1: Identify customer needs

Every client is different and will expect different things from you. That’s why it’s important to be able
to clearly identify your client’s needs. The key to identifying your client’s needs is to build a
relationship with them, make them feel comfortable, get to know them and their expectations, ask
questions and offer suggestions. To provide an excellent level of customer service you will also need
to be aware of the services provided by the Agency and who to refer the client to if there are any issues
or concerns.
In this chapter you will learn to:
✓ Use appropriate interpersonal skills to accurately identify and clarify customer needs and
expectations
✓ Assess customer needs for urgency to determine priorities for service delivery in accordance
with organizational requirements
✓ Use effective communication to inform customers about available choices for meeting their
needs and assist in the selection of preferred options
✓ Identify limitations in addressing customer needs and seek appropriate assistance from
designated individuals

1.1 Use appropriate interpersonal skills to identify customer needs

Interpersonal skills are the skills you need when you, as a person, communicate with another person.
Some people have a better understanding of the needs of others and know how to please them because
they have learnt to watch and listen rather than do all the talking. Other people have such a warm and
friendly manner that the people they meet immediately feel at ease and comfortable with them.
Interpersonal skills can always be improved and refined so that you can achieve the best possible
communication with your clients. You can do this by practicing your existing skills or by developing
new skills.
Understanding your client’s needs and the type of cleaning they require will make it easier for you to
do your job efficiently and effectively. When you first meet a client it’s important to try and establish a
relationship with them. You will initially need to remain the listener in the conversation.
Take notes and try to avoid butting in as this will only annoy the client and you will become
disadvantaged by not giving yourself enough time to listen and understand what the client wants. In
order to meet the client’s expectations you must first comprehend what the client’s cleaning
requirements are. Active listening, such as paraphrasing and asking ‘open’ and ‘closed’ questions will
enable you to hear and clearly understand what your client wants and expects from you.
Why listen? When you actively listen to your client you are:
➢ showing them that they are important and worthwhile
➢ interested in who they are
➢ developing trust and confidence
Paraphrasing is when you repeat back what you’ve heard to the sender but in your own words. By
doing this you are able to clarify your understanding of what’s been said.
Open questions are used to extract more information. They usually begin with how, what, when, where
or why. For example, “How did you manage to get the stain out?”
Closed questions are generally used when you are after a factual and short response. For example,
“Are you hungry?” The answer will be “Yes” or “No”. Think about the questions before you ask them
and consider the responses you are after. This will enable you to ask the right questions.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 1

 When trying to ascertain what your client’s cleaning requirements might be, consider asking the
following questions:
➢ What are your expectations?
➢ What levels of service will satisfy you?
➢ What would you like cleaned?
➢ How would you like it cleaned?
➢ Do you have any special surfaces that need special products or attention?
➢ Do you have any specialized equipment?
➢ What is the best way to use that (product or equipment)?
It’s important that you never assume to know what the client wants. Most importantly don’t assume
that you automatically know more about cleaning than the client does because cleaning is your job. A
client may have a delicate surface or require you to clean something that you have never seen before.
In these instances it’s important to ask questions in order to clearly understand the client’s
requirements.
There is no doubt that a know-it-all attitude can seriously undermine the client/cleaner relationship.
Clients wanting a cleaner know that they are engaging an expert; you do not have to prove it. A
condescending tone of voice, a hint of boredom or the overuse of cleaning jargon will alienate the
client.
Your role as a professional cleaner requires you to remain courteous at all times. Common courtesy
means that:

1.2 Assess customer needs for urgency to determine priorities for service
At Absolute Domestics we inform the client when they make their initial enquiry that the cleaner
works to their requirements. This is a large selling point for the company and it’s something the
Agency strives to achieve every day. It’s important that you as the cleaner also strive to achieve this.
By this we mean that you will:
➢ clean as the client requests you to clean
➢ do the cleaning tasks the client sets for you
➢ use the products and equipment selected by the clients
The only time this would differ would be if you were to identify that the products and equipment
selected by the client might damage or harm the surface in which you are to clean. If that happens you
would need to discuss options with the client and provide an alternative solution for them.
Quite often you will arrive at a client’s home to discover a list of cleaning tasks that need to be
completed. Although we encourage the client to priorities this list for you, you will find that on most
occasions it will generally be up to you as the cleaner to use your initiative and assess what needs to be
done first. When prioritizing the tasks you need to take into consideration the amount of time the client
has booked. Sometimes you may not have the time to complete all of the tasks set and it’s times like
these that you will have to re-evaluate your workload and priorities the cleaning tasks according to
urgency. Discussing this with the client will aid in achieving a positive result.
Most clients will want the bathrooms, toilets and floors done every week so it’s important to
ensure that these tasks are completed. On occasions the client’s priorities may change due to a
variety of reasons, such as:
➢ friends/family visiting - the client may request you clean some windows, dust some
skirting boards or clean the blinds

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 ➢ carpets being cleaned - the client may require you to devote extra time and attention to
giving the carpets a thorough vacuum
➢ renovations being done - you may need to pay particular attention to a room in the home
for the entire clean
➢ a party – you may only need to clean bathrooms and the room the party will be in
These are the types of things you will need to consider when assessing your client’s needs for
urgency to help determine their priorities. If these requests were made on a normal cleaning day
they may not necessarily be an urgent cleaning task and you might decide to get to it if you
have the time, but when the client has another agenda such as one of the items mentioned above
then the task will have an urgency to it, therefore making it a priority.
It’s important to all parties concerned that Absolute Domestics and you as the cleaner deliver on
what we promise on every occasion. This is called “Under promise and over deliver”. You will
never have a dissatisfied client if this is your approach. Avoid giving an unrealistic expectation
as the Agency and the client will expect you to meet it. If you promise to deliver something and
fail to achieve it then this is called “Over promise and under deliver”.
This outcome can be detrimental to you and Absolute Domestics as it could mean the loss of
not only one but several clients. Negative experiences are discussed more readily with friends,
colleagues and relatives, than positive. There is no point saying you can do something when in
fact you can’t, so be honest.

1.3 Use effective communication to inform customers about available choices for meeting
To be effective in life, you have to communicate well.
Being an effective communicator takes real skill. The greater your awareness of how communication
works, the more effective your communication will be.
Everyone communicates differently and sees the world differently. The greatest skill you can have in
order to instantly and significantly improve you communications skills is to understand the other
person's point view and how they see the world. Then you can adjust your own communication to take
that into account.
Non-verbal communication, Remember, everything communicates. If you aren't clear about what you
mean and what your intention is, the other person (or people) could easily misinterpret what you mean.
What you do matters as much as what you say. Your behavior will 'read' unconsciously to other
people, it is therefore important to be aware of your body language –your personal presentation, facial
expressions and hand gestures.

1.4 Identify limitations in addressing customer needs and seek appropriate

assistance
There will be the odd occasion that you will not be able to provide the client with the
information or service they need. This could be due to many reasons. You may not have
the skill or expertise to complete what’s been requested or the Agency may not provide
the service. It’s important to be honest with the client and know your limitations. The
client would prefer you to seek advice than to attempt something and damage their
property.
Politely advise the client that you do not have the expertise to complete the task however you will
Endeavour to find out how to do it or alternatively contact the Agency for assistance. Remember your

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 3

Team Manager is always there to help. They will either provide you with a solution to the problem or
do some research and get back to you as soon as possible.
In some instances the Agency may need to provide another cleaner. This may be the case if
the client requires:
➢ their carpets cleaned
➢ a spring clean or move out clean
➢ an ironing service (as this may not be something you do)
On occasions you may have to get back to the client with the information they have requested from
you. Whatever action you take when responding to the client always ensure you keep the client
informed and up-to-date with your progress and let them know when to expect a response. Work
colleagues, the Internet and cleaning industry experts may also be able to assist with any
specialized cleaning related enquiries.

1.5 What is customer?

Customer is
An individual or business that purchases the goods or services produced by a business, The customer
is the end goal of businesses, since it is the customer who pays for supply and creates demand.
Businesses will often compete through advertisements or sales in order to attract a larger customer
base.
1. General: A party that receives or consumes products (goods or services) and has the ability to
choose between different products and suppliers. See also buyer.
2. Quality control: Entity within a firm who establishes the requirement of a process (accounting, for
example) and receives the output of that process (a financial statement, for example) from one or more
internal or external suppliers.

A customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of

a good, service, product, or idea, obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier for a monetary or other
valuable consideration. Customers are generally categorized into two types:

• An intermediate customer or trade customer (more informally: "the trade") who is a dealer that
purchases goods for re-sale.
• An ultimate customer who does not in turn re-sell the things bought but either passes them to the
consumer or actually is the consumer.

A customer may or may not also be a consumer, but the two notions are distinct, even though the
terms are commonly confused. A customer purchases goods; a consumer uses them. An ultimate
customer may be a consumer as well, but just as equally may have purchased items for someone else
to consume. An intermediate customer is not a consumer at all. The situation is somewhat complicated
in that ultimate customers of so-called industrial goods and services (who are entities such as
government bodies, manufacturers, and educational and medical institutions) either themselves use up
the goods and services that they buy, or incorporate them into other finished products, and so are
technically consumers, too. However, they are rarely called that, but are rather called industrial
customers or business-to-business customers. Similarly, customers who buy services rather than
goods are rarely called consumers.

Six Sigma doctrine places (active) customers in opposition to two other classes of people: not-
customers and non-customers. Whilst customers have actively dealt with a business within a particular

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 4

recent period that depends from the product sold, not-customers are either past customers who are no
longer customers or potential customers who choose to do business with the competition, and non-
customers are people who are active in a different market segment entirely. Geoff Tennant, a Six
Sigma consultant from the United Kingdom, uses the following analogy to explain the difference: A
supermarket's customer is the person buying milk at that supermarket; a not-customer is buying milk
from a competing supermarket, whereas a non-customer doesn't buy milk from supermarkets at all but
rather "has milk delivered to the door in the traditional British way".

Tennant also categorizes customers another way, that is employed out with the fields of marketing.
Whilst the intermediate/ultimate categorization is used by marketers, market regulation, and
economists, in the world of customer service customers are categorized more often into two classes:

• An external customer of an organization is a customer who is not directly connected to that

organization.
• An internal customer is a customer who is directly connected to an organization, and is usually
(but not necessarily) internal to the organization. Internal customers are
usually stakeholders, employees, or shareholders, but the definition also
encompasses creditors and external regulators.

The notion of an internal customer — before the introduction of which external customers were,
simply, customers — was popularized by quality management writer Joseph M. Juran, who introduced
it in the fourth edition of his Handbook. It has since gained wide acceptance in the literature on total
quality management and service marketing; and the customer satisfaction of internal customers is
nowadays recognized by many organizations as a precursor to, and prerequisite for, external customer
satisfaction, arguing that service organizations that design products for internal customer satisfaction
are better able to satisfy the needs of external customers. Research on the theory and practice of
managing the internal customer continues today in a variety of service sector industries

1.6 Know your customers' needs

However good your product or service is, the simple truth is that no-one will buy it if they don't want
it or believe they don't need it. And you won't persuade anyone that they want or need to buy what
you're offering unless you clearly understand what it is your customers really want.

Knowing and understanding customer needs is at the centre of every successful business, whether it
sells directly to individuals or other businesses. Once you have this knowledge, you can use it to
persuade potential and existing customers that buying from you is in their best interests.

This guide tells you what you need to know about your customers, how to use this information to sell
to them more effectively, and how to win business from your competitors.

• Why do your customers need you?

• What do you know about your customers?
• The customer's current supplier
• Ten things you need to know about your customers

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1.7 Why do your customers need you?

Every business needs a reason for their customers to buy from them and not their competitors. This is
called a Unique Sales Proposition (USP). Your USP can be identified by completing the phrase
"Customers will buy from me because my business is the only..."

Your USP can change as your business or your market changes, and you can have different USPs for
different types of customer.

All of these USPs can be effective because they are driven by what the customer looks for when
making a buying decision.

It's a good idea to review your USPs regularly. Can you tailor your products or services to better
match your customers' needs? Consider asking your customers why they buy from you. This will tell
you what they think your USP is - this may differ from what you think your USP is.

It's also useful to check constantly what your competition is doing. Remember - if your competitors
are doing the same, your USP isn't unique any more.

1.8 What do you know about your customers?

The more you know about your customers, the more effective your sales and marketing efforts will be.
It's well worth making the effort to find out:

• who they are

• what they buy
• why they buy it

If you're selling to other businesses, you'll need to know which individuals are responsible for the
decision to buy your product or service. For information on targeting decision-makers, see our guide
on how to target the right people in an organization.

You can learn a great deal about your customers by talking to them. Asking them why they're buying
or not buying, what they may want to buy in the future and asking what other needs they have can give
a valuable picture of what's important to them.

Strong sales are driven by emphasizing the benefits that your product or service brings to your
customers. If you know the challenges that face them, it's much easier to offer them solutions.

It's also well worth keeping an eye on future developments in your customers' markets and lives.
Knowing the trends that are going to influence your customers helps you to anticipate what they are
going to need - and offer it to them as soon as they need it.

You can conduct your own market research and there are many existing reports that can help you build
a picture of where your customers' markets - and your business - may be going.

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The customer's current supplier

Chances are your potential customer is already buying something similar to your product or service
from someone else. Before you can sell to a potential customer, you need to know:

• who the customer's current supplier is

• if the customer is happy with their current supplier
• if buying from you would offer the customer any benefits - and, if so, what those benefits
would be

The easiest way to identify a potential customer's current supplier is often simply to ask them.
Generally people are very happy to offer this information, as well as an indication of whether they're
happy with their present arrangements.

If you can find out what benefits they're looking for, you stand a better chance of being able to sell to
them. The benefits may be related to price or levels of service, for example. Are there any benefits
your business can offer that are better than those the potential customer already receives? If there are,
these should form the basis of any sales approach you make.

Ten things you need to know about your customers

1. Who they are
if you sell directly to individuals, find out your customers' gender, age, marital status and
occupation. If you sell to other businesses, find out what size and kind of business they are. For
example, are they a small private company or a big multinational?
2. What they do
if you sell directly to individuals, it's worth knowing their occupations and interests. If you sell
to other businesses, it helps to have an understanding of what their business is trying to
achieve.
3. Why they buy
if you know why customers buy a product or service, it's easier to match their needs to the
benefits your business can offer.
4. When they buy
if you approach a customer just at the time they want to buy, you will massively increase your
chances of success.
5. How they buy
For example, some people prefer to buy from a website, while others prefer a face-to-face
meeting.
6. How much money they have
you’ll be more successful if you can match what you're offering to what you know your
customer can afford.
7. What makes them feel good about buying
if you know what makes them tick, you can serve them in the way they prefer.
8. What they expect of you
For example, if your customers expect reliable delivery and you don't disappoint them, you
stand to gain repeat business.

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 9. What they think about you
if your customers enjoy dealing with you, they're likely to buy more. And you can only tackle
problems that customers have if you know what they are.
10. What they think about your competitors
if you know how your customers view your competition, you stand a much better chance of
staying ahead of your rivals.

Our information is provided free of charge and is intended to be helpful to a large range of UK-based
(gov.uk/business) and Québec-based (infoentrepreneurs.org) businesses. Because of its general nature
the information cannot be taken as comprehensive and should never be used as a substitute for legal or
professional advice. We cannot guarantee that the information applies to the individual circumstances
of your business. Despite our best efforts it is possible that some information may be out of date.
As a result:
• The websites operators cannot take any responsibility for the consequences of errors or
omissions.
• You should always follow the links to more detailed information from the relevant government
department or agency.
• Any reliance you place on our information or linked to on other websites will be at your own
risk. You should consider seeking the advice of independent advisors, and should always check
your decisions against your normal business methods and best practice in your field of
business.
• The websites operators, their agents and employees, are not liable for any losses or damages
arising from your use of our websites, other than in respect of death or personal injury caused
by their negligence or in respect of fraud.

1.9 Strategies for Identifying Customer Needs

Strategies for identifying customer needs are an integral element of a company’s marketing program.
Understanding customer needs helps refine product development projects, marketing communication
programs and distribution choices. Companies that launch products without researching and taking
account of customer needs run a high risk of failure.
Research
Carrying out customer research as part of your marketing strategy provides a broad view of customer
needs. Review published market research on the sectors that you target to identify trends or changes in
purchasing patterns. Visit customers’ websites to assess their product and market strategies and
identify opportunities to meet their current or future product needs.

Customer Feedback

A strategy that encourages customer feedback will provide you with insight into customers’ attitudes
toward your products and services, helping you identify how well you are meeting their needs. Set up
a forum or poll on your website or on a social media site where customers can post reviews or leave
comments. Encourage customers to join a user group or other community where they can share their
experience in using your products and make recommendations for changes or improvements.
Acknowledge the feedback from customers and respond to requests for improvements.

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Social Media
Incorporating social media in your communications strategy enables you to track discussions on your
products and those of your competitors. Input from social media adds further insight to complement
the information you get from customer feedback. Monitor social media that mention your company
and respond to comments to engage customers and prospects in dialog.

Collaboration

Building collaboration with customers into your new product development strategy ensures that
products reflect customers’ needs. Involve representatives of key customers in your product
development project team, asking them to provide input on product requirements or feedback on
product proposals. Set up a panel of customers to test or evaluate new product prototypes. In the
software industry, for example, publishers release beta versions to selected customers for evaluation
before finalizing products for general release.

Customer Relationship Management

A customer relationship management strategy enables you to develop insight into customer needs from
your own records. CRM systems collect data on all customer contacts and transactions, providing
information on purchasing and service history, product inquiries, complaints, communication channel
preferences, and response to marketing campaigns. By analyzing the data in a CRM system you can
build a picture of individual customer’s needs and preferences.

Identifying Customer Needs

"You cannot manage a quality service organization unless you understand the nature of what you are
providing; fully realize what your customers want from you and how they perceive you from the
start." Once you have identified who your customers are, you need to assess what they need from your
product or service.

Most customer needs can be divided into four basic categories:

1. The need to be understood

Customers need to feel that the message they are sending is being correctly received
and interpreted
2. The need to feel welcome
Customers need to feel that you are happy to see them
3. The need to feel important
Customers like to feel important and special
4. The need for comfort
Customers need physical and psychological comfort
Identifying Customer Needs: Not identifying customer needs correctly is just like building a house
on a weak foundation. Why would you knowingly do that? A good builder will consult an expert that
then conducts soil surveys and engages contractors to properly set a solid foundation.

Your customers are looking for businesses that understand their requirements. They are the experts on
their problems and you need to ask about these, before you develop new offerings.

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Are you listening to your market?

The importance of market research cannot be underestimated. With so many new products and
services failing, we need to establish a solid foundation as early as possible. Of course, poor market
acceptance can happen for many different reasons.

Just look at the product development and launch cycle and you’ll see that at any of these points there
are challenges: gaining customer insight, understanding the competitive landscape, design and
development you products or services, channel alignment, rollout planning and execution, and
promotion.

But you need to start with a sturdy foundation prior to concept development. Proper customer data
mining is the key.

Voice of the Customer

It's an obvious statement to say that market research is about listening to your customers. When
identifying customer needs it is very important to ask the right questions, listen, and ask more
questions based on the answers. Then absorb what you hear.

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what
you heard is not what I meant."

This quote is attributed to a U.S. State Department spokesman when answering a reporter’s question at
a press briefing. It nicely sums up the problem we have in getting to the root of what customers want.
Some of this is because we have biases and preconceived ideas on what they need.

Asking great questions and listening carefully helps to overcome this. Identifying customer needs this
way sounds simple doesn’t it? But is it?

Keys to Identifying Customer Needs

Here are the three keys to fully know your customers and set your foundation on solid footing:

1. How and Why – this is the wants and needs analysis. It goes well beyond asking what kind of
features they’d like to see. You need to find out how they currently operate and why. Also find
out how they measure success and why they do it that way. By the way, don’t confuse needs
and wants – you may find out there is a need for your offering, but providing it is no guarantee
you'll find demand;
2. Core Values – the next step in customer data mining is determining what would make their
life easier. The natural assumption here is that it is related to the product you are proposing, but
dig deeper. Find the emotional connections that will allow you to see how your product can fit
into their personal lifestyle and if selling to businesses, life within their company. You may be
surprised what you discover that will help you improve your product and position it in the
market;
3. Through Your Customers’ Eyes – certainly you’ve done a competitive analysis but the best
sources of information are your target customers. An understanding of the competitive
landscape from the expert, your potential customer and user, is a great way to gather
Deliver a Service to Customers Page 10
 information on the competition. You’ll discover their strengths and weaknesses and what
customers would like to change.

The importance of market research in identifying customer needs before your go to market is critical.
Let your prospects and customers be your secret weapon.

LO2 Deliver a service to customers

➢ Providing prompt service to customers to meet identified needs
➢ Establishing and maintaining appropriate rapport with customers to ensure completion of
quality service delivery
➢ Sensitively and courteously handle customer complaints in accordance with organisational
requirements
➢ Providing assistance or responding to customers with specific needs
➢ Identifying and using available opportunities to promote and enhance services and products
to customers

2.1 Deliver, Monitor and Evaluate Customer Service to Internal Customers

Identify quality standards for own organization and work

Quality is very important when it comes to anything, be it for personal reasons or professional. When
completing a piece of work, or a project or products, quality is more important than quantity. Every
organization has quality standards for the services they provide or the products they sell, and have
quality standards for the work that the employees complete.

Our organization has quality systems and standards that are integrated into the working of our
organization to deliver quality services and products. This also helps the employees to enhance their
work experience. These standards imply the meaning of quality, why it is important and also the
effects it has on the organization. When we pay attention to quality, it means that we have set a high
standard to deliver service in a consistent manner. This also saves cost on doing things over a second
or third time.

Our directorate which is Adult social care has its own standards that are expected of all staff working
within that directorate and of the organization.

• Providing equitable service to all residents in the community and meet the legislations,
government guidance, regulations and local policies and procedures
• Assess needs without delay and record all information relevant to the assessment and services
thereafter
• Respect peoples’ choices, privacy, dignity, personality and confidentiality of the information
they provide
• Value partnership working with individuals, families, community workers and agencies
• Be customer centered and consider their overall safety and welfare through regular reviews and
visits or calls.
• Promote independence and protect them from harm or danger by creating a safe living
environment

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 • Protect the rights of customers and ensure that they do not harm themselves or others
• Be accountable for one’s own work
• Respect equal opportunities and diversity.
• Be reliable and dependable and honor work commitments
• Adhere to policies and procedures and report dangerous, abusive or discriminatory behavior
• Meet relevant standards of practice by maintaining clear and accurate records, work openly and
take necessary training and guidance where necessary to improve knowledge and skills
• Quality control methods are in place to monitor levels of performance
• Deliver service in the agreed specification, budget, timescale and quality
• Practicing teamwork, develop good communication skills and building a balanced workforce
• Provide and receive feedbacks on a regular basis and conduct audits on a regular basis

2.2 What is customer service?

Customer service is the service provided to customers before, during and after purchasing and using
goods and services. Good customer service provides an experience that meets customer expectations.
It produces satisfied customers. Bad customer service can generate complaints. It can result in lost
sales, because consumers might take their business to a competitor.
Good customer service involves developing bonds with customers, hopefully leading to long term
relationships. It creates advantages for both customers and the business alike. Customers benefit
because the business is providing a service that meets their needs. The business benefits because
satisfied customers are likely to be repeat customers. They will stay with the business. However, good
customer service is not easily achieved. It takes time to establish. It requires investment to deliver
consistent standards.
First directs mission statement is 'pioneering amazing service'. This means that customer service is
used to set the direction for the business. In other words, customers come first. This is not an empty
slogan. Market research shows that, in terms of customer satisfaction, first direct is the UK's number
one bank. It confirms that the bank has a reputation for quality customer service. This has also been
demonstrated by comparative studies. The bank was the leading performer in the Top 50 Call Centers
for Customer Service benchmarking programme and it came top in the Finance Sector in the Institute
of Customer Services (ICS) Satisfaction Awards.
At the heart of providing customer service is the notion of 'respect'. This involves respecting the
business' employees, as internal customers within the organization, as well as external customers.
Using this concept influences how colleagues and individuals at first direct act towards each other as
well as how they deal with customers.
To achieve customer satisfaction, first direct sets and monitors service standards. For example, four
out of five calls are answered within 20 seconds. On average a customer's call is answered in 13
seconds. Customer service representatives are available around the clock. This means that customers
always get to talk to a real person not a machine and they never have to push buttons before they get to
talk to someone.
The focus in all operations is on providing quality customer service. This helps first direct in the
marketplace. It means that even though it is an online bank, it can provide a personal service missing
in many other banks. The intention has been to avoid becoming a faceless call centre. Individuals are
well trained and are empowered to act on customer issues. This means that customers are not passed
from one person to another. The same customer representative will phone to deal with an issue, so that

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 12

the customer is not always dealing with different individuals. In this way, first direct gets to know its
customers. It can even provide a personal touch, like occasionally sending flowers to a customer or
their partner to mark a birthday.
To maintain these standards first direct identifies what customers expect from banks in terms of
customer service provision. It then builds these customer expectations into the services it provides. For
example, this involves:
• ensuring first direct colleagues are courteous and informed that they know about the bank's
products and services
• dealing with any complaints promptly and fairly
• following up sales
• Offering informed guidance on any products that are available (subject to financial
regulations).
At its most basic level, Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants
and needs.
You can say, for instance, that a warehouse model business, where goods are laid out and customers
choose items themselves and carry them to a checkout, supplies a customer’s need for a product or
products (assuming the customer finds what he wants), but from the customer’s point of view, there’s
no customer service involved in such a model.
Customer Service
Customers assume that customer service involves an interaction with another human being, whether
that person helps them find something, choose something or buy something. (How to Help a
Customer takes a closer look at the basic customer service transaction; if your business deals with
customers face-to-face, you may want to use this article to educate your staff.)
For businesses, then, a more useful definition is that customer service is a business’s ability to
satisfy its customers.
Companies can have all the elements of customer service in place, from wait-staff through return
policies, but if customers are not satisfied with the way their transaction was handled or its results,
they won’t be back.
And that’s the core of good customer service – bringing old customers back (and attracting new ones
through the “good news” that current customers are spreading about your business).
Customers and business managers alike like to talk about what good customer service is (and isn't),
but I think this definition by ACA Group sums up what excellent customer service is beautifully:
"excellent customer service (is) the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the
customer's expectations."

Accepting this definition means expanding our thinking about customer service; if we're going to
consistently exceed customers' expectations, we have to recognize that every aspect of our business
has an impact on customer service, not just those aspects of our business that involve face-to-face
customer contact.

Improving customer service involves making a commitment to learning what our customers' needs and
wants are, and developing action plans that implement customer friendly processes.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 13

2.3 Customer Service Is Critical to Small Businesses
For small businesses, committing to continually strive to provide the best customer service possible is
especially important because:
1) Small businesses can’t survive long-term bad press.
Customers judge the customer service of every business they deal with – and they’re much more likely
to share bad ratings with other people than good.

Happy customers who have their issues resolved tell between 4-6 people about their experience.
Meanwhile, a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience - and about
13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people about their poor experience, according to the
White House Office of Consumer Affairs.
2) Providing top-notch customer service is one of few ways small businesses can compete with
larger retailers.
In fact, as Daniel Butler, vice president of Retail Operations for the National Retail Federation, points
out, this “buyer experience” is where owners of small stores have a big advantage over their chain-
store counterparts. “They can actually be in touch with their customers and make a personal
connection.”
So for small businesses, the watchwords for customer service should be assessment and improvement.
My Customer Service Makeover will show you how you can improve the basic elements of the
customer service your small business provides.

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a
purchase. "Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer
satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation."

The importance of customer service may vary by product or service, industry and customer. The
perception of success of such interactions will be dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves
to the personality of the guest," according to Micah Solomon. From the point of view of an
overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in an organization's
ability to generate income and revenue. From that perspective, customer service should be included as
part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. A customer service experience can change the
entire perception a customer has of the organization.

Some have argued that the quality and level of customer service has decreased in recent years, and that
this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and middle management
levels of a corporation and/or a customer service policy. To address this argument, many organizations
have employed a variety of methods to improve their customer satisfaction levels, and other key
performance indicators

Explain the value of agreeing quality standards and timescales

In order to achieve best provision of quality service and consistency of service, quality, quantity, the
price and timescales have to defined, agreed and implemented. Agreeing quality standards and
timescales are the commitments an organization makes to its customers and it clearly tells the
customers what they can expect and when.
Customer Service Skills for Success
The value of agreeing quality standards and timescales are:
• It sets the expectations with internal and external customers and with colleagues
Deliver a Service to Customers Page 14
 • It helps the organization to focus on the needs of the customers, as they know what needs to be
done, to what standard and when.
• It encourages improvements in service and also ensures consistency in service
• All steps involved in the process are accurate and quick
• There is a standard or measure against which the product or service can be measured and
monitored.
• They follow the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound)
objective.
• Helps to focus on the needs of service user, set and maintain standards for each service
provided
• Helps one to close voids in the service process or performance and also look for areas of
improvements
• Develops trust between customers and organization and communication improves
• There is team building spirit and the approach from and between partnership companies

Explain how to set and meet quality standards and timescales with internal customers

Setting quality standards and timescales are important for a business or an organization, without which
one will be putting tasks aside without getting them done. Setting these motivates the customers and
the person working on it. It helps to focus on a task or project.

Quality standards and timescales can be set in the following ways:

• Focus on the customer and find out what the customers expect, or what the customers’ needs
are and what matters the most to the customers, and by what time
• Find out any voids in service quality and close the gaps, as these will lead to poor quality
standards and will be time consuming during rectification process

Quality standards and timescales can be met in the following ways:

• Improving trust between the organization and the customer

• Improved communication with customers
• Joint working and team building which in turn boosts the spirits and motivation
• Approaching partnership companies and internal customers with greater openness

2.4 Five Ways to Deliver Excellent Customer Service

In fact, delivering excellent customer service is one of Zappos’ company values. There are thousands
of negative customer service stories on the web, but very few great stories, yet it’s the great stories that
stand out the most.
Here are five ways to stand out from the crowd and deliver excellent customer service.
1. Respond as quickly as possible
One of the biggest factors in good customer service is speed, especially when a client is requesting
something that’s time sensitive.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 15

STELLA service conducted a response time report in 2011 and found that the average email response
time for the to 100 Internet companies was 17 hours. Frost reported that 41% of consumers surveyed
listed being put on hold as their biggest frustration. Make sure you don’t leave customers waiting.

In 2006, Lexus recalled a series of Lexus ES 350 sedans and asked car owners to visit a dealership and
bring their cars in. Instead of having to sit in a waiting room watching their cars being worked on,
customers were given a brand new Lexus instead.
2. Know your customers
Great interactions begin with knowing your customers wants and needs. Customers love
personalization. Get to know your customers, remember their names and previous conversations. If
needed, make a note of what was discussed previously so you can refer to it the next time you meet.
In March 2012 Starbucks launched a new campaign focusing on improving relationships between their
staff and customers. Each person who introduced themselves by name received a free latte and in total,
more than 350,000 free drinks were given away.
3. Fix your mistakes
Not taking responsibility of your mistakes is a sure fire way to getting a bad reputation. Transparency
is important in business and customer service is no different. Always strive for a high quality output as
it shows you have a high level of standards.
In 2007, an Amazon customer ordered a new PlayStation for his son for Christmas. When the shipping
company delivered the parcel, the customer was away and had a neighbor sign for the package. The
neighbor left the package outside the customer’s house (in which it soon disappeared). When the
customer realized what had happened, he was left in complete shock. Even though Amazon was not to
blame for this mistake, they were quick to resolve this by not only sending a new PlayStation in time
for Christmas, but did not charge for the extra shipping.
4. Go the extra mile
Going the extra mile will not only result in an indebted and happy customer, it can also go a long way
in terms of keeping yourself on their radar for future business.

In May 2011, a three year old named Lily Robinson wrote a letter to Sainsbury’s, a UK grocery store a
letter asking why ‘tiger bread was called tiger bread and not giraffe bread?’. To Lily’s surprise, Chris
King, the customer service manager of Sainsbury’s responded with “I think renaming it to giraffe
bread is a brilliant idea!”. In January 2012, the bread was renamed to giraffe bread.

5. Think long term – A customer is for life

Think long term when dealing with customers. By keeping customers happy, they will be loyal and
through word of mouth, will do the marketing for you. In fact, according to author Pete Black Shaw, a
satisfied customer tells at least three friends (whereas an angry customer tells 3,000!)

In August 2011, author and business consultant Peter Shank man was ready to board a flight before
tweeting “Hey, @Mortons – can you meet me at Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two
hours? K, thanks. :)”. As soon as Peter landed a gentleman wearing a tuxedo was holding a bag that
contained porterhouse shrimp, napkins and silverware. Knowing that Peter was a regular customer and
having tracked down his arrival details, Morton’s traveled more than 23 miles to deliver excellent
service.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 16

2.5 How important is it to deliver an excellent service?

Customer service has an impact on both existing customers and potential customers. A recent survey
found that 68% of consumers would react by telling family and friends about a bad experience by
posting it on a social network. And as each Face book profile has an average of 229 friends, the reach
of this experience can quickly reach thousands.

However, there is great value in ensuring you deliver a positive customer service. Right Now
Technologies 2011 Customer Experience Report found that 86% of U.S. adults are willing to pay more
for a better customer experience and 73% of U.S. adults said a friendly customer service made them
fall in love with a brand. Not only will brands get happy, loyal customers but will see increased
business.

Business should be built around how to deliver excellent customer service. It’s easy to forget its
importance when you are building your brand’s web presence and marketing your website. These five
examples above provide truly excellent customer service.

2.6 How to Deliver Great Customer Service

Follow these 10 tips, and your customers will be very, very happy.

A widely quoted statistic gets to the heart of the value proposition behind customer service: The cost
of acquiring a new customer is five times that of retaining an existing one. For businesses that succeed
by forming a bond with the customer, the disparity is surely even greater.

Good customer service is essentially a variation on the golden rule: You want to meet the same
expectations you would have if you were the customer. "The basic things will never change," says
Tony Maggiotto, an adviser at the Buffalo State College Small Business Development Center in New
York. "If people believe that they're being remembered and are known to the business that will have a
positive impact on their disposition toward your business."

Providing good customer service is often a matter of common sense, but that doesn't mean it comes
naturally to all business owners. For some, in fact, it means behaving differently than they do in other
business situations, says Richard Proffer, a counselor at a University of Missouri Small Business &
Technology Development Center. If you are used to fighting about every detail of a business deal, say,
you may have to adjust your attitude. Ditto if you feel that selling is a zero-sum game; to win
customers, you will sometimes have to make them feel they have won, too. The pages that follow are a
guide to providing excellent customer service.

2.7 Caring for Customers

1. Great Customer Service Begins With you
simply put, the most inspiring leadership is by example. If you show indifference to your customers,
your employees will mimic it. If you are enthusiastic and courteous, your troops are more likely to be
so as well.

2. A Culture of Customer Service Must Be Codified

Start by hanging on the wall a set of core values, 10 or fewer principles that include customer service
ideals, suggests Susan McCartney, Maggiotto's colleague at the Buffalo SBDC. "Share them during

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 17

the training, have employees sign them, and evaluate employees based on the values," she says. "But
don't call them rules."

Employee training on customer service precepts should be intensive: written materials, verbal
instruction, mentors, and on-the-job demonstrations all ought to be part of the coursework, says
McCartney.

3. Employees Are Customers, Too

Companies renowned for their customer service -- the online shoe retailer Zappos, for example -- treat
employees as they would have their employees treat their customers. "Employees take on more
responsibility because they know they are appreciated and an important part of the team," says the
University of Missouri's Proffer. "People who don't feel like they're part of the bigger picture, who feel
like a small cog in a big machine, are not willing to go the extra mile."

Not every business can afford to shower staff with generous pay and benefits, but not every business
has to. Small companies, says McCartney, can show "intense interest" in employees, in their welfare,
their families, and their future -- what McCartney calls the family model. It's also important to
recognize an employee -- publicly -- for a job well done. Some companies also offer incentives for
exceptional customer service, but if you can't spare the cash, you might throw an office party or offer
another token of appreciation. When he was a manager at cable provider Tele-Communications Inc.,
for instance, Proffer personally washed the cars of notable employees.

4. Emphasize the Long Term

Short-term sales incentives can sometimes undermine long-term customer satisfaction. Prevent that by
building short-term programs atop an ongoing program that rewards broader improvements, says Paula
Godar, brands strategy director for Maritz, a sales and marketing consulting firm based in St. Louis.
Moreover, winner-take-all incentives "can drive a lot of unhealthy competition and disengage the rest
of the sales force," says Godar. "We've improved sales performance by much greater percentages
when we've improved the performance of the large group in the middle of the bell curve."

5. Build Trust
Use your customer's name whenever you can. And sometimes you have to give to get. In his book The
Knack, Inc. columnist Norm Brodsky relates how he won a sale against long odds by venturing his
time and expertise to help a prospect cut costs. "I was showing him not only that we could help him
save money but that we cared about saving him money," writes Brodsky.

6. Listen
"The best salespeople spend 80 percent of their time listening, not talking," says Marc Willson, a retail
and restaurant consultant for the Virginia SBDC network. Ask open-ended questions to elicit a
customer's needs and wants. "Once they've identified what they're looking for, use their words
throughout the process," suggests Proffer. "That way, they've sold it for you."

If the prospect is "just looking," don't press further. But be discreetly nearby. "Straighten the racks, or
dust something," says Willson. "You need to be within earshot or eyeshot, because every retail sale
involves a re-approach."

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 18

7. Sometimes it’s the Little Things That Matter
Small gestures that anticipate customers' needs or attend to their comforts -- such as offering a cold
glass of water on a hot day or a children's area with toys -- go a long way toward winning them over.

8. If You Can't Help a Customer, Point to an Establishment That Can

And saying "You might try Smith's, on Main Street" won't make nearly as strong an impression as
confirming that Smith's has the item in question and giving directions to Main Street. "This is the
ultimate in customer service," says Tom Maydew, regional director of the SBDC in Pocatello, Idaho.
"That customer will be back."

9. Show Your Appreciation

One important element of retaining customers is communication. Willson suggests a personalized
thank-you note after a deal or sale -- "If Nordstrom's can do it, everybody can do it" -- and even a
follow-up phone call a month or so later. In a retail business, loyalty programs or rewards cards drive
repeat business (as well as help you collect information about what your customers are buying). Many
businesses send out birthday and holiday cards; Proffer prefers marking the anniversary of a client's or
customers first purchase.

10. Treat Your Best Customers better

if your company relies on a relatively small number of clients to provide a disproportionately large
share of revenue, it makes sense to devote a disproportionate amount of time and energy to serving
them. (Think of airlines and the escalating benefits in their frequent-flier programs.)

Some luxury retailers and services practice "clienteling," by which all of the activity around every
customer -- every conversation, every visit, and every transaction -- is logged with contact
management software. Most businesses need not go that far, but it's well worth keeping your best
customers informed. You might, for example, keep track of their preferences and let them know when
new merchandise arrives that they are likely to be interested in. You might also organize appreciation
days just for those clients, or invite them to private pre-sales in advance of the public.

2.8 Describe the types of problems that internal customers may have
An organization has to keep its internal customers happy by taking care of them, just as it takes care of
its external customers. There should be systematic way of processes in place and training need to be
provided to apply the services available for the internal customers. Every organization has a system
which is used to accomplish any task or get any work done. When internal customers are satisfied, it
leads to the success of the organization.
Internal customers can have the following types of problems at work place
Problems related to work:
• Not enough knowledge of the internal processes or work systems which leads to them not
being able to get the work done properly.
• Not knowing what their job roles are or deviating hugely from their job role, as sometimes they
are expected to agree to any demands from higher management or not knowing what to do as
they have not been briefed about the job
• Not enough support from the human resource department for motivation and developments
within the organization.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 19

 • Lack of training required to complete the job / tasks / projects
• Lack of encouragement, recognition and appreciation of one’s work
• Lack of Health and safety procedures that have to be in place for the customer to carry out the
job and also checks to see if the workplace is suitable for the work being done.
• Not using latest technologies to keep up with the advanced systems in place which can highly
disrupt the workflow with partnership companies that are way ahead in the use of technology
• Not having standards set up for services, record management, data storage and retrieval,
trading standards etc.
• Not having performance goals, performance indicators and timescales for achieving tasks
• Work not complying with the SMART objective
• Lack of communication / information sharing which is a major fact in most organizations that
need to be considered
• Lack of help and advice from higher management
Problems those are personal:
• Not giving choices but delegating work to certain people without getting their consent or input
• Unfair treatment
• Not giving equal opportunities
• Discrimination
• Safeguarding issues
• Making racial remarks or remarks about appearance
• Not being included in the processes within the team
• Sense of being ignored

2.9 Explain ways of dealing with problems

Problems happen everywhere and are there in every organization. Problems exist in personal and
professional life, but the important fact is to not run away from problems, but to face them and deal
with them. Minor problems are most of the time ignored in the sense that they will go away, but any
problems that occur, be it major or minor, have to be analyzed and resolved otherwise it will hinder
your progress. Minor issues can pile up if not dealt with and cause huge obstacles. Dealing with
problems strengthens ones personality and teaches lessons. You gain a lot of experience dealing with
problems.

Problems have to be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise they grow bigger and bigger and will be
harder to solve later. We should not get accustomed to a life with problems and be convinced that we
have to live with it. This will have serious effects on the quality of life and the performance at work.
Leaving a problem unresolved will open doors to many other problems or will lead to many other
problems.

Ways of dealing with problems are:

When problems are your own:

• Changing the way we think about problems. Rather than thinking that problems are a part of
daily life, we need to think that we need to live problem free. This will motivate you to deal
with the problem.
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 • Always focus on what solution you need out of the problem. Focussing on the problem can
make you stressed and overwhelmed and will not let you look for a solution. So focus on how
it will feel if the problem is solved and get yourself motivated to deal with it
• Look at the problem as another person’s problem and this will make it easier for you to deal
with it. When you have the feeling that it is yours, it drags you down. Thinking it the other way
round helps you come up with ideas to deal with the problem.
• You need to accept the fact that there is no problem that cannot be solved. This will free your
mind, give you hope and help you deal with it effectively.
• Be confident that the problem can be resolved and stay focussed on the solution rather than the
cause.
• Consider the problem as an opportunity to learn new things, because as you deal with the
problem, you will learn a lot and gain a lot of new experiences. It helps you to grow up as a
strong person and have strong will power.
• When problems of the same kind are repetitive, it is good not to deal with it the way it was
dealt with before, but to take advice from others and use a different procedure to deal with it,
so that it does not repeat in the future.

When it is a customer’s problem:

• Put yourself in the situation and mindset of the customer and set aside the feeling that you were
not responsible for the problem. Focus on the client and their situation. Stay calm.
• Listen to them actively as they want you to listen to them. Ask them why they are upset and
what the problem is and how it happened.
• Do not jump into conclusions instantly, but listen to them completely and wait for them to
finish. Do not interrupt either
• Watch their body language
• Repeat to them what you have heard to confirm you have heard it right
• Be empathetic and show them that you have understood why they are upset.
• Apologies if it was your mistake or the organization’s mistake acknowledge and accept their
concerns and present them with a solution. Provide them with choices of solutions if possible.
• Take actions and follow-up on the problem also making them aware of the steps that will be
taken to resolve and how it will be resolved.
• Once resolved, contact the customer to say that the problem that was being dealt with has now
been resolved. This will make the customer happy and show that you genuinely care.

Explain the purpose and value of a complaints procedure, if applicable

A customer complaints procedure is a systematic method used by any organization to receive record
and respond to complaints made by the customers. It also helps to efficiently and effectively monitor
the status of the complaint. This is used to also improve the working of the organization.

The purpose and value of a complaints procedure are:

• Provides a formal route to address concerns and any problems

• Ensures that complaints are considered fairly, dealt with at once within the agreed timescales

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 21

 • Helps resolve complaints constructively without damaging relationships
• Helps with confidentiality
• Helps with an appropriate response
• Promotes good employment practices
• Encourages harmony at work place
• Helps reduce bullying, harassment and victimization at work
• Improves customer retention and gives a good reputation to the organization
• Helps the organization decide on appropriate actions regarding the complaint
• Helps the organization identify its areas of weakness thereby helping with improvement and
development

LO3: Monitor and report on service delivery

➢ Reviewing regularly customer satisfaction with service delivery using verifiable evidence
➢ Identifying opportunities to enhance the quality of service and products
➢ Monitoring procedural aspects of service delivery for effectiveness and suitability to customer
requirements
➢ Seeking regularly customer feedback and use to improve the provision of products and services
➢ Incorporating evidence of customer satisfaction in decisions to modify products or services
➢ Ensuring clear and detailed reports focused on critical aspects of service delivery

3.1 Explain the purpose and benefits of monitoring internal customer satisfaction
and how to do so

Customer satisfaction has to be monitored to improve the performance of the organization. There are
many indicators that can be used to monitor internal customer satisfaction and the quality of internal
customer service provided by the organization. This can be done by:

• Receiving feedback from staff and taking surveys from them from time to time
• Checking on the time it has taken to respond to enquiries
• Gathering information about how they found out about this organization and what made them
want to work with the organization
• Monitoring sales and other accounts
• Statistics of customers staying with the organization and leaving the organization
• The number of complaints received and the number of complaints resolved
• The awards received or nominated for in a particular year or period of time
• Performance against a standard target for improvement
• Checking how services and products were delivered
• Check for any requests in service improvements
• Monitoring service delivery
• Monitoring customer perception of the organization

The purpose and value of monitoring internal customer satisfaction are:

• It helps with improving customer service skills within the organization

• Will help the organization improve its working standards and service delivery
• Internal customers have a feeling of security and will know that the organization cares for them
Deliver a Service to Customers Page 22
 • The customers feel valued
• Improves performance of the organization
• Improves the profit for the organization
• Internal customers when cared, will care for the organization and bring in more external
customers
• The organization learns a lot through internal surveys and feedback
• Customers know that their thoughts are listened to

3.2 Describe techniques for collecting and evaluating customer feedback

Feedback is a process through which an organization receives reactions from customers regarding their
products and services or performance of a particular task. It is an essential part in any business or
organization. Feedback helps with making future plans and progress in business.

Some techniques for collecting and evaluating feedback are:

• Suggestion box – This box can be kept at reception or near the entrance in an organization and
customers can drop in suggestions anonymously into the box about any issues, enquiries or
improvements necessary. These can be collected on a regular basis and discussed in meetings
to decide on the best possible results. Our organization has a suggestions box at the entrance of
the building
• Comments book – This is not something everyone will like to use, but still can be left in a
corner at reception for customers to write in comments and suggestions. In our organization we
have comments book for building maintenance issues
• Feedback or evaluation sheets – These sheets can be sent out to customers or kept available on
the intranet, so that customers from various departments can answer questions in that form or
write down suggestions based on their experience with the service, performance of the
organization and the way they feel or are treated by the organization in every aspect

NEW - Secret Service: Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service

• Questionnaires – These can be again sent out by email or by post or on phone, or face-to-face
or made available on the Intranet. Customers can choose to anonymously answer these
questions just giving information about the department or directorate they work for. Our
organization does this every year through a link on the intranet. Most people will hesitate to
complete this face-to-face or over the phone, so the best method would be the intranet
• Complaints procedure – This is another process through which customers’ point of views and
their problems can be heard. It is a process through which customers can voice their thoughts.
• Focus groups and participative evaluation processes can also be used to monitor customer
satisfaction. Our organization has an day every year, where we get a chance to participate in
discussions and evaluations on company’s progress, projects being worked on or to be started
and any effects of organization’s performance on customers, and how the customers feel about
the organization. There are also various activities to help improve communication and
relationships between the internal customers and between the customers and the organization.

Deliver a Service to Customers Page 23

While all the above are different techniques to evaluate customer satisfaction, care has to be taken in
order not to burden customers asking for feedback. The organization has to make sure that customers
are not pressurized and interested candidates can be asked to participate in focus groups and
participative evaluation.

3.3 Explain the benefits of continuous improvement

Continuous improvement helps an organization to gradually gain skills to find problems and solve
them so that the organization’s policies are followed and objectives are fulfilled. It is done by using
techniques in a systematic manner and methods that are proven to improve efficiency. This helps with
improvement in products and services. The process involves identifying the problem, defining the
problem and analyzing ways to solve it, exploring ways to solve the problem, selecting the best way or
method to solve the problem, implementing the best method to solve the problem and finally
reviewing the results.

The benefits of continuous improvement are:

• It leads to better results in the business when it comes to cost, productivity, timescales, profit
and delivery
• It improves customer satisfaction
• Helps customers improve performance and helps the organization to improve its performance
• Encourages customers to take ownership of their work
• Helps teamwork and team building
• Motivates work within the organization
• Overall the organization and its customers flourish

3.4 5 Ways to Monitor Your Customer Service

Customer service managers can provide all the training and incentives they want, but if they don’t
have an effective method of monitoring their customer service staff, they may see the same mistakes
arise in their department over and over again. Monitoring methods ensure consistency in customer
service and offer important feedback on problem areas that need to be addressed. We have five
effective ways to monitor your customer service to raise the bar on your service level.

Reviewing Written Correspondence

All types of written correspondence, including letters, emails and live chat records, can provide
important information about how your CSRs are handling customers. Let your employees know that
their interactions could be monitored prior to doing so, which will ensure a better attitude from your
staff about the process.

Collect these pieces of correspondence weekly or monthly, and create a chart for results, so you can
easily compile relevant data. Use your results to identify potential problem areas and train your
employees in more effective service methods.

Monitoring Phone Calls

Everyone has called a business, only to hear, “Your call may be recorded for quality purposes.” This
mode of monitoring customer service is a common one that can be highly effective in teaching
Deliver a Service to Customers Page 24
employees better service techniques. When CSRs actually hear how they sound to customers, they can
use that knowledge to make corrections to their service methods in the future.
Asking Customers for Feedback
Some managers find that simply asking customers what they think of the service is an effective way to
pinpoint potential problem areas. You can apply this technique casually, chatting with a customer after
a transaction is complete. A more formal approach is to call a customer after the fact with a scripted
questionnaire, or ask customers to complete a survey form that gives information about the quality of
service they received.
Use Mystery Shoppers
Some companies employ mystery shoppers to perform transactions and then report on the level of
service they received. The advantage of this monitoring technique over customer feedback is that the
mystery shopper knows what to look for the moment he sets foot in the business. These shoppers
typically complete a questionnaire right after their transaction that provides specific, measurable
information about the transaction.

3.5 Resolving Customer Disputes

It's bad enough when a customer is unhappy with your product or service. But if the attempt to redress
the problem is frustrating or fruitless, it makes matters much worse. A satisfied customer may tell one
or two friends about your company, says Richard Proffer, but "an angry customer might tell a dozen."
Some aggrieved customers can never be placated, but, more often, successful dispute resolution lies in
a business owner's hands.

Solve the problem when it occurs. It's always best when people on the floor or in the field are the
first line of response, say Proffer and Marc Willson. Vest them with authority to resolve certain types
of problems themselves.

Don't greet agitation with agitation. "Our first tendency is to match our tone to their tone, but you
don't want to do that," says Proffer. "If we stay calm, their voice will start coming down, and they'll
begin to relax."

The Five A’s Proffer says it's helpful to think of resolving a dispute as a five-step process called the
Five A's: Acknowledge the problem. Apologize, even if you think you're right. Accept responsibility.
Adjust the situation with a negotiation to fix the problem. Assure the customer that you will follow
through.

Don't forget salesmanship. The skills and techniques of good selling discussed earlier are even more
valuable in difficult situations. Address customers by name, and repeat what they've said. "Whether
you resolve the issue or not," says Willson, "they'll see that you have their best interest in mind."

3.6 Hiring for Service

For employees who interact with customers, technical proficiency at the job isn't enough. Nor is
passion for your product or service. Staff members who deal with customers ought to be intuitive,
empathetic, and good listeners. Here are tips for vetting those traits.

Interview in a neutral, public place, Tony Maggiotto suggests meeting the prospect in a café or
restaurant to see how he or she interacts with other people -- like the wait staff.

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Ask the right questions. Ask questions about how the applicant reacts to a situation. For example: "Tell
me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer." Check references in
the same fashion. You should also ask questions to see how well the interviewee listens and processes
information. "Outline a problem and ask them to respond to that," suggests Susan McCartney. "Even if
they ask you questions to clarify, I would give those points for that."

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