Andrew McMillan was responsible for the legendary customer service which defined the success of John Lewis, the leading retailer. John Lewis was named the UK's best retailer at the Verdict Customer Satisfaction Awards 2013, coming first in three retail categories, while Waitrose (its supermarket division) took the top spot in the food and grocery sector. John Lewis previously topped this survey for four consecutive years from 2008-11.

 

Andrew talks about engagement as a differentiator – as with John Lewis, the whole team has to be brilliant with the customer the whole time for a consistent customer experience. He is as engaging as the message he conveys, and his passion for delivering unbeatable service to the customer is reflected in his unwavering connection with every audience he addresses.

 

Andrew’s career began as a management trainee with John Lewis atin north London. He quickly moved through the management ranks and led a number of selling teams in different branches culminating in managing the furniture floor in the flagship Oxford Street branch. From there he moved to the head office to take charge of the department stores' customer-centric "Intelligence Team" reporting on competitive strategy, product differentiation and value, catchment area demographics for new branches and customer service.

 

In 2000 Andrew was asked to lead on customer service for the department store division. The role saw him manage chain-wide customer complaints and develop John Lewis's market-leading culture and attitude towards customer service and sales with the 20,000 customer-facing partners in all the John Lewis shops across the UK. That customer-driven culture is something that has now became synonymous with the John Lewis brand and during his tenure John Lewis won frequent awards for customer service and were frequently cited in the media as a leading customer oriented organisation.

In addition to retail and finance, much of Andrew's work has been in the public sector and he has helped a number of local authorities develop their strategy to deliver a distinct and differentiated customer experience. He has also worked with a number of National Health Service Trusts to define and develop their patient experience in line with the aspirations set out in the NHS Next Stage Review final report.