Paul Kamlesh’s business Copybox enables offices, schools, and other workplaces in and around Bedfordshire to reliably do what they couldn’t survive without: printing, scanning, and photocopying.
Now in its sixth year under Paul’s leadership, Copybox supplies, rents, leases, installs, repairs, services, and delivers technical support for these business-critical machines, as a managed print service that is flexible and cost-effective.
We caught up with Paul to find out more, and to hear some great things from him about Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce membership.
It’s all about the customer
Paul’s previous 30-year-plus background as an engineer with market leader Panasonic instilled in him a high regard for customer service and brand reputation – the two being closely interlinked.
“It’s not about selling what makes most money,” he says. “I’m a technical guy, a problem-solver – so I see the customer’s problem, come up with possible solutions, and fit the final solution to what I know about the customer’s needs and priorities.”
“I won’t sell, charge for, or include in a contract anything that doesn’t benefit the customer – that’s the honourable tradition I was trained in, and when I came to Copybox I vowed to carry it on.”
Stellar service from a local specialist
Paul is Bedfordshire-born and bred, and Copybox supports many local organisations, including Bedford Blues Rugby Club and Bedfordshire County Cricket Club. It also started a tree-planting programme at the Forest of Marston Vale.
But for Paul, the local touch is not just about being nearby and available; it’s about cultivating close and accommodating relationships with his customer base that a national provider just couldn’t.
“We pride ourselves on really knowing our customers,” he says, “to the point where we instantly understand what impact a certain issue has on any customer’s operation, and can accurately prioritise the response.”
“For our customers in regulated industry businesses like legal practices or solicitors’ offices, for example, that still rely heavily on printed documents, a broken printer or copier can be catastrophic.”
He likens his customers’ contact with him to “a tap on the shoulder”. They call him and his team on a mobile number whenever they need them - no call centres, no queues – and they get the advice they’re looking for, or the help they need, as quickly as it’s possible to provide it.
All this, he says, contributes to customer confidence - something Copybox enjoys in spades, given that a good 90% of its customers have been coming back to Paul for over 20 years!
“I put myself in the customer’s shoes,” he says, “and ask myself ‘How would I want to be helped in similar circumstances?’”
“Service, in our industry, will always be the decider.”
Championing the benefits of Chamber membership
Paul states candidly that membership of the Chamber has afforded Copybox much favourable exposure, and created “a lot of opportunities” through its networking programmes.
The Chamber team, he notes, is helpful and highly engaged, and this has resulted in new business on numerous occasions. “We request an introduction to a prospect from them, we get that introduction, and we start doing business shortly thereafter – that’s often how it works.”
But with his understanding of reputational value, Paul also says that being able to use the Chamber’s logo – which Copybox puts on everything it does – conveys “more clout”, and “adds credibility” to the company’s offering.
And just as with the rugby, the cricket, and the tree-planting, for Paul, Chamber membership is about local pride again - the association with, and support of, the good the county is capable of.
“I am proud that we are part of the Bedfordshire Chamber” he declares – and it’s clear that he is.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of Chamber membership, call us on (01582) 522448.
