Donate your Unwanted Mobile Phone and Help BBC Children in Need
WITH over 15 million
mobile phones replaced every year and an estimated 90 million
sitting in drawers and toy boxes across the country, why not send
your unwanted mobile phone to help BBC Children in Need. For every
reusable handset received, BBC Children in Need will receive between
£4 and £80 depending on its condition and how flashy it is. The
appeal is perfect for schools, local fundraisers, businesses and
individuals who want to raise money for Children in Need, but are
worried about the credit crunch. It’s ideal because people don’t
need to donate money, just their unwanted mobile phone. Last year,
the mobile phone collection raised £350,000 for Children in Need.
Contributing a handset is really easy. Just pop the mobile phone in
an envelope and write Freepost BBC Children in Need on it, or pick
up a freepost envelope at any ‘3’ store throughout the UK. Leading
parcel carriers DPD and Interlink Express will also be delivering
the envelopes free of charge to millions of households across the
country. Envelopes are also being distributed in magazines like:
Gardeners World, Top Gear, Radio Times, and Good Food. Fundraisers
can also contact
cin@regenersisplc.com for a
collection kit.
The phones will go to Regenersis, the leader in mobile phone reuse
and recycling. Regenersis will refurbish the handsets and send them
to developing countries to provide affordable communications.
Mark Franklin, MD of Regenersis Environmental Services, said:-
“This is the fourth year we have run the mobile phone collection
to aid BBC Children in Need and we’re hoping that our donation this
year will push us over the £1million mark for the Charity.”
Phones that are not suitable for re-use will be sent for recycling
ensuring that nothing ends up in landfill. To find out more or to
download a Freepost envelope, visit:-
regenersis.com/pudsey.
* For every reusable mobile phone, MP3/4 or PDA received Regenersis
will donate between £4 and £80 to BBC Children in Need Appeal a
registered charity number 802052 in England and Wales and number
SC039557 in Scotland.
Conditions apply, please visit:-
regenersis.com/pudsey for details. BBC Children
in Need and the BBC Children in Need logo and Pudsey are registered
trademarks of the BBC and are used under license. |
‘Slash and burn’ won’t safeguard customer relationships in a
recession
AS the UK
wrestles with the effects of the economic recession, the Institute
of Customer Service (ICS) is urging employers to avoid cost-cutting
actions that could impact on service quality and damage
relationships with customers.
ICS chief executive David Parsons says instead of adopting a ‘slash
and burn’ approach during the economic crisis, organisations should
take steps to safeguard and strengthen their customer relationships.
Speaking at the ICS annual conference, David emphasised that the
current climate made it more important than ever to listen to
customers and to understand and meet their expectations.
“Few had expected the storm to gather as quickly as it has and to
some extent the future has arrived with a vengeance. “Battening down
the hatches is inevitable and essential. It would be naive to argue
that such measures should never include saving costs – but
organisations should resist taking actions that will have a
detrimental effect both on the quality of service and the strength
of their relationships with customers.” David told delegates
at the London conference.
David warns that ‘battening down the hatches’ should not mean
damaging service strategies that enhance an organisation’s
reputation, or harm efforts to put service at the heart of
organisational culture. This could expose companies to criticism
that ‘they haven’t got the courage of their own conviction when
times get tough’ from staff and customers. Employers should
also avoid cutting staff numbers at the points of customer contact
that drive satisfaction levels and repeat business – particularly if
done indiscriminately without regard to individual competence and
skills. Nor should they put investment in people, especially their
skills development, on hold; or ignore existing customers to focus
on winning new customers. “Keeping the right people to deliver the services and
experiences that customers want is crucial.
Reducing costs while continuing to deliver value-for-money
service is now imperative, but not at the expense of customer
service professionals - the very people that survey after survey
says UK employers are crying out for. What we need more of,
especially in such difficult times, is what a number of business
leaders refer to as ‘good old-fashioned customer relationships’.
It’s important to build and retain loyalty by providing value for
money which is not just about cost. And it’s now more important than
ever for organisations to ensure their staff can deliver an even
higher quality experience to their customers. Organisations
with the courage and conviction to avoid falling into the old trap
of slash and burn are the ones that will weather the storm most
successfully by retaining their customers. They are also the ones
that will be in the best position to take advantage of the upturn
when it comes.” said David. |