The importance of customer service

LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THIS LESSON Explain what is meant by a customer focused culture through using examples of how Homebase employees operate Understand and explain the term ‘strategy’ and show how the review cycle of ‘review’, ‘plan’ and ‘do’ enables Homebase to put its strategic plan into practice Know why customer research is important in helping an organisation to understand the wants and needs of its customers.

Customers are people who buy products and services from other people. Customer service is the whole activity of identifying customer needs and keeping them satisfied. INTRODUCTION

CULTURE The culture of an organisation is the way that it and its people behave. When ARG took over Homebase it focussed on developing a senior management team with the capability to deliver a customer facing culture. Homebase's business objectives place great importance on providing customer service. An organisation needs to set out a set of values for its people, so they know how to act.

Homebase's values are: –We put the customer first. –We succeed through teamwork. –We make it easy. –I make a difference.

BUIDING AND IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY An organisation's strategy is the plan to achieve desired objectives. A continuous improvement strategy is one that involves constantly seeking to make improvements, however small. The organisation that continually makes improvements keeps ahead of its rivals. Homebase emphasises continuous improvement - seeking to identify and then deliver new and better ways of meeting customer needs.

REVIEW/PLAN/DO STRATEGY The review/plan/do approach is used at every level in the Homebase organisation. Review stage involves looking at current performance and what needs to be changed. Planning stage involves deciding what should be achieved and fitting it into a clear time frame. Finally, the do stage, involves carrying out the plan. Once the plan is being implemented it is possible to review stages - creating a further improvement cycle.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER RESEARCH Homebase places emphasis on customer service. The 2 main methods of customer research are: –Surveys –Mystery shopper

CONCLUSION Homebase is committed to customer service. Customer service lies at the heart of our modern economy because we increasingly make choices on the basis of how we are served. Excellence in customer service can only be fully achieved by having an organisational culture and value system which places the customer at the heart of everything that an organisation and its people do.

ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES How well can you explain what is meant by a customer focused culture through using examples of how Homebase employees operate? How well do you understand and explain the term ‘strategy’ and show how the review cycle of ‘review’, ‘plan’ and ‘do’ enables Homebase to put its strategic plan into practice? How well do you know why customer research is important in helping an organisation to understand the wants and needs of its customers?