstances and cost of living...

Respectful Words

1 February 2023

Words are essential to communication. They can unite and empower or divide and discriminate. The words we choose can make our message meaningful or meaningless. In this article, I explore...

World Braille Day

4 January 2023

4th January is World Braille Day, and it commemorates the birth of Louis Braille. As a lover of history, avidly discovering the when and why of our past, I felt...

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