Testimonials
I’ve been lucky enough to have some brilliant people say some really nice things about my work. Here’s a selection.
On Social Media;
“I first met Rich through Twitter and am impressed at how he used the medium to engage with customers and peers alike. It is exciting to see a real life (and local) example of excellent communication in practice. Rich doesn’t just play the superficial game of notching up social media contacts – from my experience he develops genuine relationships with them, actively looks for opportunities to help and delivers on promises. I have been fortunate enough to meet him personally and can say that on top of what you will read about him (and his long list of qualifications) online, he is also inspiring company, generous in offering creative ideas and a bloody nice guy!”
Dwynwen Williams, Director, ATOM PR ltd
“Rich has paved the way for Virgin Trains to become active in the social media space, which has seen the brand become an often used case study of best practices for brands on Twitter. He is very personable and has a great mind for customer service and how to engage his audience on their own terms.”
Daan Jansonius, Founder, The Socialistas
“Rich was quick to see the potential benefits of customer engagement with social media, he built and grew a strong customer relationships bringing a voice to the customer. Richard has enhanced the value of social media integration and proven that thinking “out of the box” can bring results.”
Jason Golik, Virgin Media
“Richard is one of the early adopters of using Twitter to not only provide customer service for customers of Virgin Trains, but also to simply engage with them in an open and authentic way. He is innovative in his use of Twitter, but at the same time understands the business benefits that social media in a wider context can bring to a company.”
Guy Stephens, Customer Knowledge Manager, Carphone Warehouse
“The King of Customer Service via Social Media. I met Richard through researching my book Five Star Service. He was using Twitter to make an immediate (positive) impact with customers on Virgin Trains. What impressed me most about Richard wasn’t so much his speed (although it was lightning fast) or his offers of a solution (although often creative and clever) but it was his brilliant empathy for his customers. Richard really cares. You can have all the technical knowledge in the world but without a person who really cares about their customers it’s useless. That’s why I’m happy to champion Richard and his mission to blend powerful technology with human values to create world class service.”
Michael Heppell, Owner, Michael Heppell Ltd
“I met Richard via Twitter. He “gets it” and has done a great job for Virgin Trains. Richard proved a real “hit” at the recent Media140 Conference in London, where his insights were greatly valued by the audience and the “Twitterverse”. How do I know? I read the many ReTweets and compliments on Twitter.”
Daren Forsyth, Founder, 140Characters.co.uk
“Richard is a visionary driving forward the use of social media such as Twitter to engage with his customers in real time, taking them from woe to wow if needed in the process. Always approachable and innovative, Richard is one of the leading lights in terms of customer service online via digital channels, and comes highly recommended.”
Alex Brown, Senior Product Manager, Virgin Media
On Engagement:
“Richard worked with me whilst we were part way through a major culture change in Virgin Trains. He moved from an operational to an engagement role with ease. His clarity, speed of action and quick thinking enabled him to swiftly make a sustainable difference to the way in which this team operated and delivered. Richard’s intuition and insight are valuable skills which should ensure he is successful in any role involving the management or development of people.”
Carol Elderfield, HR Director – Holland and Barratt
“Richard is a first class motivator and leader of people. He displays excellent coaching skills and delivers results through his people. Richard has an excellent grasp of people engagement and solid business strategy.”
James Wright, Sustainable Development Manager, Virgin Trains
“Richard is an insightful and skilful change leader, who recognises the impact changes will make to people and works hard to minimise these impacts. He is good at building and maintaining relationships and is committed to his own development. He is passionate about what he does, ethical in the way he does it and is a dedicated team player.”
David Tomkinson, Director, andpartnership ltd
I have also written for, and been the subject of, many social media blogs and been featured as a top blogger on Virgin.com. You can view a selection here.
