TOPIC I: INTRODUCTION TO CUSTOMER CARE

Definition of terms
Customer

A customer is an individual or business that purchases another company's goods or services.

A customer is the most important visitor in a business premises

One of the most effective and least expensive ways to market a business is through excellent
customer service

Customer Service

Customer service refers to anything that business organizations do for the customer that
enhances the customer experience. Customer service must not be viewed from the organisation’s
point of view, but from the customers’ point of view

Customer satisfaction

It is the customers’ overall feeling of contentment with customer interaction

Customer care.

Customer care is the process of looking after customers to best ensure their satisfaction and
delightful interaction with a business and its brand, goods and services.

Customer Relationship Management is an upright concept or strategy to solidify relations with

customers and at the same time reducing cost and enhancing productivity and profitability in
business.

Customer Relationship Management is a comprehensive approach for creating, maintaining and

expanding customer relationships

Customer Relationship Management (or CRM) is a phrase that describes how your business
interacts with your customers. Most people think of CRM as a system to capture information
about your customers. However, that is only part of the picture. CRM involves using technology
to gather the intelligence you need to provide improved support and services to your customers.
In other words, CRM is also about what you do with that information to better meet the needs of
your existing customers and identify new customers, resulting in higher profits for you.

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The scope of customer care services
The purpose is to ensure that customer’s needs, wants and expectations are met by the
organisation. The scope of customer service depends on the company and the kinds of products
and services.

Customer service is not a department; it is an attitude. The concept of ‘service’ and ‘care’ can be
difficult to describe in tangible terms. And yet in every service encounter there are tangibles –
before, during and after the exchange between both parties – which affect how customers judge
the quality of service that is being provided
Let’s look at ‘care’ in more detail. What does the word actually mean? The dictionary defines
care as, amongst other meanings, ‘feeling concern and interest’. So transferring this to the
business world we can interpret it as going out of your way to meet your customer’s needs. It’s
also about being proactive and involved rather than passive and withdrawn
Care is the starting point and a good mnemonic to remember in this context is PERFECT:
P = professional
E = efficient
R = reliable
F = friendly
E = expert
C = caring
T = trustworthy

The needs of a customer

Services

Service is the important that influence the customer, and usually they think service is providing
the level of purchase that they are making to. For example, someone who makes a small,
efficient, spontaneous purchase may have a best service need that a customer who trying to
makes the largest purchase in a company.

Prices

Price is the costs include everything that people use to purchasing is becomes the important role
part of the life. In additional, people and business often use price as their financial to become

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their efficiently as possible, and also price is component becomes an issue of them. But price
temptation for a business to compete the price is very dangerous, yet also is the chance to learn
how to avoid those useless that have to set out. On the other hand, a business should set an
alternatives way to reduce the price, but to ensure that a business can add values in the product or
service to make the business more competitive. This is because many product can be consider in
unique are commodities. For example, a customer use to travel a local hamburger, and this
hamburger restaurant can be acquired at many others locations. Which is mean, this hamburger
restaurant had gain reputation and provide best service and promotion so it influence customer
rather travel to local hamburger to learn some experience of the restaurant. This example makes
the component of the price is important to the customer.

Quality

Mostly customer has a good expectation about the quality and durability. Business or a company
knows that has a reputation for the best quality they usually won’t question too much of the
product. For example, Americans less to question the product of their purchase as throws-a ways
items that much. On the other hand, durable and functional products that customers need to
decide to purchase for. This usually is related with the manufacture and distributors produce the
product that to gain expectation experience from customer of durability. Customers won’t
question the price is the manufacture or distributor had provide the high quality product.

Action

Customer will take action to ask the question if they have any problem. As the rules of service
industries, everyone has a need like to be treated as a priority, which is mean, they pay they
deserve to get the service benefits. On the other hand, if problems came, many companies will
offer a toll-free customer assistance telephone lines, make it flexible and to return policies, to
carry out the service that customer need for action. Customer which like to think that they are
important priority and when they want to question or need someone it hope got someone are
ready to be serve them or waiting them

Appreciation

 To improve the efficient business in a company, customers need to know that what our company
can gain appreciation in their business. There for, customer service providers have to giving the

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best service that to gain the appreciation in many types of appropriate ways. For example, saying
“Thank You” to the customer through from our words and add on the action movement is a good
starting point. In additional, to provide current information to the customer, the providers better
prefer customer a mailing address lists, information newsletters, special discount, courtesy, and
name recognition is the good start that to show to our customer of our appreciation. The
advantages of the record customer information, and email address which to let them know our
company updating and any promotion need to share with them. In additional, let them know that
what they have chosen to deal business in the consumer market. For example, a fast food
restaurant has provide the sign and say, “We know that you could eat somewhere else; thank you
for allowing to serve you.” This will cause enhance customer appreciation on our company and
which have the mine that intend come back again.

External and internal customers

External customer
They are the customers we do business with outside our organisation.

External customers are the customers we most commonly think of when we consider whom to

serve. They are the people with whom the organization interact and share their knowledge and

positive attitude. External customers have the power to enhance our reputation and to bring us

new business, but they are not the only customers that we have. A customer of a product or

service who is not an employee or a part of the company that supplies it

External customers are customers outside your business example:

 Diner in a restaurant

 People buying groceries in a supermarket

 Guests in a hotel

 Travellers buying tickets from any airlines

 Fashionistas buying clothes in a boutique

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As long as it involves people using or buying you goods and services you providing are called

external customers

Expectations of an external customer

 An external customer will expect value for their money as they don’t want to waste their

money on product that is not worth it, overpriced or if they can find it better and cheaper

elsewhere.

 External customers will expect good quality product and services. If this expectation is

not met it may lead to a bad reputation for the business.

 A friendly and professional services is also the expectations of an external customer as

they want to be pleased with the service of the store they are purchasing.

 Assistance and help is also a key expectations for the external customers on the products

and services offered by a business.

Internal customer

An internal customer is someone who is directly connected to the organization, for example

stakeholders, employees or shareholders.

Every day, the organization interacts with a special group of customers who frequently go

unrecognized. These customers are the organisation’s internal customers. Internal customers are

the people who work throughout the organization. They are important to the organisation’s

success in providing the external customers with what they need. If internal customers do not see

the importance of completing work promptly and of treating other with respect, it becomes very

difficult for the organization to provide outstanding customer service to external customers.

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Expectations of an internal customer

 An internal customer would expect to be paid a fair salary. If this expectations is not met

it could lead to a range of issues.

 An internal customer also expect to work in a safe environment.

Compliment and complaint services

Compliment services

This has two meanings: one is that someone is expressing nice things about you, saying that you

or something about you looks nice (a compliment/to compliment someone); the other (when used

as ‘complimentary’) means that something is free of charge or done as an act of courtesy.

What to include in a compliment letter

Your name, address, home, work place telephone number and account number if appropriate.

Make the letter brief and to the point. Share the specific facts about the situation including the

name of the individual(s) that assisted you, the date of the interaction and what pleased you.

Type your letter if possible

It is always good to keep a copy.

Complaint services

Consumer complaint. ... A consumer complaint or customer complaint is "an expression of

dissatisfaction on a consumer's behalf to a responsible party"

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What to include in a complaint letter

Your name, address, home, work place telephone number and account number if appropriate.

Make the letter brief and to the point. Detail the specific facts about the situation. Including the

date of purchase and the place of the purchase and information about the product and service.

State how exactly you would like to see the situation resolved and when you expect to see the

resolution in effect.

Type your letter if possible

It is always good to keep a copy.

Barriers to excellent customer service

Numerous obstacle stand in the way of the delivery of excellent customer service. Some of the

common barriers include

Management philosophy making it difficult for customers with a problem to contact a company

or the person who can really help.

 Unreliable equipment

 Restrictive company policies

 Difficult to understand warranties or owner’s manual

 Out of date procedures

 Lack of understanding of the value of service

These barriers are in most cases beyond the control of the customer service provider and

unfortunately a common part of doing the job.

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Some of the barriers to excellent customer service are within the control of the customer service

provider and can be overcome through diligent effort. They include

 Laziness

 Poor communication skills

 Poor time management

 Attitude

 Moodiness

 Lack of adequate training

 Inability to handle stress

 Insufficient authority

 Serving customers on autopilot (when you do something without realizing what you're

doing (usually results in making a mistake)

 Inadequate staffing.