What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Kelly Swainston says the team now starts reviews from the brain, mainly for returns. About eight of 40 Growth users are active and there are no tickets. The term runs to 3 Apr 2026, and she has not yet committed to adding site ops managers.
What happened: Marcus Bell ran a usage check-in on 2025-09-17. Kelly reported steady use for returns reviews, no connector problems and no helpdesk tickets that month.
Customer view: Kelly says the brain joins orders, returns tickets and review notes. She claims returns problems were spotted before brands raised them at least a couple of times, but has not yet supplied an example.
Commercial: The contract is Growth with 40 users, and about eight are regularly active, so there is headroom. Kelly was wary of bringing in the two sites' ops managers and put the decision off until after a review.
Watch: The term runs to 3 Apr 2026, with the renewal date on 4 Apr 2026. The value case depends on Kelly sending the returns example she promised.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Kelly to send Marcus a few lines on the returns example by the end of that week.
- Marcus to send the usage summary and check-in times, and help build the value case before renewal.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Value is stated in general terms, and the returns example Kelly promised has not yet been supplied.
- Kelly is hesitant about extending access to the site ops managers, so wider adoption may stall.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- About eight of 40 Growth users are active, so the ops managers on the two sites are a clear expansion route.
Transcript
- Marcus Bell NoneHi Kelly, can you hear me alright?
- Kelly Swainston NoneLoud and clear. Morning, Marcus. Sorry, I've got a service review pack open in the other window, I'm halfway through it.
- Marcus Bell NoneNo problem at all. Is that for one of the brands?
- Kelly Swainston NoneOne of the bigger ones, yes. Returns are the whole story this time, so I'm trying to get the facts straight before I walk in. Anyway, you go. What have you got for me?
- Marcus Bell NoneRight, I'll share my screen, bear with me. Can you see it? It should be the usage page.
- Kelly Swainston NoneYep, I see it. Lots of green, that's a good start.
- Marcus Bell NoneHa, yes. I've pulled the numbers for the last quarter and I think it's a good story. I want to cover three things: how people are using it, anything that's got in your way, and what's coming up between now and the renewal. Half an hour should do it.
- Kelly Swainston NoneSounds good. Usage first.
- Marcus Bell NoneSo the number of people active in a typical month is up by about a fifth on the quarter before. On average it's about eight people in there, which for a team of client managers is a healthy core.
- Kelly Swainston NoneEight, yeah, that sounds right. That's the client managers and a couple of the team leads. I'd say they're in there before every review now.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's what I was hoping you'd say. What are they actually doing in there? I can see a lot of questions being asked, but I can't see why.
- Kelly Swainston NoneIt's the returns mostly. Before, someone would pull returns tickets from one place, orders from another, and the last review notes were in a document somewhere. Now they ask what the brand saw over the last month and it puts the orders, the returns tickets and the review notes together. Returns first, then orders, that's how we go through it.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight, that's exactly what you bought it for. Do they trust it?
- Kelly Swainston NoneMostly. There was a bit of "is this up to date?" early on, but it refreshes overnight and now they just check it in the morning and get on with it. Nobody's grumbled for a while.
- Marcus Bell NoneGood. And that matches the helpdesk, you haven't raised anything with us this month. Nothing at all.
- Kelly Swainston NoneQuiet is good, isn't it?
- Marcus Bell NoneQuiet is very good, yes. Though sometimes quiet means nobody's using it, so I like to check. Here it's the opposite, usage is climbing and there's nothing in the queue.
- Kelly Swainston NoneFair. Mm.
- Marcus Bell NoneSo you're licensed for forty on Growth, and about eight are regularly active. I'm not saying you need to fill them, but there's room. Is there anyone else who should be in there? Ops, finance, anyone who sits in the reviews?
- Kelly Swainston NoneHm. The ops managers on the two sites would benefit, honestly. They get asked about returns after the fact and they're always going on what the client manager tells them. I've been a bit wary, because I don't want it turning into a blame thing. I never walk into a review blaming the floor without the data.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's fair, and it's sort of the point, isn't it? If they've got the same facts you have, the conversation's easier.
- Kelly Swainston NoneYeah. Yeah, maybe. Let's take the facts to the review and see how it lands, then I'll think about the sites.
- Marcus Bell NoneHappy to jump on a call with them if that helps, show them round. Half an hour, no slides.
- Kelly Swainston NoneLet me come back to you on that. What else have you got?
- Marcus Bell NoneNext, anything that's got in your way? A connector that's been awkward, anything you wish it did?
- Kelly Swainston NoneNot really. I did wish finding the older review notes was a bit quicker, but that's me being picky.
- Marcus Bell NoneOlder as in last year, or last quarter?
- Kelly Swainston NoneLast year, I was going to say. But we only came on in April, so, no. Right. It's really not that old, is it?
- Marcus Bell NoneNo, you started in the spring, so it's about five months of history, give or take. It gets richer as it goes. The longer it runs, the more useful the history is.
- Kelly Swainston NoneGood point. I'll stop moaning then.
- Marcus Bell NoneYou weren't moaning! Okay, so the renewal. I won't go on, but I want it on your radar. Your term runs to 3 Apr 2026, and the renewal date is 4 Apr 2026. Sophie Ling is your account owner, she'll pick up the commercial side nearer the time, and I'll keep doing the usage side.
- Kelly Swainston NoneRight, Sophie. Is there anything I need to do before then?
- Marcus Bell NoneNot really. The useful thing is to be able to say what it's worth to you, in your own words, the sort of thing you'd say to whoever signs it off. That's what I'll help you pull together over the winter.
- Kelly Swainston NoneWorth is easy. The reviews start from the facts now. I can tell you the returns problems got spotted before the brand raised them at least a couple of times. That never happened before.
- Marcus Bell NoneCan you give me one? I'd like to put it in the notes, with your permission.
- Kelly Swainston NoneI'd have to dig it out. The one I'm thinking of was a run of returns on one of the brands, and we saw it in the tickets before they emailed us. I'll find the detail.
- Marcus Bell NoneLovely, that's exactly it. Send me a few lines when you've got a minute and I'll fold it into the summary.
- Kelly Swainston NoneWill do. Not today, I've got this pack. End of the week, probably.
- Marcus Bell NoneNo rush. Shall we book half an hour for a proper check-in nearer the end of the year?
- Kelly Swainston NoneYes, put something in. Not the week the pack's due, though, I'll be no use to anyone.
- Marcus Bell NoneHa, noted. I'll send a few times.
- Kelly Swainston NoneActually, can I ask something while I've got you? When I ask it what the brand saw, sometimes the answer's long. Is there a way to get it shorter, something I can drop straight into a review pack?
- Marcus Bell NoneYes, you can tell it what shape you want. Let me show you. I'll type it in here: what did the brand see in the last month, returns first, as a short list for a service review.
- Marcus Bell NoneThere. Returns first, then orders, then anything from the last review. And the tickets are underneath each point, so you can click through.
- Kelly Swainston NoneOh, that's nicer. That's actually what I'd want. Can you make it the same shape every time?
- Marcus Bell NoneIf you save the wording, yes, and the others can use it too. I'd suggest you write the wording and share it with the client managers, so everyone's reviews look alike.
- Kelly Swainston NoneI like that. It makes the team share what they've got rather than everyone doing their own thing. That's half the battle with client managers, honestly.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's the sort of thing I love to hear. Try it on this pack and tell me how it goes.
- Kelly Swainston NoneRight, okay, I will. I might ring you if it goes sideways.
- Marcus Bell NonePlease do. Or just message. I'll send the usage summary over after this, with the notes.
- Marcus Bell NoneJust one more thing: if anything ever looks stale, a source that seems to have stopped updating, tell us early. Most often it's because somebody changed something in the source system.
- Kelly Swainston NoneWill do. Nothing so far.
- Marcus Bell NoneBrilliant. So, to recap: I send the usage summary and some times for a check-in, you send me a few lines on the returns example, and you have a go at the saved wording on the pack.
- Kelly Swainston NoneAnd I'll think about the site ops managers. After the review.
- Marcus Bell NonePerfect. Anything else from you?
- Kelly Swainston NoneNo, that's me. Good call, Marcus, that was useful.
- Marcus Bell NoneThanks, Kelly. Good luck with the pack. Speak soon.
- Kelly Swainston NoneCheers, bye.