Mark Scheme

Unit title Customer Service

Textbook Customer Service: A Practical Approach (6 th edition) – Elaine K Harris

Series March 2020

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

1 (a) Explain the importance of customer service staff having Syllabus reference:
credibility. [4 marks] Set text chapter: The Challenge of Customer
(b) Explain eight ways in which customer service staff can Service (pages 27-28)
improve their credibility. [16 marks]

On part (a) award one mark for each of the following bullet points: Tick for each
 Is made up of the combination of our current knowledge mark awarded
 Reputation
 Professionalism Total mark for
 and how believable and how reliable we are. the question
circled in red
On part (b) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
each of the following:
 Practice consistency; approach similar situations in the same manner;
 Keep your word; follow through on the commitments that you make;
 Develop your expertise; become very knowledgeable about your
company, products, industry; NAQ
 Become a teammate with your co-workers; working successfully with BOD
others shows that you have common goals and can benefit from each
individual’s specific skills;
 Show your dedication to customers; tell customers what you will do for
them, follow up;

 Treat all your customers and co-workers with the same high level of
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
respect; allows others to respect you;
 Apologise if you are wrong; your honesty will impress others;
 Remember - credibility is harder to regain than to keep; work tirelessly
to keep it.

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

2 (a) Define the following terms: Syllabus reference:
(i) Primary expectations of customers [2 marks] Set text chapter: The Challenge of Customer
(ii) Secondary expectations of customers [2 marks] Service (pages 23-27)
(b) Explain what is meant by the term scope of influence. [4 marks]
(c) Explain six techniques for exceeding customers’ expectations. [12 marks]

On part (a)(i) award one mark each for the following: Tick for each .
 The customers’ most basic requirements of an interaction mark
awarded
On part (a)(ii) award one mark each for the following:
Total mark
 Expectations based on our previous experiences for the
 That are enhancements to our primary expectations question
 circled in red
On part (b) award one mark each for four of the following points:
 Definition: it is our ability to influence others based on our perceptions or
experiences
 Each person’s scope is different;
 On average our opinions influence between 7-15 people
 Some people have a larger scope because they interact with a larger NAQ
number of people or because they are outgoing, open personalities BOD
 Scope of influence is, in effect, mouth-to-mouth advertising
 Need to ask, remind, entice customers to share their positive experiences
 Doing this shows current customers how much we appreciate them
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
 It is important for customer service staff to do all that they can to keep
the business of customers-research has shown that it costs five times
more to attract new customers than keep existing ones
 Research has also shown that customers are more likely to share a
negative experience with their superiors-these are typically people with
influence
 Social media has impacted on scope of influence-good and bad
information is shared very quickly.

On part (c) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
each of the following:
 Become familiar with your customers; get to know who they are and why
they do business with you, likes, dislikes
 Ask your customers what their expectations are; find out what they see
as the benefit of doing business with you, what they would like you to do
 Tell your customers what they can expect; convey to customers your
commitment to them
 Live up to their expectations; do what you have said you will do
 Maintain consistency; deliver a consistent service and don’t promise
what you cannot deliver
 Communicate with customers using the method they want to use; e.g. if
they prefer face-to-face do that, possibly online is a preference

 Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

3 Explain ten ways in which a company can gather information on Syllabus reference:
customer views about its services. [20 marks] Set text chapter: Customer retention (pages
160-162)
Award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for each of the Tick for each
following: mark
awarded
 Informal surveys; provide insights about what customers like and dislike;
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
 Comment cards; popular method which provides immediate feedback; Total mark
 Verbal comments; asking customers about their experiences; for the
 Historical data; use of computers to collect information on purchases and question
other related data; circled in red
 Sales; show what customers are doing eg increasing or decreasing orders;
 Corporate-generated surveys; usually more detailed and statistically
reliable;
 Discussions with internal customers; they have information about what
customers like, do not like and are interested in;
 Focus groups; random groups of customers or prospective customers NAQ
who are brought together to discuss current or future offerings of a BOD
business;
 Toll-free numbers; provide numbers to reach the company easily, which
encourages communication;
 Customer intelligence information; process of gathering information,
building a historical database and developing an understanding of
current, potential and lapsed customers.

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

4 Describe seven barriers to effective decision-making in customer Syllabus reference:
Set text chapter: Problem Solving (pages 46-
service. [20 marks]
49)
Award one mark for each heading and bullet point below: Tick for each
mark awarded
Know your customers:
 The more familiar we are with our customers, the more likely we will be Total mark for
to recognise what their real problems and concerns are; the question
 The greater our awareness of the needs, motivations, and fears of circled in red
customers, the more effectively we can begin to solve their problems.

Ask questions and listen to spoken and unspoken messages:

Question Answer Annotate Guidance
 The more information that can be collected about customers by listening
the more accurately we can help to solve their problems;
 Customers may have unspoken messages that they are unwilling to share
with others without some type of encouragement-so need to listen to
what the customer is not saying.
NAQ
Know the policies of your organisation and in which areas flexibility is allowed BOD
 Not knowing company policies and what is allowed may make customer
service providers appear unprepared or have no authority;
 If they know what policies allow, they can go into a negotiation ready to
negotiate.

Demonstrate the willingness to be flexible:

 Must have the ability to react to situations as they occur;
 Where possible, allow customers to participate in the problem-solving
and negotiation process, e.g. seek ideas about a resolution.

Learn to handle your anger and your customer’s anger appropriately

 To defuse a customer’s anger try to anticipate the cause and confront it
carefully;

Shift anger where you can back to the customer.

 Consider what the customer may lose in the negotiation process

Try to understand what the customer will see as a compromise

 Determine mutually beneficial solutions to challenging problems and
situations

Create a win-win situation;

 Explain to the customer exactly how the agreed-upon solution will work.

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

Question Answer Annotate Guidance
On part (a) award one mark each for the following: Tick for each
 Is the first step mark awarded
 And key in the process
 Is finding a recognisable direction to focus on Total mark for
 Involves establishing specific customer service goals the question
 Helps define what they want to accomplish circled in red
 Additional goals may be identified as strategy develops

On part (b) award one mark each for EIGHT of the following:
 Made up of the networks
 Of people, physical facilities and information
 That support the production of customer service NAQ
 Important to consider capabilities of existing infrastructure BOD
 Infrastructure is the highway that gets you where you want to go
 Infrastructures require a lot of planning
 Need to anticipate future needs
 Very few infrastructure projects show a positive return in short-term
 Important to use infrastructure to its full potential

On part (c) award one mark each for SIX of the following:
 Composed of values, beliefs and norms
 Shared by a group of people
 Every business has its own unique culture
 The culture must encourage excellent customer service
 Customer service environment needs customer orientated culture
 E.g., of culture is typical workday hours
 Or industry lingo

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

6 (a) Explain what is meant by the term empowerment. [4 marks] Syllabus reference:
(b) Explain four ways in which staff can be empowered. [8 marks] Set text chapter: Empowerment (pages 73-77)
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
(c) Explain four ways in which customers can be trained to
be co-producers. [8 marks]

On part (a) award one mark each for FOUR of the following bullet points: Tick for each .
 To enable or permit customer service providers mark awarded
 To make a range of decisions to assist their customers
 Customer service providers who deal with a large number of customers Total mark for
frequently know the solution to the most common questions and the question
problems; circled in red
 They should be given the power to deal directly with some of the more
routine issues;
 This will give them more time to handle more unique situations and be
thorough with all their customers;
Empowerment frees time of supervisors who may otherwise be less
productive because they have to deal with issues that could be handled more NAQ
quickly by other staff. BOD

On part b) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
each of the following:
Paint a picture of what you hope to accomplish; an inspiring reminder of
what your organisation is trying to accomplish and how it can benefit each
member of the organisation
Allow workers to own their empowerment choices; give them
responsibility they can handle and give feedback on their choices
Reward and recognise positive examples and results of empowerment;
you will show those in your organisation that you are committed to the
empowerment process
Commit for the long haul; positive results will not appear overnight

On part c) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
each of the following:

Ask telephone callers to be prepared; e.g. Place on hold when calling in a

Question Answer Annotate Guidance
mail order purchase (company is reminding caller to be co-producer)
Repeat information; allows mistakes to be corrected and customer can
rethink choices
Train customers to be co-producers; e.g. Provide simple instructions on
forms to be completed so customers know what is expected of them
Tell customers why they should want to be co-producers; if customers
understand are more likely to participate enthusiastically.

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance

7 (a) List ten reasons why customers might be seen as “challenging”. Syllabus reference:
marks] Set text chapter: Coping with Challenging
(b) Explain five approaches that can be followed to reduce the risk Customers (pages 102-104)
of customers becoming “challenging”. [10 marks]

On part (a) award one mark each for TEN of the following: Tick for each
They do not speak your language mark awarded
They do not have expertise of the product/situation
They may be openly hostile Total mark for
They are visibly upset about something the question
They are quiet and uncommunicative circled in red
They show an attitude of superiority
They are impatient
They imply they are doing you a favour by doing business with you
They embody the type of person you have a personal bias against
They are so nice you hate to give them bad news
They are extremely angry NAQ
They have difficulty in making decisons BOD

On part (b) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
7 (a) List ten reasons why customers might be seen as “challenging”. Syllabus reference:
marks] Set text chapter: Coping with Challenging
(b) Explain five approaches that can be followed to reduce the risk Customers (pages 102-104)
of customers becoming “challenging”. [10 marks]

each of the following:

respect the customer’s time; always work at peak efficiency, stay
focussed on the customer
do not impose your bad or negative mood on anyone else; people will
avoid dealing with you if you have a reputation for being moody. Do not neglect
your interactions with internal customers. Immerse yourself in your job and be
positive
recognise regular customers with a smile and try to learn their names;
people feel more welcome. People usually choose to do business with people
they like
avoid destructive remarks; smart comments usually make you the loser
in the long run. A Golden Rule-if you would not want someone to say it to you,
do not say it to them
show initiative; show customers you are willing to go the extra mile for
them. Customers may not expect this and will be grateful and impressed.

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.

Question Answer Annotate Guidance
8 (a) Define the following: Syllabus reference:
(i) Formal leaders [2 marks] Set text chapter: Leadership in Customer
(ii) Informal leaders [2 marks] Service (pages 139-148)
(b) Explain five ways in which a customer service representative
can exceed their boss’s expectations. [10 marks]
(c) List six characteristics of excellent leaders. [6 marks]

On part (a)(i) award one mark each for the following: Tick for each
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
7 (a) List ten reasons why customers might be seen as “challenging”. Syllabus reference:
marks] Set text chapter: Coping with Challenging
(b) Explain five approaches that can be followed to reduce the risk Customers (pages 102-104)
of customers becoming “challenging”. [10 marks]

Have the authority and power mark awarded

Of their official position
Total mark for
On part (a)(i) award one mark each for the following: the question
Have no official authority circled in red
But do have the ability to influence others

On part (b) award one mark for the identifier and one for the explanation for
each of the following:
Be a team player; by allowing boss to be the coach of their team you give
them the opportunity to lead you to accomplish goals NAQ
Find out what your boss considers to be important; identify boss’s BOD
priorities, be aware of what they want to achieve, you can then be of assistance
in these areas
Be a collaborator, not a complainer; never criticise, insult, if you disagree
on how a project is being run then share your ideas
Have reasonable expectations; the boss can only do what is within their
power and they have other priorities. Recognise this
Go to work each day with a great attitude and the willingness to be a
professional; every individual must take responsibility for their own performance

On part (c) award one mark each for SIX of the following:
Show care and respect;
Practice what they preach;
Have expertise in the area in which they are working;
Practice consistency;
Behave professionally;
Allow employees to do what they have been empowered to do;
Question Answer Annotate Guidance
7 (a) List ten reasons why customers might be seen as “challenging”. Syllabus reference:
marks] Set text chapter: Coping with Challenging
(b) Explain five approaches that can be followed to reduce the risk Customers (pages 102-104)
of customers becoming “challenging”. [10 marks]

Give support;
Demonstrate flexibility;
Make time for others;
Are personable

Marks may be awarded for other relevant points.