Oxford: Shaw Gibbs financial services gets star billing

Oxford-based Shaw Gibbs financial services has been named this week’s Shopper’s Choice by FT Financial Adviser’s Mystery Shopper after it called the firm with a question about about life insurance.

Ed Gibson, who heads up Shaw Gibbs financial services division, said:  “I’m pleased that we have received such a great outcome. At Shaw Gibbs we believe strongly in the benefits of talking through financial matters either on the phone or in person in an expert and professional manner, whether the query comes from an existing or a potential client. The mystery shopper rating reflects our commitment to having an excellent reputation for client care and for employing the best people ”

Each week the FT Financial Adviser’s Mystery Shopper calls independent advisers in a different UK region to find out how financial advisory firms handle calls from potential new clients. The ‘Shopper’ then reports on this crucial first phone interview, giving scores for key elements such as speed of response, quality of guidance given and level of knowledge of the advisor.

The Mystery Shopper presents a different scenario for their requirements each week. This time the caller said she had recently returned to full-time employment as a graphic designer. She wanted to find out her options for getting life insurance and income protection. She is married with two young children, and has a joint repayment mortgage with her husband with 22 years left on the mortgage term.

The Shopper’s call was answered quickly by the Shaw Gibbs receptionist and passed to the firm’s Mortgage Consultant Ed Batty, who picked up straight away.

After discussing her requirements with Gibson at some length, the Mystery Shopper gave him an impressive final score of 34 out of 35.  She said she found him to be ‘….knowledgeable and helpful on the phone…. ‘ and she ‘…felt very comfortable speaking to him about her circumstances.’

Shaw Gibbs was named Shopper’s Choice over two independent financial advisers in Aylesbury and Woodstock and benchmarked against national insurance provider Vitality.