CASE STUDY: Costa Coffee
- SEE Services
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
CLIENT OVERVIEW
Costa Coffee operates one of the UK's largest retail and hospitality estates, with more than 1,600 locations nationwide. Maintaining operational continuity across such a large estate requires a responsive facilities management partner capable of delivering planned maintenance, reactive support and compliance services at scale.
SEE Services has supported Costa Coffee for over three years, providing building fabric, electrical reactive maintenance and fire extinguisher compliance services across the nationwide portfolio.
PROJECT SCOPE
SEE Services delivers a combination of reactive maintenance and planned compliance services across more than 1,600 Costa Coffee locations throughout the UK.
The scope includes:
Electrical reactive maintenance
Building & fabric reactive support
Fire extinguisher maintenance and compliance
Many reactive call-outs involve faults affecting critical store operations, including power supplies, coffee machines, ovens and other essential equipment. Rapid response is therefore vital to minimise downtime, maintain trading performance and ensure a positive customer experience.
"SEE Services understands the demands of a high-volume retail environment and consistently delivers the service levels required to keep our stores operational."
Bellrock
SEE SOLUTION
SEE Services delivers a dedicated service model designed around the demands of a high-volume national retail estate.
All reactive maintenance requests are received through the client's service management platform and coordinated by dedicated labour controllers who manage job allocation, engineer deployment and progress tracking. The service is supported by a nationwide network of more than 50 engineers, providing rapid response across the UK.
Alongside reactive support, SEE Services delivers a nationwide fire extinguisher maintenance programme, managing approximately hundresd of planned visits per period and maintaining a 100%planned compliance performance.
Weekly performance meetings enable SEE Services and Costa Coffee to work closely together, reviewing service delivery, discussing trends across the estate and proactively addressing any issues before they impact operations. This regular engagement supports continuous improvement and helps maintain consistently high levels of service across the portfolio.
CHALLENGES & RESULTS
Supporting a nationwide retail estate requires the ability to respond quickly to issues that can directly affect trading performance.
Many reactive call-outs relate to electrical faults affecting critical equipment such as coffee machines, ovens and power supplies. These issues often require urgent attendance, including out-of-hours and weekend call-outs, to minimise downtime and restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
The contract also experienced changes in service requirements during delivery. SEE Services responded by restructuring the delivery model, recruiting additional resources and implementing dedicated reactive teams to maintain service levels and support the client's evolving needs.
SEE Services delivers a large volume of reactive maintenance calls each month while maintaining strong service performance, including:
91% on-time completion
92% first-time fix rate
100% statutory planned orders completion
REACTIVE CALL OUT EXAMPLE
SEE Services received a four-hour emergency call-out on a Saturday after water ingress caused electrical safety concerns at Costa Coffee's Glasgow Fort store, forcing the site to close.
Upon investigation, an engineer identified that blocked roof gutters and a leaking downpipe were allowing water to enter the building above the electrical distribution board. Although the initial fault had been identified, the engineer recognised the store would be unable to reopen until the underlying issue was resolved.
Recognising the impact on trading, the engineer escalated the situation and worked with the wider SEE Services team to coordinate an immediate response. Additional engineering support was arranged, access equipment sourced, and RAMS and approvals coordinated with centre management to enable safe roof access.
The team cleared the blocked gutters, carried out temporary repairs to prevent further water ingress and remained engaged until power could be safely restored.
As a result, the store reopened as normal on Sunday, avoiding further disruption to trading and maintaining business continuity for the client.
"This is great work, thank you both. Your engineer and yourself Simon, the support is very much appreciated."
Anthony Dawson,
Head of Operations – Costa Coffee
