Harrowden Foods / BG-Demo – Onboarding
Callcompleted
Harrowden Foods · 21 Jan 2026 10:30
Second onboarding call with Gemma Holt on 21 Jan 2026. CRM and helpdesk are loading, accounting waits on IT, and Gemma is the only admin. Customer service roll-out fits inside the included users. Sentiment is warm.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Second onboarding call with Gemma Holt on 21 Jan 2026. CRM and helpdesk are loading, accounting waits on IT, and Gemma is the only admin. Customer service roll-out fits inside the included users. Sentiment is warm.
What happened: Hamza Akhtar reviewed connectors, ownership and roll-out with Gemma Holt. An account manager had a full retailer picture in about ten minutes using chat.
Customer view: Gemma said the reason they bought was so commercial insights and customer service see the same retailer accounts. She says the rollout has been smoother than expected.
Commercial: Customer service, about half a dozen people, fits inside the included users, so no extra user spend is needed now. Gemma asked about add-on costs and will take any figure to her director.
Watch: The accounting connector is configured but waiting on a service account from IT. Gemma is the only admin, and a second admin name was promised by the end of the following week.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Connectors, admins, user roll-out
Importance
praise
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Hamza Akhtar to send IT the service account wording for accounting, and Gemma Holt to forward it and name who picks it up.
- Gemma Holt to give Hamza the name of a second admin by the end of the following week.
- Hamza Akhtar to run the first account manager session and ask Lewis Kerr to send Gemma the add-on options.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Gemma is the only admin, so leave or reassignment would block new users and source reconnects.
- The accounting connector is configured but not loading until IT provides a service account.
- Retailer name variants and patchy CRM entry could undermine trust if answers look wrong early.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Customer service roll-out would put complaints and orders together for the team that handles retailer calls.
- Call recorder and shared drive are planned as phase two connectors within the Growth connector limit.
- Add-on options for extra users and connectors are available if usage grows beyond the plan.
Transcript
Gemma HoltHello? Hamza, can you hear me? I've got the little wheel going round.
Hamza AkhtarYes, loud and clear. Morning, Gemma. Can you hear me all right?- Gemma HoltPerfect, yeah. Morning. Sorry, I was on the other line with one of the account managers, they were in the car and the signal was terrible.
- Hamza AkhtarNo problem at all, I've only just joined myself. How's the week been?
- Gemma HoltBusy, but good busy. Actually, I'll tell you something. Last week one of our account managers had a retailer review coming up, and normally that's a day of pulling bits together. Service complaints from one place, order volumes from another. She just asked the brain, and had the whole picture in about ten minutes.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's great to hear, and it's only the first few weeks. Was that the pages or the chat?
- Gemma HoltThe chat. She just typed it like she'd talk to a colleague. The account managers love it, honestly. I had two of them messaging me afterwards asking what else it could do.
- Hamza AkhtarBrilliant. Well, that's a nice way into today, because what I'd like to do is make sure we've got a proper plan for the rest of the onboarding, so that more of that happens and less of it depends on you being the one answering questions.
- Gemma HoltYes, please. That's me, I'm the help desk at the moment.
- Hamza AkhtarHa. Right. So, roughly, I thought we'd do three things. First, where we are on the connectors, what's live and what's still to come. Second, who owns what on your side, because that's the thing that tends to slip. Third, the rollout to users, who comes on next and how. Does that work?
- Gemma HoltThat works. Can I add a fourth at the end? Customer service.
- Hamza AkhtarOf course. I had a feeling that was coming.
- Gemma HoltIt's been on my mind since the start, really. The whole reason we bought this was so commercial insights and customer service could see the same retailer accounts. Right now it's mostly my side using it.
- Hamza AkhtarUnderstood. Let's get through the first three and then give it proper time. Let me share my screen so you can see the plan. Can you see that?
- Gemma HoltI can see a spreadsheet. Is that the one you sent over?
- Hamza AkhtarThat's the one, yes. So you're on Growth, forty seats, and the plan allows up to eight connectors. Of those, the CRM and the helpdesk are already loaded and indexing. Those two went in first because they were the ones you cared about most.
- Gemma HoltRight. And the accounting system?
- Hamza AkhtarThat's the next one. It's configured but not loading yet, because we're waiting on a service account from your side. Do you know who that would be?
- Gemma HoltMm. That'll be IT. We've got a small IT team at the Leicester site and one person looks after most of that. I can chase. Is it a form or do they just need an email?
- Hamza AkhtarAn email is fine, I'll send you the wording so they know exactly what permissions we're asking for. It's read-only, nothing gets written back. Honestly, if I send it as a short note you can forward it as it is.
- Gemma HoltPerfect. Do that and I'll forward it straight away.
- Hamza AkhtarGood. Then there's the call recorder and the shared drive. I'd treat those as phase two. They add a lot, but I'd rather we get the structured systems solid first, so people trust the answers.
- Gemma HoltYeah, fine by me. Trust is the thing. If someone gets one wrong number early on, they'll go back to their spreadsheet and never come back.
- Hamza AkhtarExactly that. Which is a good point to talk about the nightly refresh, actually. Everything refreshes overnight and should be complete by seven in the morning, your time, on business days. So when the account managers open it at eight, it's yesterday's close.
- Gemma HoltOkay, good. They'd be looking first thing, particularly the ones who've got retailer calls early. Some of them start at half seven in the car.
- Hamza AkhtarThen it's worth telling them what the cut-off means. If something's loaded after the nightly run it won't show until the next morning. It's a small thing but it saves a lot of questions.
- Gemma HoltI'll put it in the note I send round. Is there a way to see when it last refreshed?
- Hamza AkhtarYes, there's a last-updated stamp on each source in the admin view. I'll show you in a moment, it's on the sources page.
- Gemma HoltLovely.
- Hamza AkhtarOkay, I've got the admin view up. See the list down the left? Each of those is a source. Green means it's loading and the records count is going up. If it's amber, it's loaded but nothing has changed in a while, which is worth a look.
- Gemma HoltAnd what does flat mean in practice? Like if nobody's added any records for a few days?
- Hamza AkhtarGood question. Over a weekend flat is normal. Over a couple of weeks on something like the helpdesk, it usually means something has changed upstream. Someone's renamed a field, or a connection's been reset. We'd see it, but you might see it first, so it's worth glancing at now and then.
- Gemma HoltRight, so it's me glancing at it. Who else should have admin? Because it's just me at the moment, isn't it?
- Hamza AkhtarIt's just you, yes. And that's the second thing I wanted to raise. I'd really like a second admin. Not because anything's wrong, but if you're on leave or you get pulled onto something else, someone needs to be able to approve a new user or reconnect a source.
- Gemma HoltFair. I'd been thinking that. It would have to be someone with a bit of data sense. One of the analysts in my team, probably. They're sharp and they like fiddling with things.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's exactly the profile. Could you let me have a name by the end of next week? I'll set them up and give them a short walkthrough, twenty minutes, nothing heavy.
- Gemma HoltYes, I'll get you a name. I'll ask her today, actually, before I forget.
- Hamza AkhtarBrilliant. Now, owners. Let me go through who I think owns what, and you tell me where I'm wrong. You're the overall owner on your side, the day-to-day contact. IT own access and the service accounts. Who owns the data quality in the CRM? Because the brain is only as clean as what goes in.
- Gemma HoltOoh. That's a fair one. In theory the account managers own their own accounts. In practice it's a bit patchy. Some of them are lovely and tidy, some of them put things in a notes field and never touch it again.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's incredibly common, so don't worry. It's not a blocker. What I'd suggest is you pick one or two fields that matter most for the retailer view and agree a rule. Retailer name spelled the same way, the site, that sort of thing.
- Gemma HoltRetailer names, yes. We've got one supermarket that appears three different ways. I've seen it. The brain actually showed it to me, which was a bit embarrassing.
- Hamza AkhtarHa, that's the brain doing its job. We can merge those on our side as a one-off, and then you hold the line going forward. I'll note it as an action for me. You send me the variants and I'll tidy it.
- Gemma HoltDeal. I'll list them out this afternoon.
- Hamza AkhtarLovely. Right, third thing, user rollout. At the moment, from what I can see in the admin view, you've got a handful of people active on a typical day. Under five, really.
- Gemma HoltThat sounds about right. It's me, a couple of the account managers, and one of the analysts. The rest I've held back a bit, because I didn't want to let everyone loose before it was sorted.
- Hamza AkhtarSensible instinct, and I wouldn't change that too quickly. But you've got forty seats and the plan's built for several teams, so there's a lot of room. What's your thinking on order?
- Gemma HoltSo, the account managers first, all of them, because they're the ones with the retailer reviews. There's one for each of the big supermarkets. Then customer service. Then maybe someone from the planning side later, because they'd like to see orders against complaints.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's a good order. I'd do the account managers in two waves rather than all at once. Half the group first, with a short session, then pick up their questions, then the second half. You get your champions in the first wave and they help the others.
- Gemma HoltYes. Yes, I like that. The two who messaged me can go first, they'll be fine. They'll basically train the rest for you.
- Hamza AkhtarThen I'd propose a one-hour session for each wave, on their own data, retailer by retailer. Not a feature tour. Just: here's the review you do every quarter, here's how you'd get it from the brain.
- Gemma HoltPerfect, that's how they'll actually listen. Show them their own supermarket and they'll be glued.
- Hamza AkhtarExactly. When could the first wave be? I'm thinking in the next couple of weeks, if your diary allows.
- Gemma HoltLet me look. Hang on, let me open the calendar.
- Gemma HoltSorry, that took a minute. So, the account managers are mostly out visiting stores the start of next week. The back half of the week is much better. Thursday morning?
- Hamza AkhtarThursday morning works for me. I'll send an invite and you can forward it to the first group. Let's say an hour, and I'll ask them to bring one real question each.
- Gemma HoltLove that. Real question. They'll all have one.
- Hamza AkhtarGood. Now, customer service. Tell me what you've got in mind. Who would use it, and for what?
- Gemma HoltSo, the customer service team take the calls and emails from the retailers when something's wrong. A late delivery, a short-dated batch, a complaint. And right now they're flicking between the helpdesk and the order system and asking us. If they could just ask the brain, 'what's the history on this retailer this month', that'd save them ages.
- Hamza AkhtarAnd that's the combination you bought it for. Complaints and orders together.
- Gemma HoltExactly. And the lead for customer service has asked me twice already. She's keen. She's seen what the account managers get and she wants it.
- Hamza AkhtarHow many people are we talking about in that team?
- Gemma HoltA small group, about half a dozen. Maybe a few more at peak. Can we get them on? I mean, within what we've got?
- Hamza AkhtarLet me think it through properly. You've got forty seats. Account managers, a handful. The analysts, a couple. Customer service, half a dozen. Planning, a few. That fits comfortably inside forty with room to spare, so it shouldn't cost anything extra for users.
- Gemma HoltOh, that's good. I was bracing for a bill.
- Hamza AkhtarNo, you're well inside what's licensed. What would change the picture is if you wanted a lot more sources connected, because eight is the cap on the plan. But for now you're not close to it.
- Gemma HoltRight. And what would it cost to add more, if we ever did? Just so I know.
- Hamza AkhtarI don't want to guess a number, that's Lewis's side, your account owner. There are add-ons for extra users and extra connectors, so it's not a big conversation. I'll ask him to send you the options so you have them to hand, no pressure.
- Gemma HoltGood, thank you. I'd have to take it to my director anyway. I don't buy anything on my own. Not that I'm allowed to, anyway.
- Hamza AkhtarHa, understood. And Amara, your customer success manager, will pick up the usage side once we're through onboarding, so she'll be able to show your director what the team's getting out of it.
- Gemma HoltThat'll help. He likes a chart.
- Hamza AkhtarEveryone likes a chart. Okay, so for customer service, my suggestion is we don't just switch them on. Their questions are different from the account managers'. They want recent, specific, this-retailer-this-week. So I'd do a session for them with their own examples.
- Gemma HoltTheir lead could give you a few. The sort of thing that comes up every day.
- Hamza AkhtarThat'd be perfect. If she can send me three or four typical situations, I'll build the session around them. And before then, I'd check the helpdesk data is clean enough, because that's going to be their main source.
- Gemma HoltIt's been quiet on tickets with you guys, hasn't it? I haven't had to raise anything.
- Hamza AkhtarNothing at all, which is what I like to see in the first weeks. No problems raised, nothing waiting. If anything does come up, even something small, just say. Don't sit on it.
- Gemma HoltI never do. If something's off I tell people. Probably too much, if you ask my team.
- Hamza AkhtarThat's the right way round. Right, let me just check I've got the actions down, because there's a few. Stay with me.
- Hamza AkhtarOne: I send you the wording for IT, for the accounting system service account, today. You forward it and let me know who picks it up. Two: you get me a name for the second admin by the end of next week. Three: you send me the retailer name variants, and I merge them.
- Gemma HoltYep. Yep. And yep.
- Hamza AkhtarFour: I send an invite for Thursday morning, first wave of account managers, an hour. Five: customer service lead sends me a few typical situations, and I plan their session. Six: I ask Lewis to send you the add-on options, for your information.
- Gemma HoltThat's six. That's fine. I can do my bit of that by tomorrow.
- Hamza AkhtarBrilliant. Is there anything that's worrying you about the rollout? Anything I haven't asked?
- Gemma HoltOnly that the answers need to be right. That's it, really. I trust it so far, but the minute someone gets something odd, I'll be fielding it. Is there a way people can flag a bad answer?
- Hamza AkhtarThere is, there's a thumbs-down on each answer, and it lets them say what was wrong. It comes to you as admin, and to us. I'd encourage everyone to use it, early on especially. It's how we spot a source that's off.
- Gemma HoltGood. I'll make a point of saying that in the session. Use the thumbs-down, don't just grumble.
- Hamza AkhtarHa, yes. Grumbling is fine, but grumble through the thumb.
- Gemma HoltRight, I'll put that on a mug.
- Hamza AkhtarWell. I think that's us. Thanks, Gemma. This has been really useful, and it sounds like you've got real momentum on your side.
- Gemma HoltThanks, Hamza. Honestly, it's been a lot smoother than I expected. Speak soon, yeah? I'll send that name over.
- Hamza AkhtarSpeak soon. Cheers, bye.
- Gemma HoltBye, bye.
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