• WE

  How many years have you been working for Eden Springs and which business areas do you manage?

• Shirley Cohen

  I’ve been working for Eden Springs for 4 years and as VP Operations I manage production, quality, supply chain and purchasing, distribution, customer service and customer accounting.

• WE

  What edge does Eden Springs offer its customers and how do you differentiate yourself in today's competitive marketplace?

• Shirley Cohen

  As a service company and an office drinking solutions supplier, Eden wants to be the best service provider. We differentiate ourselves in a very competitive business environment by delivery on time and by giving the customer a “one stop shopping” service, from installation to customer accounting. As to our offering, I think our website puts it well when stating that “With more depots, delivery staff and customers than any other company, Eden Springs is officially the leading water cooler supplier in Europe. Our water solutions include a wide range of bottled water coolers, plumbed-in filter systems and PET and sports bottles.”

• WE

  With many different kinds of customers with potentially different needs, what methods do you use to secure their expectations are met?

• Shirley Cohen

  We are having thousands of customer contacts on a daily basis. Our ability to understand different customers’ needs and to align ourselves with customer expectations right from the beginning allows us to focus on meeting customer demands. We have implemented a customer Event Driven Survey system which enables us to call our customers on a daily basis, right after the service the day before, to get feedback on our service level. We leverage these surveys to further improve our service.

• WE

  What are the main demands of Eden Springs customers with regard to bottled water coolers, plumbed-in filter systems etc?

• Shirley Cohen

  Customers see us as the “well being at work” office supplier, enabling them to get any drinking solutions on time, and with value for money. This means that we need to adjust the right drinking solution to the right consumption level, in terms of water and coffee solutions.

• WE

  Although the basic product seems simple enough, the water cooler and bottled water business in general is complex. In your opinion, what is the best way of achieving service excellence?

• Shirley Cohen

  The best way of achieving service excellence is to listen to the customers’ needs, supporting them with a knowledgeable approach to the best solutions in terms of value for money. It is also important to deliver on time and to closely follow the customers’ consumption patterns so the customer is never “dry” at any time.

• WE

  Delivery service is one of the most important parts of the water cooler business. How does route optimization affect customer satisfaction? How do the route salesmen influence the customers' perception of the service?

• Shirley Cohen

  The route salesmen are the ones managing customer relations and expectations on a daily basis. They are absolutely the key to customer satisfaction and retention. They are the first ones to know whether a customer is happy or not, and they follow the consumption patterns to assure maximum value for the customer. In today’s world, customers often want to have one single office supplier for drinking solutions. Eden has aligned its strategy with this, being the water and coffee solution company. This strategy also supports our route efficiency as we are able to offer and supply customers with a variety of solutions once we visit him.

• WE

  Is it possible to combine service excellence with profitability and how do you successfully combine these two?

• Shirley Cohen

  Eden Springs Group is following a strategy to ensure both these factors, excellent service and profitability, are aligned. By leveraging our strong service capabilities and by developing more products to be delivered to the customers, we maintain our profitability and customer satisfaction at the same time.

• WE

  Do your responsibilities cover also the coffee business and how does coffee fit into your operations?

• Shirley Cohen

  Eden has been developing its coffee product line and it is indeed managed under the same operational umbrella. The strategy to be the water and coffee supplier for offices fits well with customer expectations and enables us to expand our product portfolio. We can efficiently utilize our distribution facilities, becoming the one single supplier for our customers in terms of drinking solutions.

• WE

  How do you measure the added value of new products such as coffee?

• Shirley Cohen

  We have a very professional way of measuring the marginal impact of new activities and products and have a clear set of financial and operational KPIs which are measured through products lines down to the route level.

• WE

  Are there other product lines that you may diversify to?

• Shirley Cohen

  Eden is always looking to renew and leverage its excellent operational capabilities, to support our customers with more products and services.

• WE

  Finally, what do you consider to be the most important factor in achieving customer satisfaction? What kind of feedback from a customer would you like to hear, making you even prouder of your work?

• Shirley Cohen

  There is a clear relationships between excellent service and customer satisfaction that each organization should find and define. But let’s not forget that customer satisfaction can only be measured by listening to the customers. My focus has always been and will continue to be on customer satisfaction, through every step we take in implementing our group strategy. Our customers are the ones that enable us to keep developing our company. My goal is to hear from our customers that they recommend working with us due to our excellent services, and that they feel we place the customer in the center of our activities.

Past interviews

• 

  Alex Mezquida

  Board Member of Watercoolers Europe and Training & Audit Manager at Laboratorio Dr. Oliver Rodés

• 

  Sergio Pérez

  Chairman of ADEAC, Spanish National Association

• 

  Gustav F. Felix

  WE-Director General, Chairman of ABWA and Managing Director of GWCA

• 

  Derek Callaghan

  Director of Sales & Marketing for SIP Technologies LLC