Here’s a question for you. Why choose Horizon Platforms? It must be said, we’re certainly not alone in the market. There are all sorts of companies that offer various models of powered access hire, from local companies to huge corporates. So, with that many options, why deal with Horizon specifically?
At the end of 2019 we started getting serious about answering that question, so we commissioned some proper research into our customers and businesses working at height. We followed their journey and asked hundreds of questions to try and understand them better.
Our Chief Executive, Ben Hirst has this to say: “Hiring powered access can sometimes be a quick snappy decision, or a long, nuanced process. We’ve spent time looking at the entire market for powered access, to understand how this journey progresses and what people really want from their powered access supplier.”
This project was a significant investment but has helped clarify exactly what customers want from Horizon Platforms. With this improved understanding of customer needs, we’ve given a lot of thought to our service, and are ready to share with you our 8 customer pledges. The Horizon Commitments.
The Commitments are promises that we make about how we deliver our service, and how we will provide better solutions for customers. Each one addresses an aspect of dealing with Horizon, defines what can be expected, and clearly demonstrates what is important to our company and our team. As Ben adds, “The Commitments challenge us, and help guide and tailor our service around what is most vital: the things that make customers the happiest.”
The 8 Commitments
Commitment #1 is concerned with being flexible and catering for customers however they prefer to work with us. If you like to call us, we’re here and will answer your call within 15 seconds. If you want to go online and order that way, that’s absolutely fine. You can email us, or simply use our website to get a quote and order your ideal platform right there and then. Either way, you’ll have your order confirmation within 15 minutes.
Commitment #2 recognises that in many cases, speed is all-important. We deliver, and deliver fast. If you are tight for time, we will pull out all the stops to get it there for you, and have countless testimonials where we have done just that for customers. Next-day? Sure. Same-day? We’ve delivered within 4 hours on core products. When it comes to responsiveness we will never disappoint you.
Commitment #3 is about keeping our word and meeting our obligation to deliver when we say we will. Things happen on the roads that we can’t always control, but our track record in this area is almost perfect.
Most importantly, if something does happen, we won’t wait for you to call us. Our team is targeted to reach you first, and make sure you are in full possession of the facts as early as possible. We’ll even credit your delivery charge if we don’t give you this heads-up.
Commitment #4 demonstrates that we are a proper business that you can trust and rely on. A company that does things the right way, and protects you and your reputation. We believe in the importance of health and safety, compliance and in practically demonstrating this in more than words.
Horizon holds the best accreditations in the business, such as the ISO Triple Crown, FORS Bronze, Safe Contactor and IPAF Rental+ Gold. Not all powered access suppliers can say that.
Commitment #5 is concerned with your peace of mind, and illustrating that, should something go wrong, you won’t be waiting around forever for it to be sorted. We know that time is literally money for our customers, and we know how important a fast response is. That means you’ll have an engineer on the phone within 15 minutes, and if necessary, onsite within 3 hours.
It helps that we have the right expertise on board. Unlike some powered access rental companies, we own our own machines and have engineers standing by, ready to get you sorted in that situation.
Commitment #6 exhibits our commitment to raising standards in our industry, and making sure customers are always delighted by the machines they receive from Horizon. We’re committed to a programme of rigorous checks and hygiene treatments, and have tough quality standards established with all our network partners.
Bottom line? If you don’t like what you see, we’ll exchange it. We want you to be happy and will put our money where our mouth is to make that happen.
Commitment #7 is simply concerned with being as easy to deal with as possible. Invoice queries happen, and while we’re focused on minimising this, we want our customers to be reassured this will never drag on forever.
We pledge that all invoice queries will be resolved within 4 working days of you raising it. You want answers now, and we are challenging ourselves to get you those answers in short order, and on being as smooth and painless to work with as we can.
Finally, Commitment #8 is a promise that if you pick up the phone to us, we will always answer, even in the middle of the night or the weekend. Our customers work all hours, and waiting until the morning to call sometimes won’t do. This isn’t common in the hire industry, but we want you to know that if you need us, we’ll be there. Simple.
So there you have it. These are our pledges to you. Work with us, and this is the kind of service you can expect. We’re being clear about it, and have set up internal processes to test performance against all 8, to make sure we always follow through. Our MD Ben goes onto say, “Putting in place the infrastructure for the Commitments isn’t easy but is absolutely the right thing for us to do. Customers want clarity, reassurance and peace of mind, and our whole organisation is focused on delivering just that.”