Wednesday, 26 January 2022

Cowes, Isle of Wight, 26 January 2022:

Not just some of the best broadband in the world but some of the best customer service too.

WightFibre has been awarded The Institute of Customer Service’s ServiceMark with Distinction Accreditation, an independent and national benchmark of an organisation’s achievement in customer service and its commitment to upholding those standards. The accolade is the highest level of accreditation awarded by the ICS and is currently held by just 16 organisations in the UK.

WightFibre is the first broadband company in the UK to secure the accreditation with distinction following a qualification process which involved a series of surveys and interviews with staff and customers. The Institute surveyed over 500 WightFibre customers, as well as most of its’ employees, to score the company’s approach to customer service and to compare this to the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI).
WightFibre achieved a very high score of 89%. This compares to an average of 74% for telecom companies and 75% for all companies in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index 2021.

John Irvine, Chief Executive Officer at WightFibre said:
“I am extremely proud of the team at WightFibre for achieving the ServiceMark with Distinction and making us the first broadband company in the UK to be awarded this accolade. It really does affirm our company ethos of “Because we care”. To achieve this during such challenging times, when our teams are largely working from home, is even more impressive. It shows that, regardless of the circumstances, we are continuing to deliver a great experience to our customers and that we really do care. Being ServiceMark accredited with Distinction assures our customers that they’ll receive not only some of the best broadband to be found anywhere in the world but also the best possible service”.

David Beckett, Head of Customer Service at WightFibre, who led the accreditation process added:
“Achieving the ServiceMark with Distinction Accreditation makes me very proud to work for WightFibre and to be part of a company that really does care about its’ people and its customers. The three-year journey we have been on to achieve this ServiceMark with Distinction is testament to the hard work and commitment of all my colleagues across the company in all departments and to their passion to deliver the best experience for all of our customers”.

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, commented:
“Achieving ServiceMark with Distinction, puts WightFibre in a small group of high-performing businesses that have proven their commitment to the highest service standards. I am delighted they received the great scores and positive feedback needed to achieve the accreditation at distinction level. Congratulations to WightFibre on this significant achievement, and I hope their focus on continuing to enhance their customer experience helps them retain customers and attract new ones”.

The independent assessor reviewing WightFibre’s accreditation commented, “Delivering excellent service to their customers is at the heart of everything the team at WightFibre do. This commitment runs through all areas of the company and is demonstrated by employees at all levels. Throughout the assessment, I saw care, consideration, and pride in everyone I spoke with. This goes for internal service experience also. Everyone I asked about the culture in the business talked of support, friendships, excitement, and opportunities. It was clear that people enjoy coming to work and see themselves growing and learning together with the company”.

- Ends –


Note to Editors:
Background Note: WightFibre is deploying a full-fibre broadband network to over 70,000 homes and businesses on the Isle of Wight which will make the Isle of Wight one of the best connected places in the world.
WightFibre joined the Institute of Customer Service in 2018 and since then its’ customer facing teams have been following the Institute of Customer Service training pathway. This, alongside WightFibre’s own internal ‘Because We Care’ training run by Isle of Wight company In2Action, is aimed at delivering the best possible customer experience for WightFibre’s customers. Every employee, whether customer facing or not, has a customer focus.
A description of the benefits of full-fibre broadband versus copper based broadband together with supporting graphics can be found here. www.wightfibre.com/full-fibre

Contacts:
Deon Redpath, Marketing Director 01983 240125
Email: deon.redpath@wightFibre.com.

About WightFibre.
Since 2001, WightFibre has owned and operated its’ own telecommunications infrastructure entirely independently of BT Openreach. WightFibre provides phone, tv and broadband services to homes and businesses on the Isle of Wight. Only WightFibre is committed to building a full-fibre broadband network across the Island.
The WightFibre Gigabit Island Project will see full-fibre broadband deployed to over 70,000 homes and business across the Island by 2023 and is already available to over 33,000 households. The scale of this significant civil engineering project is reflected in figures that show how 500 Kilometres of trenches will be dug, containing 5 million meters of duct and 750 million meters of fibre-optic cable as this full-fibre, ultrafast and future-proof broadband network continues to roll out across the Island, including areas not previously served by WightFibre.

Those interested in receiving the new gigabit broadband services can apply online at www.wightfibre.com