Specialist two-person home delivery company Keen & Able is celebrating growth as it continues to deliver a five-star service.
Keen & Able, originally set up in Long Eaton, Derbyshire with nine people and three vans in October 2016, now employs over 100 members of staff and has a fleet of 30 vans.
Specialising in bed and furniture delivery and installation, the company now transports over 120,000 beds, mattresses and other pieces of furniture each year, driving nearly two million miles to homes across the UK.
The company also boasts a mattress refurbishment service at its Long Eaton site, so returned or unwanted products that could otherwise have gone to landfill can be resold on the secondary market.
MD Guy Revis believes the company’s continued success is down to its approach to exceptional end-to-end customer service – a philosophy reflected in its 5-star Trustpilot score, which is backed by over 1000 reviews.
Guy says: “Keen & Able is truly a home delivery company with a difference. We pride ourselves on our two-person, white-glove service that is both professional and courteous. We are delighted that our commitment to exceeding expectations is routinely recognised amongst our customers, as we regularly score above 98% on our customer service ratings.”
Working in partnership with retailers and manufacturers, Keen & Able ensures that the customer experience is the best it can be. Utilising real-time, cloud-based traceability, the company guarantees a hassle-free service for retailers, manufacturers and customers alike.
Creating a noticeable difference in experience between the company and its rivals has been crucial to Keen & Able’s continued growth. Combined with the latest technology, dedicated customer service advisors are on hand at the head office – and, uniquely, from each of the delivery vehicles on the day – to deal with any customer queries and proactively and regularly communicate with them through every step of the ordering and delivery process.
Out on the road, specialist, highly trained, two-person delivery teams work in modern, clean, branded vehicles and uniforms, and take the product to the customer’s selected room of choice, acting as a brand ambassador for clients.
Guy adds: “Not only do we keep our retail and manufacturing customers happy by delivering what we promise, we also keep their customers happy by delivering on their preferred day in most areas of the UK, and going above and beyond what is expected. The customer is kept informed of their scheduled delivery time every step of the way, and upon arrival our white-gloved installers will take the product to the desired room and assemble as required, taking any waste packaging away with them.”
Following its set-up, the growth of Keen & Able has been rapid, with the delivery firm expanding and moving to a new head office and national distribution centre in Northampton in 2018, and the addition of a third satellite depot in Manchester.
Along with creating over 50 new jobs, the company has grown from 20,000 sqft premises to almost 100,000 sqft in total, across four sites (from Northampton to Dundee), to ensure the investment also leads to improved services on a larger scale.
Along with this new home, Keen & Able also invested £1m in brand-new, larger vans, leading to improved efficiency in terms of both routing and capacity, allowing the business to save up to one million road miles per year.
Indeed, Keen & Able takes its green credentials seriously. All packing materials and rubbish is taken away after delivery and recycled, so the customer has nothing to dispose of. The company also offers a disposal and recycling service for the furniture it takes away – including mattresses and beds - ensuring 100% landfill avoidance.
Keen & Able is certainly a future-facing business – and, as it continues to expand, the role of technology within its operation cannot be underestimated. Guy comments: “Embracing technology can give us valuable efficiencies in communication, stock management and route planning. Through our systems we can track every order at any point, ensuring there is complete visibility and security.
“Customers can bulk-book deliveries, and track their drop-shipping and storage digitally, and we can integrate these with our own systems. The company also has a number of other customer-centric touchpoints, and there is always a friendly and helpful voice at the other end of the phone to help arrange deliveries for customers that prefer a more traditional, ‘good old-fashioned’ approach.
“Still in its early years as a business, Keen & Able is not resting on its laurels. With a renewed focus on team training and creating an enhanced client experience through new depots in Rochdale and Scotland, the sky is the limit in terms of what it can deliver.”
