It was corporate guru Tom Peters who made an impression on me when he advocated that it doesn’t matter how good a business thinks it is, if its reception areas and signage are defective, this can have a huge impact on its perception by prospective customers. As a young, enthusiastic advertising executive I thought creative campaigns could solve everything. But like most things in life, the simple ideas are the most effective. Take simple lemon for example.

I once worked for a marketing and pr agency who used to offer lemon with their tea and a choice of coffees. When you reach their reception areas, most companies ask whether you would your tea or coffee white or black. This one decided that while clients were waiting to see someone in reception or in a board room, the lemon would add to the total experience of the visit. It did. It was (so to speak) an ice breaker.

Another client of mine noticed that someone had written graffiti on the company toilets. An hour before an important meeting with his client, he had the presence of mind to go in there himself and clean the walls. Meanwhile his assistant peeled a few lemons to serve with the tea!

I’m not talking about a whole campaign here, I am just talking about basic human hospitality. Customer care usually boils down to common decency and a touch of creativity. It’s usually the simple things which take you further than your competitors.

The company I worked for then started buying in various coffees and offered a mini menu while guests were waiting in Reception. The outlay is so small but the warmth it generates about the company is worth at least the cost of a couple of “awareness raising” ads in the trade press.

You are a customer yourself. Pick a supplier or even you local supermarket and think of a couple of things which bug you and suggest ways of putting it right. You could turn your attention to an internet company. The web is no different. If a company home page takes ten minutes to download, they obviously haven’t thought of the customer.

In future editions, we’d like to keep up to date with similar tips , you have found useful. Write to us with your ideas and we will include them here. Also if there is something that irritates you about this web site I need to know. Only your best friends will tell you. So tell me!