Welcome to our second Blogger of the Month interview! Each month we’ll be interviewing a different Cotswold Blogger who’ll be sharing the story of how they got into blogging, their top tips and their Cotswolds favourites. And this month is customer service star Lady Janey. She likes to keep an air of mystery as she uncovers the best and worst in customer service around the Cotswolds, so we might not get to see her face, but we do get to learn more about her top spots and blogging plans.
Welcome Lady Janey, tell us about yourself and your blog
I’m Lady Janey and my customer service blog is still in its infancy as have only been blogging since May. I currently have to blog part-time but am planning to leave my day job as a teacher at the end of the year so will then have much more time to dedicate to blogging. I started writing as was so exasperated by falling standards of customer service in the UK and on the blog, I tackle a range of consumer issues whilst at the same time championing and praising excellent customer service wherever possible in order to encourage companies to work harder to please their customers and improve the standard of customer service they provide.
How did you come to be living in the Cotswolds?
I’m originally from Lancashire and my husband from Belfast but we were both working in the South East before moving to Gloucester for a change in lifestyle during the floods of July 2017. Once we’d dried out, we then set about building our own house, a seven-year epic project. We looked at every county between Lancashire and Surrey but kept coming back to Gloucestershire as this is where we felt most at home, even though we had absolutely no friends or family here. During the house build we were battered with a whole range of predominantly dire experiences, interspersed with the odd glimmer of brilliance. Lots of material for the blog!
What are five of your favourite spots in the Cotswolds?
One of the great things about the blog is that even though I started my mission because I wanted to challenge poor customer service, by writing the blog, my eyes have been well and truly opened to some really fabulous places in the area where customer service is very much still top of the agenda. Places such as:
- Hillside Brewery – a fabulous venue right on my doorstep so am a bit shamefaced we haven’t discovered earlier.
- The Ox Cheltenham – impressive cocktails with equally as impressive customer service.
- Hotel du Vin Cheltenham – far more than just a hotel.
- Vinnie’s Eatery Cheltenham – a new vegan restaurant with excellent customer service.
- Magpie Image Gloucester – without Andrew I would not have such a fabulous blog or logo. Definitely would recommend him to anyone.
How did you get started in blogging?
I’ve always had an eye for good customer service and it had become a bit of a standing joke that wherever I went, I’d come back with free this and free that but I don’t complain for what I get. That’s not what I’m about. I’m just honest and if a company asked for my feedback I give it. A friend of mine who loves hearing about these experiences just suggested one day that I write a blog, so I looked into it and off I went. I’ve always loved writing anyway and particularly enjoy writing poems – some of which I’ve now included in my blog.
What’s the best bit about being a blogger and your biggest blogging frustration?
I love the fact that I’ve been introduced to an exciting new world where there are so many opportunities. What frustrates me is that in term time, I have zap all time to do anything blog wise. I also feel like I’m clueless in comparison to other bloggers. So much to learn.
What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting a blog?
Don’t try to do or understand everything all at once. It’s far too much to take in. Also as Emma Bradley once wisely said, “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” Helps keep me sane.
What blogging tools can’t you blog without?
I am grateful to be a member of various blogging groups each valuable in their own right – Blogging your Way to Riches, Britmums, UK Money Bloggers, Mamapreneur Revolution and of course Gloucester Bloggers and Cotswold Bloggers & Influencers. Tips and hints, for examples, use of Hootsuite and SocialOomph etc have been so helpful along with advice for all aspects of blogging and sharing news of blogging opportunities.
Which other blogs do you love to read?
- Reduced Grub – Kelly has been my blogging inspiration as, without her, I wouldn’t be where I am blog wise today. I met her by chance on a flight and her blog was the first one I ever read. I’ve become a lot more supermarket savvy and frugal since meeting her. I also love the fact that she’s now covering travel too, saving people money wherever they go in the world.
- All Aboard the Skylark and On the Luce – I love a good travel blog, inspires me to discover more about what there is to do and see in the UK and brings the rest of the world to my sofa. Lots of Lucy’s posts in particular remind me of my days working as cabin crew for British Airways as I had great fun travelling the world.
What’s next for you?
I’m really ambitious blog wise. I really hope that I can encourage people to share their customer service experiences and that I can raise awareness of some of the issues I cover in my blog. Ideally I’d like to be in a position where companies will come to me to ask for help and advice as to how they can improve the quality of customer service they provide. I’d also love to be a cult media icon on Twitter with thousands and thousands of followers.
Thanks to Lady Janey for being November’s blogger of the month!
You can follow her customer service stories at Lady Janey or on Twitter and Facebook.