Running head: ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT

ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT

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ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2

Discussion..................................................................................................................................3

2. Method of improving the customer experience with service process.............................5

a. Setting the auto check out process - In this era of advanced technology, many retail

stores are going to adapt the auto-checkout process to make the billing process faster and

smoother. This really helps in reducing the waiting time and overall enhances the customer

journey (Johnson et al 2021)..................................................................................................5

b. Use of automation in the store - The more digitalization happens the better customer

service established. Use of QR code in every assortment shelves will give the detailed

information about any discounts etc, use of smart phones or devices to make the checkout

queue smooth and fast, use of smart-devices in changing rooms etc.....................................5

3. Method of improving the customer experience with staff members...............................5

Conclusion................................................................................................................................10

References................................................................................................................................11
ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

Introduction

Frasers group plc is a holding company of Sports Direct International which sells

sports and leisure clothing, footwear, sports equipments and accessories both on offline

through retail stores and online. They also sell on wholesale basis to retailers. Fraser group

established by in 1982 by Mike Ashley and it is the United Kingdom’s largest sports goods

and equipments retailer. It operates through 670 stores on a global level

(www.sportsdirectplc.com, 2019).

In retail sector customer service is one of the most important factors which helps in

retaining the customers (Ngo and Nguyen, 2016). As per the report on the customer feedback

and satisfaction level, it has been observed that retail stores based out of southeast region,

which includes London, the findings, were not impressive. Other competitors’ scores were

high in terms of customer services. These stores were lagging behind their competitors and

other retail store in areas like customer service where store employees or staffs being

sometime rude or abrupt with their customers, poor presentation of the commodities inside

the store which lead to the sense of frustration among the customers, lack of availability of

products of various sizes, poor outlay of store merchandising, errors during billing was also

one of the factors. Sports direct international performance was also below the industry’s

average by 10%, where other companies scored in an average of 66% of quality score. It

score on the trust pilot score, trust pilot is an online review community where customer share

their experiences with any businesses, products or services. Customers give and evaluate

score out of five. It helps the potential customers in decision making, so that they can make

an informed decision based on its score.

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Discussion

With the rapid change in technology and emerging online players in the retail sector,

it is quite evident that retail sector is one the sectors which has suffered the most because of

its lack in flexibility (Balaji and Roy 2017). Customer experience is an internal and

subjective reaction in the process of any direct or indirect interaction between consumers and

stores (Lemon and 2016). It is this interaction that defines the customer satisfaction level and

this satisfaction level with the services are wholly based on the experiences, which are

categorized in four categories based on literature; these are (1) experience with products (2)

experience with service process (3) experience with staff members (4) experience with

shopping environment (Stein and Ramaseshan 2016)

So it is utmost important to cater and serve the customer needs in order to enhance their

experiences, And these customer experiences are directly related or dependent on customer’s

reactions on these above four mentioned categories. Though customer service is a part of the

customer experience and customer service is limited to interactions a customer has when

needed any advice or assistance on a product, service or any other things but it is very

difficult to draw a line between customer experience and customer service (Srivastava and

Kaul 2016). Therefore, when customers draws any picture of its overall experience towards

any buying journey it considers the whole experiences.

So in order to improve the customer service it is most needed to evaluate and work on

improving the whole customer experience. Being a regional manager, the overall

responsibilities are to enhance the customer-buying journey to make the customers

comfortable and loyal. There are various methods or options available to improve the

customer perceptions towards the customer services, but in this study, the emphasis is given
ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

on how to improve the overall customer experience by adopting different methods which in

turn will lead to a better customer service and satisfied customer.

1. Methods to improve the customer experiences with products:

a. Improving the store layout- It is one of the most important criteria for making the

customer happy when they face no difficulties while entering into any store. Apart

from this customer, also expect to be led along the major sections of the stores, so

a good store layout is very important to improve the customer experience (da

Costa Webber et al 2018). A good store layout provides the opportunity to

increase the turnover by appropriate shelf layout, proper arrangement of the

products, increasing the visibility and availability of discounted products. It also

enhance the customer flow through the store, it creates a good impression on the

customers mind and gives the ample amount of time to take a buying decision.

b. Optimize inventory management- Keeping the right amount of inventory would

give the customer choices and options to buy. This in turn increases the chances of

buying the product and also makes the customers happy and satisfied.
ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

2. Method of improving the customer experience with service process

a. Setting the auto check out process - In this era of advanced technology, many

retail stores are going to adapt the auto-checkout process to make the billing

process faster and smoother. This really helps in reducing the waiting time and

overall enhances the customer journey (Johnson et al 2021)

b. Use of automation in the store - The more digitalization happens the better

customer service established. Use of QR code in every assortment shelves will

give the detailed information about any discounts etc, use of smart phones or

devices to make the checkout queue smooth and fast, use of smart-devices in

changing rooms etc.

3. Method of improving the customer experience with staff members

a. Providing adequate training to employees – Providing adequate training to

employees through extensive training modules and teaching them the basics on how

to treat every visitor as potential customers, treat them friendly with deep empathy,

courtesy, and respect (Noe and Kodwani 2018). With ongoing pandemic and health

regulations, it is important to keep an open line of communication with the staffs and

prepared them to accept any changes if required in the future.

b. Providing up-to date knowledge to store’s employees - A great way to improve the

customer service is to well equip the staffs with the complete knowledge about the

latest trends, products, services, company’s vision and mission. Also training them to

use positive and reaffirm language always while interacting with the customers,

provide them to use any new products before launching them in the market
ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

4. Recognizing retail staff’s contribution – Recognizing the employees contribution

through awards, gift vouchers etc would help in creating a sense of belongingness

towards company. Dissatisfied employees are most likely to come with their

problems, which in turn produce the in-effective customer service. Method of

improving the customer experience with shopping environment. (Kuehnl et al 2019)

a. Proper and attractive arrangement of the shop- Customers do not often step into the

store when the external appearance of the store does not look attractive. Store’s

external and internal appearance does influence the buyer’s behavior. It also induce

customers to select the store.

b. Guidance of service staff throughout the shopping- Providing overall support to

customers like from assisting customer in selection of product to solving the post

buying queries like return or exchange etc. could help in satisfying the customer

c. Complete service facilities- Buy online and pick up at the store, inventory information

online, sending promotional texts to the existing customers etc. could add value to the

customer experience.

There are various methods of benchmarking, measuring and assessing the service quality. It

is very crucial stage in selecting the appropriate method in providing an efficient service.

1. SERVQUAL – It is most commonly used method for measuring the subjective

elements of service quality. Collecting data from customer through survey covers the

five elements of service quality (Haming et al 2019). These are given below:

a. Reliability – It checks whether the promised service could be delivered in a

consistent and precise way.

b. Assurance – The understanding level and politeness of the employees in extent of

creating trust and confidence among customers

c. Tangibles – The physical evidence like building, equipment etc

ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

d. Empathy – To what extent employees shows care and attention

e. Responsiveness – How prompt the employees responds to a situation

2. Mystery Shopping – It is a popular technique where an undercover customer hired to

test the service quality. It provides more insights than just observing.

3. Post service rating – It is the method of asking customers to rate the quality of

services after its got delivered.

4. Follow-up survey – In this method retailer ask for customer’s reviews and feedbacks

through email or texts. It has certain advantage like it gives enough time to customers

to give detailed responses.

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Contingency plans to deal with operations specific problems

Every company faces a problems or a unique set of risks that needs a plan. It becomes

important for a management to look over it and identify the key elements and threats in the

key processes and functions. A contingency plan is a dynamic strategy that explains and

gives the overview of the course of actions or steps the leadership team and staff takes in

response to any events or damages (Larsen et al 2020).

To discuss the contingency plans that could be put into the place to deal with operations

specific problems an assistance of 3-point plan is required which will summarize and provide

justification to the resolutions or steps, which could be taken, these are:

1. Identify the critical business operations:

The critical business operations of any large retail business without which it cannot

run in the market are:

a. Customer service Functions – It addresses the various elements like does the

store offer complete guidance to the customers? Were the staffs behaved in a

friendly manner and solved all their queries? Is the personal services offered?

What are the methods adopted in handling the customer’s problem? How the store

handles when the demanded product is not available in the store?

b. Store design – Various aspects which comes under the store design and these are

important part of shopping experience, As per the research almost 50% of the

visitors do gets attract from store location, store design and layout, atmosphere,

visual merchandising, store’s space

c. Product inventory – Functions like anticipating the stocks requirement to meet the

customer’s demand, receiving stocks on time to time from suppliers or

ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

distributors, setting the prices for the products, managing the stock shelves and

displays.

d. Staffing - It is also the major functions which consist training of employees,

managing promotions and events, managing the store and data management using

technology

2. Key goals:

a. To improve the employees promptness towards customer queries

b. Train staff on how to treat the customers friendly

c. To achieve the target of 3/5 on the trust pilot rating by the end of 3 months

d. To surpass the industry’s average quality score of 66%

3. Action plan:

a. By imparting adequate training to staffs on inculcating these skills such as empathy,

patience, consistency, adaptability, communication skills etc.

b. Focusing on key touch points of customers such as reducing the waiting time at the

checkout process by semi-automating the checkout process

c. Build new software for managing the inventory and supply chain so that customers do

not face the problem of unavailability of stock.

d. Increasing the employee engagement by providing surveys on working condition,

recognizing their contributions, arranging workshop and fun activities.

ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SPORTS DIRECT 1

Conclusion

Customer service wholly depends on the experiences of customer, which in turn

depends on various factors like their experiences towards products, staff behaviour, service

processes, store design, inventory etc. So it becomes very important for retailers to merge

physical and online stores in order to improve the customer services overall. They should

train their staffs with latest updates, trends etc. because they are the ones who is the face of

the company. There is also a need to automate the checkout process in order to reduce the

errors in billing and it also helps in reducing the waiting time while standing at the queue. An

effective sales management is needed to sustain in the long run and also it helps in satisfying

the customers, lack of inventory management and unavailability of products at stores do

create a negative impact on the store and it also o results in the loss of customers. Customer

service does not end with the sale is made and customer leaves the store, customer service

strategy and return or exchange policies etc. also contributes in influencing the customer

experience. Major portion of buyer’s experiences depends on how they are being treated at

the store by the staffs. So, well trained employees, responsive communication, effective

technologies and empathy towards customers could convert casual customers into loyal

customers in long run.

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References

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retail industry. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(1-2), pp.7-31.

da Costa Webber, C., Sausen, J.O., Basso, K. and Laimer, C.G., 2018. Remodelling the retail

store for better sales performance. International Journal of Retail & Distribution

Management.

Haming, M., Murdifin, I., Syaiful, A.Z. and Putra, A.H.P.K., 2019. The application of

SERVQUAL distribution in measuring customer satisfaction of retails company. The Journal

of Distribution Science, 17(2), pp.25-34.

Helkkula, A. and Kelleher, C., 2010. Circularity of customer service experience and customer

perceived value. Journal of customer behaviour, 9(1), pp.37-53.

Johnson, V.L., Woolridge, R.W. and Bell, J.R., 2021. The impact of consumer confusion on

Mobile self-checkout adoption. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 61(1), pp.76-86.

Kuehnl, C., Jozic, D. and Homburg, C., 2019. Effective customer journey design: consumers’

conception, measurement, and consequences. Journal of the Academy of Marketing

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marketing firm: Retailer and consumer contingencies. Managerial and Decision

Economics, 41(2), pp.203-215.

Lemon, K.N. and Verhoef, P.C., 2016. Understanding customer experience throughout the

customer journey. Journal of marketing, 80(6), pp.69-96.

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Ngo, V.M. and Nguyen, H.H., 2016. The relationship between service quality, customer

satisfaction and customer loyalty: An investigation in Vietnamese retail banking

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Noe, R.A. and Kodwani, A.D., 2018. Employee training and development, 7e. McGraw-Hill

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www.sportsdirectplc.com, 2019. Home – Sports Direct International plc. [online]

Sportsdirectplc.com. Available at: <https://www.sportsdirectplc.com/> [Accessed 19 April

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