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“Hope IS NOT a strategy” exclaimed Larry Hochman in only a way that Larry Hochman can. With great vigour and enthusiasm the former Director of Customer Service and Director of People and Culture at AIR MILES asked the London Business Forum if they were “ready for the post-recession era.”

How can companies provide better value in a world where everything can "simply be googled” and loyalty cards have become a commodity? “Keep your promises – Under-promise and over-deliver” boomed Hochman in the plush Princess Anne Theatre at BAFTA. It is the relationships that we have with our customers that will ultimately determine how we emerge from the recession. “Now is the time for small kindnesses,” said Hochman, “it is what people will remember.”

How better to show where companies are getting it right and where they are getting it wrong than by giving them a call. First on the list were two well-known internet service providers. The question put to them was a simple one, “What did they offer that the competition didn’t?” Both responded well and, as Hochman noted, we weren’t listening to sales patter. One delegate did suggest though that we would be getting a “very different service” if we were already a customer calling with a problem. This was a point that was greeted by a crowd of nodding heads throughout the auditorium.

Situated on Piccadilly, BAFTA is surrounded by many luxury shops, Hochman wanted to see if any of them would allow a member of staff to nip out and deliver enough chocolate truffles as a treat for the audience before the event finished. The most prestigious and largest company, only a few doors down, refused as they were not authorised to do this. Delivery would have to be made in the standard way by a courier, which would have to be paid for and probably take twice as long.

Prestat, however, delivered great customer service with staff who acted at their own discretion. Unfortunately there was only one person in the store that day so she was unable to deliver it personally, but one of the LBF team ran to the store in Princes Arcade to make the purchase and get the chocolate to the theatre in time for the Q&A.

By far the best example of a company who knows how to build their brand and customer loyalty was Innocent Drinks. Hochman rang the brilliantly conceived 'banana phone' to suggest a flavour. One audience member suggested chocolate, which the very friendly voice on the end of the phone explained wasn’t really in keeping with the health conscious message that they try to promote. She explained that when someone rings the banana phone you might speak to anyone at Innocent, not a customer service team. People ring them up every day and even come to visit them at Fruit Towers.

Whilst we tucked into our delicious truffles from Prestat, Hochman concluded, “Don’t promise perfection, promise what you can deliver!”