Directors take it on the chin to raise cash

Dec 28 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

custard

MAKING sure your clients are completely satisfied with the service you provide is the key to any successful business – but one Liverpool firm has come up with a novel way to keep standards high.

Directors at IT support company Multisolutions have vowed that if monthly customer surveys do not reap a 100% satisfaction rate, they will pay the price with an embarrassing forfeit.

It’s part of an initiative to raise £10,000 over the next 12 months to fund a children’s playground at Clumber Care in Formby, part of Nugent Care.

And to prove it’s not all talk, the results are filmed and put on their website for all to see.

The forfeits began in earnest back in September, when one of the company’s directors Steve Carr was punished by being made to walk through the business district during his lunch hour wearing a dunces cap and handing out leaflets explaining what he was doing.

In October, when the firm pulled in a satisfaction rating of 96%, director Ian Denny was the target of a sponsored custard pie throwing, making £600 in the process.

Then in November, director Dave Jackson was auctioned off as an IT slave for the day for more than £300.

Each month clients are given the chance online to rate Multisolutions’ service as red (poor), amber (good) or green for excellent – and unless all replies are green, the bosses undertake a forfeit.

Ian Denny said: “We were looking at ways to improve, and originally it was to force us to focus on doing a good job. Then we decided to raise money as part of it, and I have this personal ambition to raise the money before the end of 2008.

“We thought we as directors should put our necks on the block and not front line staff, so the idea is that the forfeits are embarrassing for us.

“Clients are noticing an improvement, and we’re going to start encouraging clients to suggest what the forfeits should be.”

Multisolutions chose to support Nugent Care and in particular, Clumber Care, its residential service for children.

Mr Denny added: “Having lost our first child, Samantha, in 1999, I feel very strongly about how precious life is. No-one can choose the circumstances of their birth, and this is a great opportunity to help give everyone a fighting chance. If chucking a custard pie at me can improve the prospect of local kids, then I’m only too glad to suffer for a good cause.”

Kathleen Pitt, chief executive of Nugent Care, said, “We are grateful for Ian’s support, and are very impressed at his creative approach to fundraising.”

To help the team reach their fundraising goal can do so via www.justgiving.com/multisolutions.

vickyanderson