UK Enterprise Awards 2019

85 | SME NEWS - UK Enterprise Awards 2019 Best Electrical Appliance Rental Company 2019 & Award for Excellence in Customer Service For more than 90 years F. Donald Forbes & Co. Ltd has provided award-winning appliance rental to a vast array of clients. We invited CEO Kevin Herring to tell us more about the firm and the services it has to offer. are today without a loyal customer base and we are hugely appreciative of their support. We know that our customers choose us because they know that they can depend on us, and awards such as these demonstrate that our emphasis remains firmly on the delivery of their expected standards of product and service.” In his concluding comments Kevin expresses his pride in his firm’s success in this prestigious awards programme and outlines how the company will enhance this achievement going forward. “Ultimately, awards always represent an excellent avenue for demonstrating the values that we represent at Forbes. We are very proud to have been awarded for two very visible categories as it truly reinforces the strengths of our business, and we are excited to build upon this success over the coming years.” Company: F Donald Forbes & Co Ltd Contact: Kevin Herring Website: https://forbes-professional.co.uk/ Established in 1926, Forbes remains a family company now, providing a wide range of products to both the consumer and commercial markets across the UK. Today, the commercial side of the group operation trades as Forbes Professional and the consumer side trades as Forbes Rentals, but the businesses run as a joint operation from its nationwide network of offices, distribution and service depots. As such, clients receive the national reach of group with the bespoke service of a family-run business when they work with this innovative group. This exceptional level of service has remained the same since the group’s inception, however the company is agile and flexible when it comes to its product and service offering, as Kevin highlights. “Over our 93 years of operation, Forbes has evolved considerably, with the concept of rental currently becoming increasingly relevant as the consumer is no longer so concerned with ownership. The very concept of ‘leasing’ is something that the consumer is becoming more and more familiar with as they pay for access to services and subscriptions like i-Tunes and Netflix, and increasingly, lease depreciating assets such as cars and even furniture. We have a large, loyal customer base that believes in the rental model and enables organic growth as they recommend friends or expand their accounts by adding additional items. “As such, we have built a vast portfolio of products over the years, and we now offer everything from mobility scooters, kitchen and laundry appliances through to TVs, electrical and AV equipment and digital signage solutions. Under our Complete Care rental solution, we install and commission all equipment and it is fully supported by our comprehensive same day service. We are a multi- site operation with an expansive fleet of in-house engineers that enable a fast and reliable response when needed. We now operate across multiple industries, with our core business arising from the residential, healthcare, hotel and education sectors. We have built our business upon the delivery of a first-class quality of both product and service, with the customer at the centre of every operation.” Fundamentally, it is people that form the backbone of the firm’s success in this awards programme and in the competitive corporate market in general. As such, it is understandable that Kevin is keen to discuss the clients and staff members that have contributed to Forbes winning these two awards and being a successful business for nearly a century. “Central to the success of Forbes is our commitment to client service, which we are incredibly proud of. Our customer service delivery is not just about our engineers’ responses, it is absolutely central to our company ethos; from our friendly and consultative sales approach to our complimentary installation and user training to our on-going account management and service support. We invest heavily in on-going staff training and development, and are proud to have impressively high staff retention levels. Many of our staff have worked with us for over 25 years, which solidifies the values that permeate our company structure, at all levels. “Additionally, we would also not be where we Kevin Herring, CEO - © F Donald Forbes & Co Ltd