Customer Care

 The features of good customer service  The benefits of good customer service  The impact of poor customer service  How to find out what customers think about your organisation

 An organisation must aim to keep customers satisfied and ensure that all customers are treated in a consistent, fair way.

Good Communication: Employees should respond to customer letters/ quickly Employees should answer the phone promptly and politely within an agreed number of rings Good quality of care: Provide regular training in customer care for all employees Provide all employees with a copy of the Customer Care Policy Making sure that customers are satisfied: The organisation should survey their customers regularly eg phone surveys, online surveys or by post Dealing with customer complaints: Employees should follow the agreed procedure for dealing with customer complaints Organisations should use complaints as a learning experience, in order to not repeat the same mistakes

 Happy customers will return to the organisation and recommend the organisation to others  Recommendations from existing customers will improve the image of the organisation and give it a good reputation  More customers will mean more sales and therefore increase their profits  Happy customers will mean happy employees as they won’t have to deal with many complaints  Happy staff will stay with the organisation so the organisation won’t need to constantly find new staff  Offering Loyalty Schemes (eg Tesco Clubcard) will encourage customers to use the store over and over

 If customers are unhappy about the products or service received, they will not return and will tell others about the experience  Unhappy customers will look for another supplier – so the business will lose custom  Loss of customers means loss of sales and lower profits  The organisation will get a poor reputation through bad publicity if customers and staff talk about their bad experience  Employees who are having to deal with unhappy customers may become stressed and leave the organisation  It can be expensive to constantly replace staff who are unhappy at work

 Written/Postal survey  On-line survey  Telephone survey  Mystery shopper

Quick response surveys are left in areas where customers are likely to pick them up eg on tables in restaurants, hotel bedrooms or reception areas. Postal surveys tend to take longer to complete. Speed of completion Quick response – quick Postal - slow CostQuick response – fairly inexpensive Postal – expensive (cost of printing and postage.) Level of response Quick response – fairly good response level Postal – low response AdvantagesProvides a written record DisadvantagesTends to be a fairly low return rate

Online surveys are often used after a customer has made a purchase on line. They are also used to get customer feedback about the website. Speed of completion Fast to complete CostInexpensive – some online survey sites eg Survey Monkey are free with limited use Level of response High AdvantagesInformation can be collated electronically and graphs produced to illustrate results DisadvantagesCan take time to set up the questionnaire

Telephone surveys are used when more in-depth questions require to be answered Speed of completion Time consuming CostCostly Level of response Low – lots of people resent receiving unnecessary phone calls AdvantagesCustomers can be asked in depth questions and follow-up questions DisadvantagesCostly Rude customers!

Mystery shoppers are people who go into shops, make some enquiries, make a purchase and then write a report about their experience – they don’t tell anyone in the shop who they are. This lets head office get feedback on real customer experience. Speed of completion Can take time to get around lots of shops CostExpensive – shoppers must be employed Level of response Good AdvantagesGet feedback on real customer experience DisadvantagesExpensive to employ the shoppers and pay travel expenses