Who is Louisa Hayes? 

Meet Louisa Hayes, Customer Service Manager at Pooch and Mutt! 

Who are Pooch & Mutt? 

Pooch & Mutt are a pet food company primarily focused on dog food, with a small range of cat products too (Purr & Miaow). 

Their ethos is using natural ingredients, while aiming to provide clear information about the functions of their products. They earn their market position by focusing on pet health and the most nutritious ingredient quality. 

Louisa’s CX journey 

Louisa's journey into Customer Service began in college, when her mum helped her secure a job at a department store in Central London. She wound up being more interested in that job than the subject area she was studying! 

After graduating, she decided to pursue a career in Business Management. Starting from working weekly on Sundays, she quickly progressed to becoming Sales Manager, then Business Manager, for a concession within the same department store. 

Early origins 

After this role, aged 23, Louisa joined Protein World - a company within the health industry, where she worked her way up to becoming the Head of Customer Care and Logistics. Now, at Pooch & Mutt, she continues her role in Customer Service, bringing her wealth of experience to the pet food industry. 

"I think for me, it was about keeping that customer for life and really building that relationship and rapport. we meet new people everyday, and that was part of what I really enjoyed when I was studying. It’s a great opportunity to make that positive impact on them and their pets to retain that customer for life.” 

The CX Team at Pooch & Mutt 

Louisa’s team is made up of four members, who all work remotely. Despite being geographically spread out, they always make time for regular meet-ups. 

"We have regular meet-ups at various workspaces around London called SpaceMade. We actually partner with them and supply dog treats for their pet-friendly offices dotted around London.” 

Additionally, the entire company meet each quarter, for “Away Days.” 

"Actually, next Thursday the whole business is getting-together! We hire out a huge house, and it’s a day to brief everyone on plans for the next quarter, and update the whole team on any new products and exciting plans for the future. Then we have food and drinks in the evening, and head home the following morning." 

Louisa’s ideal team member

Like many CX leaders, Louisa places a high value on empathy. 

"When you interview, you can get a pretty quick understanding if the candidate has the correct skill-set for working within a customer-facing role. Key skills I look for are empathy, a driven work ethic, ability to work within a team, and of course, a passion for pets.” 

She selects new hires through a two-step interview process via video calls. 

"The first stage is so I can get an understanding of their experience, why they've applied for the role, an outline of their work history, and any experience they may have within the pet industry. It’s also great to know how they spend their free time and get to know their personality!” 

For the second stage interview - 

"I'll actually send the candidates questions half an hour prior to the interview with very in-depth, specific questions. Not necessarily just about pet health, but also about customer service and how they would deal with certain scenarios. It’s also a great opportunity to discuss Pooch & Mutt in general, and what they may know about us and our products already.” 

Louisa finds this approach beneficial as it gives candidates time to think about their answers, rather than being put on the spot during the interview. She believes it leads to more genuine responses and helps in assessing candidates effectively. 

CX Team success factors 

Louisa believes in making sure her team’s presence is felt whenever it’s needed. Whether the customer has a question before making a purchase or needs to resolve a complaint because something went wrong with fulfillment, CX is there to smooth things over quickly. 

“We hammer home that we are there. Our chat bubble is always present so our customers know that we're always there to help. Once we do have that initial contact with our customer, for whatever reason, we always leave the conversation open & really love to build that relationship. This is so key for customer retention” 

Key metrics 

She also regularly monitors the team's CSAT scores, to determine where her customers are at and what’s on their mind. Louisa does look at response times, but mostly to make sure the team has enough resources to keep up with demand. With scores averaging 4.8 out of 5 for the business, and service feedback issued via Gorgias between 4.9 and 4.95 on average - the team are currently excelling in this area. 

She’d rather have her representatives handle a small number of tickets really well, than a large number of tickets poorly. If anything ever needs escalating, Louisa will take over these tickets to have peace of mind the customer leaves satisfied. 

Topics of interest 

Louisa’s team begin working with customers even before the point of purchase. Her team are always available to answer questions and help them make purchases they’re comfortable with.

“Probably our biggest customer retention tool that we have on-site, and something that’s a huge revenue driver for us, is our subscriptions. Being that first touchpoint for any advice is something we always aim for, but never set targets on. Authentic, genuine advice and care is the main goal for us with guidance to our subscription plans, and if the customers subscribe, then that’s amazing!” 

That said, she says that one of her biggest success factors is simply making sure that everyone on the team is knowledgeable and friendly. 

“Having a team that's always on-hand is so important, as we’re basically like a hub of knowledge. The team know absolutely everything there is to know, and if they don’t, someone will! Each day we’re learning new things, not just about our lovely customers, but the pet industry in general.” 

Louisa’s robust Customer Support Strategy 

Louisa is working with Gorgias to revamp their customer service by building a new Help Center and improving the Live Chat experience. "We want to have a hub on-site where customers can type in a question and be referred to our amazing blog, or receive a quick response for them to read through and navigate. Of course, we’ll always be there if they have any further questions." she stated. 

Louisa is also open to AI implementation. “I think it's really, really important that we move with the time. There's no point resisting it because it is happening, and education around this for myself and my team is a huge priority over the next year.” 

That said, it’s still a question of balance. Pooch & Mutt work closely both with concerned pet owners and vets. Those are interactions that still require a human touch. 

Advice to other leaders 

Louisa believes that good CX leaders need to be equally prepared for peak seasons and down time. During busy periods, it’s naturally all-hands-on-deck. However, she also thinks that it’s important to effectively take advantage of slower periods. 

“Two of my team are going to be taking a course in Pet/Canine Nutrition.” 

She finds that these opportunities are both rewarding for her team, and beneficial to the service they provide. “I see a huge benefit in knowing you’re investing in their careers and progression.” 

Tech stack 

Gorgias - “They have so many new features they bring out all the time.” 

Slack - “For remote team collaboration. It’s the best.” 

WhatsApp - “For customer communications. With WhatsApp, the customer can close out of the chat window and get a notification when we reply. The customer feedback on this has been huge, and we’re actually the first of our competitors to go live with this!”

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