Customer Service Part 1 – Intro – Hospitality and Tourism St. Michael Catholic High School

What is Customer Service? It is anything we do for the customer that enhances the customer experience. The provider must Get to know their customers Get to understand their expectations Strive to provide them with excellence

What is Customer Satisfaction? Customer satisfaction is the customer’s overall feeling of contentment with customer interaction. Satisfaction may develop quickly OR May be developed over a period of time Customers have many concerns; our job is to reduce as much stress as possible This is usually an afterthought ( How pleasant or unpleasant was the experience?)

Why is Excellent Customer Service so rare? The average person or organization does not want to 1) spend money on customer service 2) take action to ensure customer service Customer service is much more than having a great attitude or being a great ‘people person’.

Reasons for change Customers are changing all the time. Changes in people - Tastes / eating habits change Companies change their budgets The focus of a downtown/ locale may change

Five needs of every customer 1) Service – customers expect the level of service that they think is appropriate for the level of purchase they are making. 2) Price – people and businesses want to use their financial resources as efficiently as possible. 3) Quality – customers want their products to be the best quality for the price. People are much less likely to question the price if they are doing business with a company with a high-quality reputation 4) Action – Customers need action when a problem or question arises. Technology provides an excellent opportunity to provide immediate support. 5) Appreciation – customers need to know that you appreciate their business. (Thank you; preferred customer; discounts; courtesy; name recognition)

Team Time: You and your elbow partner are restaurant owners List five ways in which you will serve your customers. Come up with one idea for each of the five (price may be one you can not control – as it is controlled by suppliers cost) Be as creative as possible Class Share How effective were your strategies for dealing with your customers’ needs?

External and Internal Customers External Customers: The customers we do business with outside of our organization (customers to whom we serve) Internal Customers: The people we work with throughout the organization. (co-workers, suppliers, managers, etc) Why this term rather than co-worker? What connotation does it imply? What relationship is fostered?

Customer Attributes/ Characteristics Businesses try to group their customers in order to serve their more appropriately Demographic information – age, income, marital status, education, stage of family cycle, home ownership, gender, occupation, ethnic background, and religion. Psychographic information – focuses on lifestyle, modes of living, needs, motives, attitudes, reference groups, culture, social class, hobbies, political affiliations, so on. Firmographic information – includes characteristics about the company, number of employees, kind of business, hours of operation, etc.

Cost of Losing a Customer First: loss of current dollars – this may seem insignificant to begin with, but over a period of time it can prove quite damaging. Second: loss of jobs. If business goes elsewhere, business does not need as many employees. Third: Loss of reputation. Word travels fast especially in this information based society. Our dissatisfied customers will share their experience with others – this creates a lack of trust. Fourth: Loss of future business. ie Maple leaf stocks went from 15 dollars a share to 7 dollars within 1 year.

Quiz: 1) Customer Service is anything we do for the customer that enhances the customer’s experience. T or F 2) Customer Service and Satisfaction are easy to measure. T or F 3) Customer service requires nothing more than a positive attitude. T or F 4) Technology can be used to enhance the provision of customer service. T or F 5) Service, price, quality, action and appreciation are referred to as the five needs of every customer. T or F 6) The people we work with outside our organization are called internal customers. T or F 7) Customer attributes are characteristics that allow customers to be categorized. T or F 8) Information that focuses on lifestyles, modes of living, needs, motives, attitudes, and so on are referred to as demographic information. T or F 9) The loss of dollars, jobs, reputation and future business are consequences of losing customers. T or F T F

The end.