02 - Pies, Pizza, and Outsourcing Customer Service - With Todays Guest Sturdy Foods

In this episode, Karen sits down with Sam Taylor, Marketing Manager at Sturdy Foods.

They discuss the story of Yorkshire Handmade Pies and the Homemade Pizza Club, exploring how LiveChat Factory became an essential partner in delivering top-notch customer service. 

Sam shares insights on the challenges and rewards of outsourcing customer care.

Tune in for a 30 minute chat about pies, pizzas, and perfecting customer service! 🎧🥧🍕

For more information on what we do, please visit https://www.livechatfactory.live/

The Live Chat Factory Podcast is edited with finesse by Mike Roberts of Making Digital Real 🎙️

Transcript

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Welcome to the LiveChat Factory podcast, where Karen Levett delves into the latest trends and hot topics in customer service in a digital age. Sit back, relax and join us. Remember, your success is our success. Hello everyone and welcome to the LiveChat Factory very first podcast. And I have got a very special guest to share with you this morning. A big welcome to Sam Taylor of Sturdy Foods. So when I met Sam, he was the office manager for Sturdy Foods. He's now the marketing manager and coordinator for Sturdy Foods. So we're going to talk about Sam's journey and our journey with Sturdy Foods and how wonderful it is. For this podcast, we're going to be talking about predominantly Yorkshire handmade pies, which are a part of Sturdy Foods, a big part of Sturdy Foods, because that's where we kind of came in and got to know them. And over to you, so I want to say hi to you, Sam, and thank you for joining. Hi, Karen. Oh, you're very welcome. Thanks for having me. Oh, no, it's great. I'm so pleased that you've joined us. And Sam, do you believe it? It was way back in the end of November 2022 when we first met. Was it 2022? Yeah. Yeah. I didn't realise it was so long ago. I know. When I looked at that, I thought, oh, my gosh, that time has flown. So we started doing our first chats for you in January 2023. Wow. Yeah. I thought it was the middle of last year for some reason. So, yeah, that's it. Time flies when you're having fun, Karen. Definitely. Definitely. And we definitely are with Sturdy Foods, I'll tell you that. So, Sam, what I wanted to just ask you was, what did the office, what did it look like back in 2022? So basically, you know, you made the, I know it was James and yourself that made the decision. Sorry, guys. James Sturdy is the founder of Sturdy Foods, who we will be talking to in future episodes. But Sam and James made the decision. What did it look like at that time, Sam? So back in 2022, when I'd been there for probably getting on for six months, we were a little bit smaller, I'd say, in total for the two for the two main brands that I work for, that my job role entails is Yorkshire Handmade Pies, as you've mentioned, and also Homemade Pizza Club. So at that stage, Yorkshire Handmade Pies was a pretty well-developed brand. It was growing and it has been growing since. Compared to that, Homemade Pizza Club was relatively small. So it was a, in terms of the actual structure of the company, we only had, let me see, when I started, we had three people working in the office. I was predominant. I was the office manager, but also I'd say more customer care manager than anything else. It kind of developed into being more of a customer care manager as the as the two brands continue to develop and grow. Obviously, we were bringing in more customers. Our databases were growing. So we were we had a lot more customer contact through that first six months that I was there. So that was that was really the where I started and where we were at about the time that we got in touch with you guys. Yeah. And I can see because you've your customers, I believe, and now feel that our customers as well, are very passionate and have lots of questions and really want to be involved. Yeah, I think food kind of evokes that in people, doesn't it? They get, you know, they love your product. They love the Yorkshire Handmade Pies. And yes, you mentioned pizzas, but the Homemade Pizza Club, I just find your customers love what you do. And so do I. But what did it look like for you? That must have been really busy. It must have been very busy because I know we are for you. Yeah, it was. It was very busy. It grew quite substantially through that, let's say, that first six months. And that's why I would say that it morphed into a custom. The role morphed into a customer care manager role more than anything else. It was. Yeah, it was quite surprising, actually, the rate that it accelerated. So, you know, the amount of customer comms that were acquired, really, it was a full time job. And that really led to us reaching out to you guys when we realized it was becoming more than a one man job and things were changing. You know, we were we were looking to I was looking to working with James and discussing with James the future. We were looking to mix things up a little bit. So that's where things evolved and changed. And we knew that we had to bring on a dedicated customer care team. Yeah. And that's brilliant, because the one thing that came across to me was at that time, at the end of November, when the end begin December, when we started talking was how passionate you and James were about your customer and how important they were to you. Yeah. And that's something I felt. And I love that because I thought these are people I can really work with and, you know, get really just to me, that's that makes it more exciting. So what do you feel, Sam, is your normal, I'd say, you know, your regular customer? If you if you feel you can define your customer and we're talking here about the Yorkshire handmade pie customer. Yeah. How would you define them? Oh, that's a very good question. It's a it's a relatively varied demographic, but I would say typically it's of the older generation, primarily because pies are such a traditional staple and definitely the appeals to the older generation slightly more than it does to the younger generation. So I would say there's that. So there's also we always the key thing with our with our brand really is that we always try to use locally sourced ingredients. We always try to use particularly Yorkshire sourced wherever possible. And that's a fundamental part of the business. And obviously that comes at a price. So our pies certainly aren't the cheapest out there, but we put so much care and attention. We think about we develop new flavours. We we build on existing traditional favourites. We try to add a little spin, a little twist to to traditional flavours where we think it's necessary. But when when it isn't, when we think it's it needs to be it needs to maintain that tradition to speak to our demographic and our our customer, then, you know, we don't we don't we don't tamper too much. We try to keep things as as, let's say, historically accurate as possible. But, yeah, because of the because of the nature of the the the price of the product, because of the quality of the ingredients that we use, that shapes our demographic as well, because, you know, we we we do have quite a variety in our we have a little bit of variety in our pricing structure. So it tends to be a more affluent customer as well. It's customers who want a little bit of the best. Yeah, exactly. Your pies are the best. That's it's no doubt. So I want to talk now about when we came into your life and how was that experience for you? So when so obviously we started chatting the end of November, got to you, got to know us, Live Chat Factory. We got to know you, Sturdy Foods. Did you have any expectations, Sam? You know, what were were you prepared? Did you think, oh, yeah, I'm kind of get the idea of what they're going to do beforehand. So that particular onboarding experience. Yeah, I think I think we knew essentially what what you guys were going to be delivering. And so. It wasn't really it. I think that the process itself was really straightforward. And it was a case of providing you guys with our essentially our knowledge base and then trying to help educate you guys, whether or not it was through, you know, written form with the knowledge base or through conversations or whatever. However, we went over things, it was just to try and elicit our work in practices, sort of get across to you guys, give you an understanding of the most frequently asked questions from our customers, you know, illustrate our tone of voice. I think when I was managing the customer care side of things, I'd sort of developed a certain tone of voice with in response, you know, in communications with our customers. So it was about either maintaining that or at least giving you guys all the information you need. So you then develop your own in line with what we we've done previously. And that to me was it was straightforward. It was obviously it was an evolving situation. It was it developed. And whenever you know what they say, you have to show somebody something seven times before they fully understand it. So there were obviously times where we were, you know, in communication, going over things to, you know, give you more information or to explain things more. But in terms of the overall the point that we started, where we knew what you guys will be coming in and offering to where you were pretty much running the entire thing was honestly was, you know, pretty straightforward. Oh, that's good to hear, Sam. Do you feel we grasped, you know, your specific requirements? So I know that some things, as you say, take a little bit more time, but were you confident? Did you think, yeah, I trust these guys, they are getting it, they're getting the basics. Now we're moving on. It's fairly organic. They're getting the business. Did you feel that? Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. No question. That's good. Can I ask, did it make you feel more confident with your decision to outsource and, you know, partner with those guys? Yeah, absolutely. It did. Yeah. I think the pain point really is always just at the point that you do it at the handover point when you sort of develop this, this work in practice and you're not really sure. It's a step into the unknown to a degree, despite the fact that, you know, you guys are so experienced and you've, you know, you've seen it all before. Whenever you relinquish that sort of, not that I'm a control freak, I wouldn't say I was, but when you relinquish that, when you relinquish that control to a degree, there's always question marks. And it's such a, I think it's also understanding the wealth of information that has to be passed over. There's so many intricacies and vagaries that you never really translate fully in all of your documents that you put together, you know, the knowledge base and that sort of thing. So there's always a degree of, a little degree of scepticism, but it's, yeah, as soon as you guys, you know, started running with it and developing, developing, I'd say probably your own tone of voice that was exactly in keeping with what we needed. Then, you know, there was, there was, yeah, it just took off from there. Brilliant. Thanks, Sam. Well, do you know what, I'm going to share some stats with you now, because you're going to find these fairly, I think you will find them. It's a little bit about the journey that we've had with you. So I've taken this from February 23 because I thought, well, that's kind of when we first, you know, I know we did January, but, you know, let's, let's look at some kind of meatier stats. So in February 23, we did, and this is for Yorkshire Handmade Pies only, we did 412 chats for you that month, and we did 120 tickets. So tickets for everybody or anybody who doesn't know are out of hours questions from customers. They'll come on, if there isn't a live person, because there's always a live person that sits behind our live chat. And if we're not on, then we have what they call a message bot, and they take the message and we get straight back to the customer when it, within business hours. So we did 127, sorry, 120 tickets February 23. So fast forward to February 24, and we're ever increasing even now, but let's look at February 24. We did 558 chats for you and 127 tickets. Now that might not seem like a big difference, but if you factor in that you guys decided to add a phone line because of your demographic, you thought we're going to make it easier for our customers, we want them to contact us, and you, knowing your customers, as you do, you decided we're going to add a phone line. So in February 24, we took 639 calls, and we did 1393 emails for you. So that's quite a big progression, isn't it, Sam, do you think? Yeah, it is. Absolutely. And certainly in line with the growth of the company, I would say, over the last 12 months. Yeah, I mean, it's amazing. I mean, the company is growing, and we're really happy to be growing with you, I must say. You know, it's great. So all in all, would you say, Sam, what is the biggest thing we've helped you with? What do you feel as, you know, as an individual in the company, and, you know, I know that you were customer care, you were great. You knew everything there was to know about a customer. You were our go-to person. And so what do you feel it's done for you, having an outsourced customer service, come in, just run with it, take it all? You know, when obviously, when you felt confident that we were doing that, what difference has it made to you? It's taken that entire side of the, let's say, the logistical side of that part of that process out of my hands completely. There's a small degree of, you know, analysis and oversight that I still, you know, I still maintain. But it's potentially not as much as I probably should do. It's just that other things obviously have taken precedent. The way that you guys have taken the entire customer care side away from, you know, externally and removed all of that legwork from me personally, you know, prior to changing roles, moving into marketing. That was all on me. And then as time went on, I thought, well, you know, this is going to be, it's going to become a pretty significant sort of oversight managerial type role that's going to be a factor and, you know, an element of my new role. And actually, because you guys have adopted and adapted and sort of taking it on and being so strong over the last 12 months, it's actually quite a light touch that I need now. So it's removed all of that hassle from me completely. I don't have to think about, you know, the narrative or the customer communications or anything along those lines. It's just essentially assessing the very top level KPIs that we do together on a monthly basis. And then, you know, I know that you guys, because it seems like you're so, such a part of the team, you know, you don't work on site, but it's almost, that's as far as the separation goes. So, you know, you're such a fundamental part of our business now, our businesses, should I say, that, yeah, all of that has been removed, has been taken off my plate completely. And it's, it's, that's a, it's a, it's a godsend, you know, it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be something I could, I just couldn't sensibly do both functions. You know, the marketing and deep diving into customer care every week as well, just wouldn't be a possibility. So to know that you guys managing it so effectively has been a great, you know, it's been great for me, but it's also been superb for the, for the businesses as well. Oh, that's great to hear, Sam, it really is. I'm getting all emosh. No, that's what we aim to do, because the idea is that, you know, we support you guys, and we love working with you anyway, you know that, but it is good to hear that, you know, it is making a difference to yourselves. I just wanted to talk about, because we want to support and help businesses. And the reason, the way we do that is trying to be flexible, agile in, in our approach. Like, for instance, I'm just thinking now, some of the projects we've helped you on, like the crowdfunding, the, you know, when we've done things, I'm just trying to think of some of the things that we've helped you with quite a lot in the, you know, in collaborations for when you've done a project. What are they sort of like the prizes, you know, when you've given out sort of competitions and things like that? Yeah, when we were in competitions. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Why couldn't I think of that? How crikey. I'm just, I'm just thinking, did you feel we offered a good support in that, that we were kind of helpful to you in that sort of, you know, environment? Oh, definitely. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, no question. The, you know, the number of things that we do, it's all, it's all customer focused, everything. So we know, you know, at some point, if we launch a competition or we, the crowdfunding campaign is a great example. We're talking about hundreds of new, potentially existing customers, potentially new customers. You know, it's, it's fundamental that we have that effective customer care strategy in place. And, you know, if we, if we're, if we're talking about the crowdfunding, you know, when somebody invests their money, they want to know that they're, they're going to be getting the, the reward or the prize or whatever it is that they're, you know, they invested for in a timely manner. And so knowing that you, you know, construct something, put a, you know, whether it's a discount code or a, an offer of some kind, and I can just send it over to you guys and say, here's a list of email addresses. Here is the reward or whatever it is in, in, in the case of our crowdfunder, it was a disc, it was discount codes. And then you guys build really effective emails, just, you know, absolutely couldn't ask for any more and take care of that whole, you know, that, that weight of work. It's a massive weight off my shoulders. You know, when we're talking about the, let's, you know, we drill down a bit more into the crowdfunder, there was a lot of time went into, and there still will be, because it's not yet finished, but there was a lot of time from, from my point of view that went into creating the discount codes in the first place. It's, it's unfortunately, for some reason, it's a hugely manual process, but if I was to have to then email those out as well, probably, I'd probably have to write, write off, let's say for that entire thing, probably two days, I would say to be able to comfortably, you know, do that and do it adequately and do it effectively. So, yeah, having you guys sat there capable of turning something like that round quickly as well. Cause it's, you know, I remember it's not like I sent it over to you and you guys took a week to get it done. It was done within a couple of days. So it was, it's the benefit of knowing that, you know, you guys can help us out with stuff like that, but also knowing that you're going to do, do it in a really timely manner as well, which is absolutely fundamental. Yeah. So there's that, there's also obviously the new, let's say the new function, which is ordering for another of our brands, the wholesale pizza ordering, which is, you know, that's, it's a, it's a conversation for a different colleague of mine, but that's taken a heck of a lot of workload off her as well, which means that she's now free to go out and do what she does best, which is sell direct to customers. So it's, it's beneficial across the board. It is. And when you, when you partner with somebody who's really enthusiastic about your brand and get, as you say, gets really involved and you've allowed us to do that. I mean, it is, it does work both ways. You know, I start off with the premise of, I love everybody. I love the brand and all of that, but you know, some, with some businesses, unfortunately they keep things very tight to their chest and you think, Oh, I could really help you with that. Just let us in, but it is trust. And I totally get it because as you said before, you know, it's not that you're a control freak and you're not Sam, you know, you've been great, but at the end of the day, they are your valued customers. Of course, you're going to be cautious. You're going to be skeptical. I 100% get that. And the only way we can counteract that is to show you how passionate we are and how caring and how, you know, how dedicated we are to your growth and your success. Because as I always say to James, you know, your success is our success. You know, we are, we only, we live and die by that. You know, it's lovely that you're saying all that. And I really appreciate, you know, your comments because I think it will help people make a decision of, you know, getting that extra help and how it can support you in your growth. My million dollar question to you, Sam is, would you do it all again? Oh, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. You know, looking at it as like a cost opportunity analysis, it's in terms of, from my point of view, for the time invested to get you guys up and running and then the time it's taken to, let's say, just, you know, keep tabs or maintain or make sure the ship's sailing in the right direction. It's been very, very minimal. And it's almost you, you guys have just been motoring under your own steam, which is a huge, huge benefit to, it's not just me, it's everybody in the company. So yeah, oh, absolutely. I'd do it again. No, no question. And I'm going to, we're going to finish up with one thing, but I just want to let everybody know. So, Sturdy Foods, you've got your Tram Made Pies, best pies ever. You've got Home Made Pizza Club. Go and check these out, guys. I will put links at the end. You've got to try it. It's just amazing. It's five star all the way. You know, if I'm just bringing this company to you now, then, you know, get on board. Just get on board is all I'll say. And Sam, with that, what I want to ask you, and thank you so much for being my first guest and flipping it. Oh, you're welcome. So, Sam's Yorkshire, I'm Lancashire. So, you've got the Northern Powerhouses here, guys. We're, you know, bringing it to you and hoping you're really, you know, you're going to get something out of these podcasts. It's amazing that we work together so well, isn't it? Given the East-West divide. I'm just mindful not to mention that, you know, we're Red Rose and we won some. I try not to say that too often. But, you know, it is there. But now we're joining forces, as I say, the Northern Powerhouse. And it's great. It's great to work for you guys. And thank you so much for doing this for me. But I couldn't let you go without saying, or asking the question, I should say, what is your favourite pie? Oh, that's a difficult one. I know, it's like your children, isn't it? It is. And we have such a range, it's hard to pick one out. I would have to say, it's close, but I would have to say the Yorkshire Wagyu and Buffalo Blue Cheese. Although, closely followed by a pie we haven't yet released. So, that's just, I can't go into any more detail. But there is one that we haven't yet released that is a little bit special. So, yeah, I can't go any further than that. Oh, we'll watch this space, watch this space. So, I will say, because obviously I'm Northern, as I've mentioned a couple of times, only the few, I love a pie. So, my favourite of your guys, and this is the cheese. Really? The cheese and onion. I absolutely adore it. Yeah, yeah. But I know that I'm going to try the new one, the corned beef hash. Yeah. So, I'm looking forward to that. Get this, guys. So, Sam's sending me some out because I begged him and it is my birthday and I think I need to try them. But as I say, go and have a look, check them out. Yorkshire Handmade Pies and Homemade Pizza Club and as links will be in the end. Sam, a big thank you. You've been amazing. No, no, any time. Thanks for having me on, first podcast I've ever done. So, yeah, it's great. Well, you were great. So, take care and thank you and hope to see you all on the next podcast. Bye now. And as always, thanks for listening. Remember, your success is our success.