Customer relationships are critical to the success of any merchant business, but how well do you really know them? A recent survey by Jewson may throw up some surprises.
Builders in Britain have a soft spot for Mary Berry according to Jewson’s findings, with almost a third admitting that they just can’t resist tuning in to the Great British Bake Off. When asked about their most embarrassing guilty pleasures, some 29% of respondents placed the popular BBC show top of their list. But it’s not just Bake Off that builders secretly enjoy, nearly a fifth confessed to indulging in reality TV, while the same number love catching up on celebrity gossip.
The survey captured the thoughts of nearly 3,000 men and women in the construction industry and karaoke also featured in builders’ top five guilty pleasures, with 13% revealing that they’d be embarrassed if their love of the microphone became common knowledge. The final secret love is trainspotting, with 10% owning up to a fondness of the railway.
David Fenton, Marketing Director at Jewson, commented: “Building and construction is traditionally seen as a tough industry, but we know from our customers and our research that building definitely has a softer side. With Mary and Paul now out of the kitchen for another year, we’ll have to stay tuned to see if the Great British Pottery Throw Down can fill the void for Britain’s builders in the interim.”
The top five guilty pleasures of Britain’s builders:
1: The Great British Bake Off – 29%
2: Reality TV – 18%
3: Celebrity gossip – 18%
4: Karaoke – 13%
5: Trainspotting – 10%
Continuing the theme of customer relationships, the culmination of Huws Gray’s anniversary celebrations has seen one of its regulars secure the keys to a brand new Vauxhall Vivaro van. The business, which marked its 25th anniversary in 2015, undertook a series of events and promotions throughout the year and the final function was a celebratory dinner for staff and customers.
Guest speaker Paul Merson performed the draw for the Anniversary Raffle and Dennis Roberts, a building/groundworks and demolition contractor who is a regular customer at Huws Gray’s Gaerwen branch, walked away with the main prize of a new van. The raffle tickets, which cost a pound each, were sold at the company’s numerous anniversary events as well as at all branches, with the proceeds going to the company’s nominated charities.
On behalf of Huws Gray, Dafydd Hughes commented: “We’d like to thank all our customers who supported our anniversary raffle. It was a great way of raising some funds for children’s hospices and giving our loyal customers a good chance of getting their hands on some fantastic prizes.”
