Harrowden Foods / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Harrowden Foods · 12 May 2026 11:45
On 12 May 2026 Harrowden Foods said all 40 Growth seats are in use and customer service, about a dozen people, is still waiting for access. Gemma Holt wants a written option she can forward for sign-off.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026On 12 May 2026 Harrowden Foods said all 40 Growth seats are in use and customer service, about a dozen people, is still waiting for access. Gemma Holt wants a written option she can forward for sign-off.
What happened: Amara Obi ran a check-in with Gemma Holt and Kelly Sharpe. Gemma opened with a retailer review answered in twenty minutes, and usage was described as broadening across the account managers.
Customer view: Kelly's customer service team has been promised access for weeks and only she has a login. She wants to see complaint patterns before a retailer phones.
Commercial: all forty seats are assigned, and Amara will take two written options for added users to Lewis. Gemma cannot approve spend herself, so the sign-off person needs something to read.
Watch: the second site changed how it logs goods-in in spring, and Amara will have engineers check the data. The second site's quality team and the planners are possible later asks, and the renewal is 5 Jan 2027.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Full seats, service team waiting
Importance
upsell
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Amara Obi to send Gemma Holt the lightly used seat list privately and two written options for added users early next week.
- Amara Obi to have engineers check the second site's goods-in data and email Gemma this week.
- Amara Obi to draft the customer service access split for Kelly Sharpe to check before anyone is switched on.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Customer service has waited weeks for access, so goodwill could wear thin if the written options slip.
- A change to goods-in logging at the second site could have quietly broken a field in the order data.
- Spend needs approval from a sign-off person who was not on the call.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- About a dozen customer service users would need added Growth users in blocks of ten, plus a short training session.
- The second site's quality team and later the planners may want access, which could mean more seats or connectors.
Transcript
Amara ObiHello, can you hear me all right?
Gemma HoltYep, loud and clear. Morning, Amara.- Amara ObiMorning! I think Kelly's in the lobby, so let me let her in. There we go.
Kelly SharpeSorry, sorry, I was stuck on the tail end of another call. Can you hear me?- Amara ObiPerfectly. Hi Kelly, good to have you on. You're not late, we've only just started.
- Kelly SharpeGood. My camera's being slow, so I'll stay audio only for a minute if that's fine.
- Gemma HoltYou're not missing much. Honestly it's been one of those mornings, it's absolutely chucking it down in Leicester.
- Amara ObiSame up here, I came in drenched. Right, thanks both for making the time. I know the diary at your end is never quiet.
- Amara ObiQuick reminder of who I am for Kelly, since we've only exchanged a couple of emails. I'm Amara, I'm the customer success manager looking after Harrowden. My job is to make sure you're getting something out of the brain, and to hear from me before you have to chase.
- Kelly SharpeYes, I remember, thanks. Gemma's been telling me about it for months, to be fair.
- Gemma HoltI have. Can I start with a win, actually? Because it's a good one.
- Amara ObiPlease do. I love a win.
- Gemma HoltSo one of the supermarkets we supply came back last week with a review request. Basically they wanted to know why our fill rate on the chilled ready meals dipped over a couple of weeks. In the old days that's a two-day job. Somebody pulls orders, somebody else pulls the complaints log, and then you argue about whose spreadsheet is right.
- Gemma HoltI asked the brain. Orders, the service complaints and the account notes, all in one answer. Twenty minutes, and the account manager walked into the review with the story already written.
- Amara ObiThat's exactly what it's for. And that's a retailer review where you were ahead of them instead of behind.
- Gemma HoltAhead of them, yeah. The account managers love it, I keep saying that. They've stopped asking me for reports.
- Amara ObiBrilliant. Okay, so here's what the numbers say, and then I want to hear what good looks like for you for the rest of this year. I'll share my screen. Can you see it?
- Kelly SharpeNot yet. Oh, there it is.
- Amara ObiGreat. So this is the last quarter against the one before. Questions asked in the brain have climbed a lot, and the number of people actually asking them has nearly doubled. That's the part I care about most. It's not just one person asking everything, it's spread across the account managers.
- Gemma HoltThat'll be the account managers, yes. A few of them are on it every day now, which I did not expect at the start.
- Amara ObiAnd the other thing I wanted to flag. You're on forty licensed users on Growth, and all forty seats are now assigned and in use. No spare ones sitting idle.
- Gemma HoltRight. Which is great, but it's also, um, the problem.
- Kelly SharpeYes. It's the problem for my team.
- Amara ObiGo on, Kelly. Tell me what's happening on your side.
- Kelly SharpeSo, I run customer service. We've got a small team that deals with retailer complaints, short deliveries, date code queries, that kind of thing. At the moment, when a retailer rings about a late delivery, my people are looking in three places. Our order system, the complaints inbox and the helpdesk. And Gemma's team can already see all of that in one go.
- Kelly SharpeI've got one login, which is mine, and Gemma kindly set that up. But the rest of the team are waiting. I've been telling them for weeks it's coming, and I'm starting to feel like I'm making it up.
- Gemma HoltIt's not you, it's me. I did say to Kelly right at the beginning, can we get customer service on. And then the account managers filled up the seats and I never went back to it.
- Amara ObiDon't beat yourself up. Honestly, this is a nice problem to have. It means the first group took to it. But I don't want your service team waiting any longer than they have to. How many people are we talking about, Kelly?
- Kelly SharpeOn the main team there's, um, let me count properly. Two shift leads and the agents. So about a dozen if I want everyone on, but honestly I'd start with the shift leads and a few of the more experienced ones.
- Amara ObiOkay. About a dozen. I'm going to say that back so I've got it right. Customer service wants roughly twelve people on, and the shift leads are the priority.
- Kelly SharpeThat's it, yes.
- Gemma HoltCan I ask the obvious one? What would it cost to add them? Because I'm not going to pretend I can just say yes on the call. Anything that costs money goes past the person who signs off spend here, and he'll want to see what we're getting.
- Amara ObiFair, and I'd expect that. So there are a couple of ways to do it. One is to add users as an add-on, in blocks of ten, on top of the forty you've got. Two is to look at whether some of the existing seats are used lightly and free those up.
- Gemma HoltIs there any light usage? I'd have thought they're all busy.
- Amara ObiGive me a sec. Let me scroll. Okay, so, most of the seats are active every week, and there's a small tail that logged in a handful of times and drifted off. That's pretty normal. I wouldn't count on reclaiming enough for twelve people, though. Maybe a few.
- Gemma HoltA few's still something. Who are they? Don't read names out, I'll feel bad.
- Amara ObiI'll send the list to you privately after this, not on the call. That's easier.
- Gemma HoltPerfect.
- Kelly SharpeCan I ask something slightly different? Is it the same kind of access? What would my agents actually see, if they got on? Because I don't want them seeing everything the account managers see, especially pricing and the commercial notes.
- Amara ObiGood question, and it's the right one to ask before rolling anything out. Access can be set by group. So customer service could see orders, complaints and the helpdesk, and not the commercial side if you don't want it. We'd agree that with you up front and I'd write it down so nobody has to guess.
- Kelly SharpeThat would put my mind at rest. Some of the agents are quite new.
- Amara ObiThen we'd start small. Shift leads first, a couple of weeks, see how it goes, then the rest of the team.
- Gemma HoltThat's sensible. I like that.
- Amara ObiBefore I forget, on the support side. I can see one ticket from you in the last month and it's closed. Nothing urgent, nothing high priority. Is there anything that's been annoying you that never made it into a ticket?
- Gemma HoltNo, I don't think so. The one was just a how-to, wasn't it? Something about saving a question so you can run it again.
- Amara ObiThat's the one. Answered, closed, you were happy. Good.
- Gemma HoltHonestly it's been quiet. Which for us is a good sign. When something's wrong I tell you. I'm not one for sitting on a problem.
- Amara ObiI know, and I appreciate that. Another thing I wanted to check is freshness. Nightly refresh should be done by seven each working morning. Has anybody opened it in the morning and found yesterday's orders missing?
- Kelly SharpeNot that I've noticed. We start at seven for the first shift and it's always been there. Well, there was one Monday where it felt a bit slow but I think that was our own network.
- Amara ObiOkay. I'm not seeing a gap on my side either, so that fits. If it happens again tell me the day and the time, because that helps us a lot.
- Kelly SharpeWill do.
- Amara ObiRight, so let me ask the question I always like to ask. What does good look like for you between now and the end of the year? I don't mean the contract, I mean what would make you say, yes, that was worth it.
- Gemma HoltOoh. Right. So for me, it's the retailer reviews. If every account manager walks into every review already knowing the answers, that's it. And then, number two, that customer service stops finding out about problems from the retailer. If Kelly's team can see a complaint trend before the buyer phones, that's a big shift.
- Kelly SharpeYes, that is exactly it. At the moment I'm reactive. A retailer rings, I scramble. I would like to see the pattern first. Two or three complaints about the same product on the same site, that's not a coincidence, and I'd like to know on the Tuesday and not the Friday.
- Amara ObiThat's a really clear picture. And it's something we can actually measure. We could look at how long it takes your team to answer a retailer query now, and see if it shortens once they're on. Would you be able to give me a rough starting point?
- Kelly SharpeI could ask my shift leads what a typical one takes. It won't be exact.
- Amara ObiRough is fine. Rough, written down now, is better than exact in six months.
- Kelly SharpeFair enough. I'll do that this week.
- Gemma HoltAnd can I add a third thing? Although it's a bit cheeky.
- Amara ObiCheeky is welcome.
- Gemma HoltWe've got two sites, as you know, and the second site's quality team keep asking me if they could see some of the same things. I haven't really got a view yet on whether that's a proper request or a passing comment. But I wanted to put it on the table.
- Amara ObiNoted. I'll treat that as a maybe and not a request, so there's no pressure. When it firms up, tell me and we'll look at whether it's more seats, more connectors, or just a different permission set. Who else should have access, in your view? Apart from quality?
- Gemma HoltHm. Probably the planners eventually. But that's a longer conversation, let's do customer service first.
- Amara ObiAgreed. One thing at a time. Customer service first, done properly.
- Kelly SharpeAmara, sorry, can I ask about the helpdesk bit? We use the helpdesk for all complaint tickets. Is that already connected, or would that be something extra?
- Amara ObiLet me double check what's switched on for you. Okay. Yes, the helpdesk is connected and it's loading, records are going up week on week, so that's healthy. Your agents would see the same tickets that Gemma's team can already search.
- Kelly SharpeOh good. So there's no new build. It's literally people and permissions.
- Amara ObiPeople and permissions. That's why I'm confident we can move quickly. The only thing that's not quick is the commercial conversation, and that's not on you, that's on the process.
- Gemma HoltWhich is where I need a number I can show. Roughly. What's the shape of it?
- Amara ObiI don't want to throw a figure at you off the cuff and then get it wrong, so here's what I'll do. I'll speak to Lewis, who looks after the commercial side of your account, and I'll come back with one option for adding a block of users, and one option that's a bit smaller, using the seats we free up. Both written down, both simple. Then you've got something to put in front of your sign-off person.
- Gemma HoltThat's what I need. Something I can forward.
- Amara ObiAnd so you've got the context. Today you're contracted at fifty thousand a year on Growth, and what's been invoiced matches that. So there's nothing odd going on with the billing, and nothing overdue as far as I can see.
- Gemma HoltYeah, finance would shout at me if there was. That's been smooth.
- Amara ObiGood. And the renewal is the fifth of January next year, so 5 Jan 2027 on my sheet. That's still a way off, but it's worth saying out loud, because if we get the extra users sorted now, then the renewal conversation is about a bigger, healthier account, and not a surprise.
- Gemma HoltRight. That makes sense. So better to sort the users now and not have it all land at renewal.
- Amara ObiExactly. I'd rather you hear about it from me in good time. We'll get a proper review in the diary nearer the date, and I'll start the renewal conversation well before the notice period, not at the last minute.
- Kelly SharpeWill there be any change to how it's priced when it renews? Gemma mentioned something once. I don't know whether it was this or a different supplier.
- Amara ObiGood one to ask. You signed in January this year, after the new price list started, so you're on the current pricing already. I don't expect a list price shock for you, but I'll confirm everything in writing when we get closer, so you're not relying on my memory or anyone's.
- Kelly SharpeThanks. That's all I wanted to know.
- Gemma HoltCan I ask one more thing about training? If Kelly's people come on, I don't want them just landing in a blank screen and giving up. The account managers took a while to find their feet.
- Amara ObiYes, definitely. I was going to suggest a short session for the shift leads, maybe an hour, built around real tickets from your own helpdesk. Not a generic demo. We'd use the actual complaint types Kelly sees day to day.
- Kelly SharpeAn hour is about right. Any longer and I can't pull them off the floor.
- Amara ObiAn hour then. And in the session we'd save a few starter questions for them, so the first thing they do is something they'll actually use. Things like, show me every complaint for this retailer in the last month. Or, which products have had repeated date code queries.
- Kelly SharpeOh, the date code one would be very useful. That comes up all the time.
- Gemma HoltI can sit in on that if it helps. I've got a handful of questions that the account managers use and the service team could borrow.
- Amara ObiThat would be great, thank you. Gemma, you're my champion on this, so I'd love you in the room.
- Gemma HoltHa. Champion. Fine, I'll take it.
- Amara ObiOne thing I want to be careful about. With a few people holding most of the questions, there's a key-person risk. If one of the account managers moved on, would you lose a lot of knowledge about how it's used?
- Gemma HoltGood point. I suppose I'm the main one. I do ask a lot of them. Though the account managers are getting better, there are two or three who ask nearly as many as I do now.
- Amara ObiThat's healthy then. More people asking is exactly what I like to see. If there's one name that's miles ahead, that's when I worry. Right now it looks like it's broadening.
- Gemma HoltGood. I'll keep encouraging them.
- Kelly SharpeAnd if I'm honest, once my lot are on, I'd want to be one of the people asking, not just the person who signs the login form.
- Amara ObiThen we'll make sure you're properly set up. I'll book your own short walkthrough separately from the shift leads.
- Kelly SharpeLovely, thank you.
- Amara ObiAnything else worrying you before we go through next steps? Connectors, data you can't find, anything that's felt off?
- Gemma HoltOne thing. The second site changed how they log goods-in, a while back. Are we going to be okay with that? I keep meaning to ask someone.
- Amara ObiHm. Do you know roughly when they changed it?
- Gemma HoltSpring sometime. March, April. I don't know exactly.
- Amara ObiOkay. Records from your order system are still rising week on week, so I don't see a stall. But a change like that can quietly break a field without stopping the connector. I'll ask our engineers to check that the goods-in data is arriving the way you'd expect and I'll come back to you on it.
- Gemma HoltThat'd be great. I'd rather know now.
- Amara ObiTotally. Better to look and find nothing than not look. I'll get that done this week and email you.
- Kelly SharpeSorry, one small thing. When we do get access, who do my people ask if they get stuck? Is it Gemma, or is it you?
- Amara ObiFor how-to questions, I'd say start with Gemma as the first line since she knows how your business uses it. For anything that looks broken or wrong, raise a ticket with us, and I'll keep an eye on those from my side.
- Gemma HoltThat's fine with me. I'd rather they asked me than gave up.
- Kelly SharpeGood. That settles it.
- Amara ObiOkay, let me pull it together, because I've got a fair few actions here and I don't want any of them to slip. First, I'll send Gemma the list of lightly used seats, privately, today or tomorrow.
- Gemma HoltGreat.
- Amara ObiSecond, I'll speak to Lewis and come back with two options for adding users, in writing, so you've got something to forward. I'll aim to have that to you early next week.
- Gemma HoltEarly next week is perfect. That gives me time to get it in front of him before the end of the month.
- Amara ObiThird, I'll check the goods-in data from the second site with the engineers and tell you what we find.
- Gemma HoltThank you.
- Amara ObiFourth, I'll draft how access would be split for customer service, what they'd see and what they wouldn't, and send it to Kelly to check before anyone is switched on.
- Kelly SharpeYes please. If that's written down I can show it to my manager as well.
- Amara ObiAnd fifth, the one-hour session for the shift leads, built on your real tickets. Kelly, can you suggest a couple of slots when we've got the commercial side agreed?
- Kelly SharpeI can. Probably mid-morning, the floor is calmer then. I'll check the rota and send a few.
- Amara ObiBrilliant. And from your side, Kelly, a rough view of how long a typical retailer query takes now, so we've got a starting point.
- Kelly SharpeYes, I'll ask the shift leads and send you something rough by the end of the week.
- Amara ObiAnd Gemma, you're going to have a think about whether the second site's quality team is a proper request.
- Gemma HoltI will. I'll have a word with them and let you know. No pressure, like you said.
- Amara ObiNone. Right, let's get the next QBR in the diary too, so we're not leaving it to chance. I'll send a couple of dates after this call, and we can look at usage again once customer service has been on a while.
- Gemma HoltSounds good. I'd like to see the numbers move when they're on.
- Amara ObiSo would I. That's the proof. Anything else from either of you?
- Kelly SharpeJust thanks, really. I was starting to think this was never going to happen for my team. It's good to have a plan.
- Amara ObiIt's happening. I'm sorry it's taken a while to get round to it. That's what this call's for.
- Gemma HoltNo apologies needed, that's on me really. I should have pushed it. But I'm glad we've got it moving now.
- Amara ObiWell, it's a good problem. A full set of users, the account managers using it every day and a second team asking to join. I'd take that over the opposite any day.
- Gemma HoltHa, yes. Fair. Okay, I'd better get to my next thing, I've got a retailer thing at half twelve.
- Amara ObiOf course. Thanks both. I'll follow up in writing this afternoon, so you've got all of this in one email.
- Kelly SharpeThanks Amara. Thanks Gemma. Speak soon.
- Gemma HoltCheers, both. Speak soon. Mind the rain.
- Amara ObiYou too. Bye, both.
Callsmade from