1

SM
Chapter 9

CUSTOMER-DEFINED
SERVICE STANDARDS

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
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Objectives for Chapter 9:
SM Customer-defined Service
Standards
Differentiate between company-defined and
customer-defined service standards
Distinguish among one-time service fixes and
hard and soft customer-defined standards
Explain the critical role of the service encounter
sequence in developing customer-defined
standards
Illustrate how to translate customer expectations
into behaviors and actions that are definable,
repeatable, and actionable
McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
 Figure 9-1 3
AT&Ts Process Map for Measurements
SM
Business Process Customer Need Internal Metric
Reliability (40%) % Repair Call
30% Product
Easy To Use (20%) % Calls for Help
Features / Functions (40%) Functional Performance Test

Knowledge (30%) Supervisor Observations

30% Sales
Responsive (25%) % Proposal Made on Time
Follow-Up (10%) % Follow Up Made
Total
Delivery Interval Meets Needs (30%) Average Order Interval
Quality 10% Installation
Does Not Break (25%) % Repair Reports
Installed When Promised (10%) % Installed On Due Date

No Repeat Trouble (30%) % Repeat Reports

15% Repair Fixed Fast (25%) Average Speed Of Repair
Kept Informed (10%) % Customers Informed

Accuracy, No Surprise (45%) % Billing Inquiries

15% Billing Resolve On First Call (35%) % Resolved First Call
Easy To Understand (10%) % Billing Inquiries

Source: AT&T General Business Systems

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
 4
Exercise for Creating
SM Customer-Defined Service
Standards
Form a group of four people
Use your schools undergraduate or graduate
program, or an approved alternative
Complete the customer-driven service standards
importance chart
Establish standards for the most important and
lowest-performed behaviors and actions
Be prepared to present your findings to the class

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies

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Customer-Driven Standards and
SM Measurements Exercise
Service Encounter Customer Requirements Measurements

Service
Quality

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies

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Figure 9-2

SM Getting to Actionable Steps

Requirements: Diagnosticity:

Satisfaction Value Abstract Low

Relationship
General Concepts
Solution Provider

Dig Reliability Empathy

Deeper Assurance Tangibles Dimensions
Responsiveness Price

Dig Delivers on Time

Deeper Returns Calls Quickly Attributes
Knows My Industry

Dig Delivers by Weds 11/4

Deeper
Behaviors
Returns Calls in 2 Hrs
Knows Strengths of and Actions
My Competitors

Concrete High

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies

 Figure 9-3 7
Process for Setting
SM Customer-Defined Standards
1. Identify Existing or Desired Service Encounter Sequence

2. Translate Customer Expectations Into Behaviors/Actions

3. Select Behaviors/Actions for Standards

4. Set Hard or Soft Standards

Measure by Measure by
Audits or Hard 5. Develop Feedback Soft Transaction-
Operating Data Mechanisms Based Surveys

6. Establish Measures and Target Levels

7. Track Measures Against Standards

8. Update Target Levels and Measures

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
 8

SM Importance/Performance Matrix
HIGH 10.0

Improve Maintain
Does whatever it takes to
correct problems (9.26, 7.96) Delivers on promises specified in proposal/contract (9.49, 8.51)

Completes projects Gets project within budget, on time (9.31, 7.84)
correctly, on time (9.29, 7.68) Gets price we originally agreed upon (9.21, 8.64)
9.0 Tells me cost ahead of time (9.06, 8.46)
Provides equipment that operates as vendor said it would (9.24, 8.14)
Gets back to me when
Takes responsibility for their mistakes (9.18, 8.01)
promised (9.04, 7.63)
Delivers or installs on
Importance promised date (9.02, 7.84)

8.0

LOW 7.0
HIGH
8.0 9.0 10.0

McGraw-Hill Performance 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies

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Figure 9-5
SM Linkage between Soft Measures and
Hard Measures for Speed of
Complaint Handling
S
A 10
T 9
I 8 Large Customers
S 7
Small Customers
F 6
A 5
C 4
T 3
I 2
O 1
2 4 6 8 12 16 20 24
N 0
WORKING HOURS
McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies
 Figure 9-6 10
Aligning Company Processes with
SM Customer Expectations

Customer Expectations

48 Hours
Customer
Process
Blueprint Report Lost Receive New
Card Card
Company
Process Company Sequential Processes
Blueprint

A B C D E F G H
Lost Card New Card
Reported 40 Days Mailed

McGraw-Hill 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies