Consistent and Reliable Customer Service

Learning Objective:To understand how a company can offer

Consistent and Reliable Customer Service

Starter

Watch the short video:

What examples of BAD Customer Service are highlighted?

Can you think how you could prevent this?

What does consistent customer service mean?

What does consistent customer service mean?

Consistent customer service means customers are offered the same standard over and over again. All employees do the same thing in a given situation and there are procedures which all staff should know and follow.

Customers expect to experience the same high levels of service no matter whom they come into contact with in an organisation. Achieving consistency requires an organisation to spend a lot on staff training to meet customer expectations.

What can lead to inconsistent customer service?

• Different employees telling customers different information.

• Employees greeting or behaving with customers differently

• Employees wasting some customers time.

• Products being of a bad or inconsistent quality

What does reliable customer service mean?

What does reliable customer service mean?

Reliable customer service means that the service providers are readily available to assist customers, follow through on promises made to the customer, and correct any errors or issues in a timely and efficient manner.

What can lead to unreliable service?

• Making customers wait for service• Not keeping agreements or promises• Making errors• Giving incorrect information

Staff knowledge of the scope of the job role and

products or services• All employees need to be trained on what they can and

cannot do as part of their job. • They need to know the situations where customers

should be passed on to their manager. • They must also understand the different products and

services on sale so that they can offer reliable assistance and advice.

• Employees should also know where they can find out information about the products, for example in manuals or catalogues, and understand the terms (jargon) used about them.

Staff should ..

Know about their roles and responsibilities.

Know about the products on offer.

Know where to find information they don’t yet know.

Meeting specific customer needs

Staff need to know the correct questions to ask customers so that they can identify and fulfil their needs as quickly as possible. For example, service deliverers should ask customers how they can be of assistance.

Working under pressure

Employees should be able to act appropriately towards customers even when they are busy and under pressure. Service deliverers should always maintain high levels of customer service regardless of their own thoughts and feelings.

Staff should..

Keep calm and not panic.

Deal with one task at a time.

Deal with the most important or urgent things first.

Task

The phone is ringing, a customer has worked in, your boss is urgently calling for you and the postman arrives with a parcel. You are on your own. Say how you would cope by identifying exactly what you would do first, next and last in this situation?

Confirming service meets needs and expectations

Organisations that try to improve their customer service may check that their customers are satisfied. This may involve phoning them to check that they are happy with the service, or asking them to complete a customer service questionnaire, for example feedback forms in restaurants or on online sites such as Amazon.

How can a business confirm if its services meet the needs and expectations of its customers?

Follow up phone calls.QuestionnairesFeedback formsOnline reviews/surveys

Dealing with problems

When customers are unhappy and have a problem, staff need to know how to deal with them. Is the customer always right? Staff need to know what they can offer an unhappy customer. Do they want their money back? Do they want some other form of compensation, for example discounts, vouchers or a free meal?

Task

• As a customer of Alhikmah Girls School what feedback can you give in order to improve the service being provided?

• You have 5 minutes to discuss and write the feedback. Email the feedback to me.

Type of Feedback

Look back at the feedback you have given.

Which can be considered constructive feedback?

Which are personal grudges or isolated incidences?

As a manager how will you take the feedback and implement changes?

Watch the Clip

What compensation has been offered?

Providing reliable products or services

Organisations strive to ensure that their products are the best that they can be. For example, John Lewis states on its website that customers who are not satisfied with its products can simply return them to one of their stores. Customers can also track their orders through John Lewis’s website to ensure that they receive a reliable delivery service.