The Hearing Place is Born!
After almost 15 years of working for high street hearing care providers, I reached a point where I could see that there were so many things that could be done in a better way. Working for large companies meant that my ideas fell on deaf ears (pardon the pun!) that gave me the idea of setting up my own business. After discussing it at length with my husband, we wrote a business plan and decided to go into partnership. From an idea of doing things differently and a passion for delivering excellent customer care,
The Hearing Place was born!
(1) Tired of being told ‘how’ to do things.
When you work somewhere for a long time, you have clients that you see regularly, and naturally you build up a relationship. I love hearing about my clients’ latest holidays, new additions to the family or just what they’ve been up to. So it used to really frustrate me when my manager would tell me I had to do things in a certain way, a way that I didn’t feel suited my clients’ needs or best interests. To have to follow ‘company policy’ no longer felt like the right thing to do.
When I kept coming up against things I didn’t agree with, it gave me the idea of doing things in a different, better way. Now I can do whatever I feel is best for our clients. There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to hearing care, we are all different and have different needs. I no longer have to follow a set way of doing things, I can do what is right for each and every individual client.
(2) Truly Independent
Being an independent company set up to look after the needs of our customers means that we are not restricted to what hearing aid manufacturers we can use. Working for high street companies meant I could only choose from a very limited selection of the huge range of hearing aids available on the market.
I would often hear about a new product that sounded great, but didn’t have the option to dispense them. Not anymore! We can supply hearing aids from any manufacturer we choose, being able to offer whichever technology we feel best suits our clients’ needs.
(3) Home Visits
In the past I was often asked if I could go and see a client in their home, whether it be an existing client that was having mobility issues, or had a decline in their health, or a new customer that for whatever reason, found it difficult to come into a clinic. But it was never an option with my previous employers, and I always felt like I was letting those customers down. This is why I was passionate about being able to offer a domiciliary service, but it was also important to me that these customers shouldn’t have to pay a premium for that option. The companies that do offer home visits often charge an additional fee. At The Hearing Place, all appointments are offered in the comfort of your own home, or wherever is convenient for you, at no extra charge.
Sometimes people are a little anxious about their hearing care appointments, especially if it’s their first one, so being at home, surrounded by familiar sights and smells can help them feel more relaxed. Especially in the current climate, some people may feel scared to leave their home. It is a pleasure to still be able to help people who are struggling with their hearing, whether it be ear wax, hearing loss or a broken hearing aid. To me, it’s all part of the service to go and see our clients at home, and they often tell us they feel safer not having to go out.
(4) Great Customer Service
We really feel excellent customer service is crucial and always underpins what we do. So many places these days don’t give good service, and we think that’s a massive shame. When we experience bad service, we are disappointed and sometimes frustrated. Especially if it was a large purchase.
Our customers are the heart of our business and their satisfaction is the most important thing to us. If they’re not happy, we’re not happy. It is for these reasons that we try to go above and beyond to meet their hearing needs and make sure they’re happy with the service we provide. People often tell us they’ve never had such thorough appointments! If you’ve been feeling under-whelmed with your hearing care provider, why not give us a try? What do you have to lose?
We want to thank our customers for their loyalty, and for spreading the word about us. We know word of mouth is our best form of advertising so we offer a range of loyalty schemes and recommend a friend rewards.
(5) Times and days to suit you
Life isn’t always monday to friday, 9-5, which is why we feel it’s important to be able to offer appointments that fit in with our clients’ lives. If an evening or weekend appointment is better for you, that is when we will come and see you. If it’s more convenient for us to come and see you at work, no problem! We are here to help you, so whatever suits you is what we will do.
Because we offer a home based service, we are not restricted to the opening and closing times of a branch, we can work when we are needed. We live locally and are here to serve our local community with all their hearing care needs.
We are so excited for what the future holds for The Hearing Place, and really look forward to helping as many people as possible to hear better. We believe our values and holding our customers at the heart of what we do stands us in good
stead to be successful.
