The consistently human touch

It's always good to get feedback from our customers and this week we have had some very nice emails and letters about our products for sensitive skin and our customer service. We are only a small company and, as such, we are not particularly sophisticated in many areas. We only have one telephone line, we do not have lots of fancy packaging material and we still use an abacus (that's a lie, we've just upgraded to a calculator). Until very recently, we had one of those old fashioned machines for manually processing credit card transactions. It took a visit from our new customer services manager at the bank (so young he'd never even seen one before) to force us to upgrade to a flashy electronic one which prints out nice professional-looking receipts.

It would appear, however, that most of our customers are - thankfully for us - not really concerned about things like this as long as they get the products they love and trust on time and without us having tinkered with the formulations. When you've got truly sensitive skin, the last thing you need is your chosen brand changing the ingredients or, for that matter, removing your favourite products from sale or replacing them.

One customer writes: 'Thank you so much for sending my products and for your helpful and prompt service. It is a great pleasure to deal with a firm where one actually speaks to real people (as opposed to pressing numerous buttons selecting options) who are pleasant and helpful.'

Another, writing by email to ask if she would be able to get Queen Seaside Cream (not currently available at our online shop because it currently comes in rather utilitarian packaging) in the future, says:

'I recently ordered a new Queen Seaside Cream but wanted to check because I always recommend it to friends. I think it's magic, in fact, and I may be giving it out as Christmas presents this year.

'I certainly hope that the product doesn't get the "full makeover" to include a new name. That would be terrible. I think SEASIDE CREAM says it all. It reminds me of holidays and those hot, sunny, breezy days on the beach, under a clear blue sky, then at night my skin is on fire. So, I reach for the Seaside Cream (in that distinctive, practical container that gets thrown about), rub it into the burnt area and the relief is almost instant. Ahhhhhhhh!'

What can we say?! Clearly, appearances are not everything and it is the quality and consistency of the product which is important. Which is not to say that we don't want the Queen range to look nice. We have repackaged most products over the last few years so they look clean and fresh. We haven't gone overboard, however, as this would not be in line with the Queen philosophy (http://www.queen-cosmetics.com/our-philosophy-4-w.asp) and we believe our products do speak for themselves.

The point about consistency was underlined again when I visited John Bell & Croyden this week. An Italian lady came in to buy some Queen Theatrical Cleansing Cream, saying she was glad to have discovered it because another brand she had been using had deteriorated in quality. We do sometimes feel we are rather unfashionable in our dogged adherence to our sensitive skin roots when the rest of the world seems to be obsessed with glamorous and hi-tech products such as anti-wrinkle creams and special eye serums. Yet, talking to and hearing from our lovely and loyal customers does always reassure us we are right in ploughing our lonely furrow!

Among the shoppers in the store this week were actress Sian Phillips and Hermione Norris again who you may remember I spotted a couple of weeks ago. I was also pleased to notice an Arab gentleman who I used to see at Ascot and Sandown Park in the days when I used to go racing regularly. He would always mingle with the rest of us punters, sharing information freely. He has certainly aged in the meantime but I was pleased to see he was still clutching a copy of the Racing Post so he obviously keeps his hand in.

Do come back and see us next week.

The team at Queen