1. SCM Customer Service Operations LB 5
Jobs & Legal Concerns in Customer Service

2. Learning Block Objectives
Recognize job positions in customer service
Explain employees’ roles in identifying, recording, and reporting issues and concerns associated with potential violations in the supply chain, including violations by employees, management, vendors, or customers
Implement key-aspects of work related rules, government regulations, and corporate policies
Apply common laws in customer service operations
LO1

3. Customer Service Responsibilities and Job Types
Customer service involves working with customers and meeting their needs. Sometimes, customer service departments work directly with sales
Customer service representative tasks include:
Sales –
Selling products & services
Provide information to customers to assist with decision making
Obtaining and passing on sales leads
Suggest upgrades to meet the customer’s needs
LO1

4. Customer Service Responsibilities and Job Types
Clerical – Responsibilities include:
Making customer service notes about issues
Making notes about various transactions
Processing client information about new or current customer accounts
Taking phone calls to handle customer accounts and questions
LO1

5. Job-Related Responsibilities
Duties and responsibilities vary depending on the type of industry and nature of work
Retail Stores:
Deal with customer complaints
Handle cash
Processing orders
Telemarketing:
Help customers place orders through the internet
Answer customer questions over the phone or online
LO2

6. Jobs in Customer Service
Customer service jobs involve helping people, and interfacing with other supply chain functions.
Customer service tasks take place in-person, online, or over the phone
Customer service tasks stand out because they are linked with every function in the chain
Customer service interaction with customers and the information collected impacts:
Continuous improvement
Revenues, profits & cash flow
Customer orders and repeat business
LO2

7. Customer Service Job Titles
Customer Service Assistants (CSA) – Entry level positions answering basic questions and helping customers find products or services
CSA reports to a Customer Service Representative (CSR). The CSR sells to customers and answers queries
Customer service representative (CSR) reports to a Customer Service Supervisor (CSS)
In B2B environment, the CSR translate data into supplier managed inventory planning and responds to large-scale requests for quotations & request for pricing
LO3

8. Customer Service Job Titles
Customer Service Supervisors (CSS)
Delegate work
Instruct customer service team members
Resolve more complex issues
Customer Service Supervisor reports to the Customer Service Managers (CSM)
LO4

9. Customer Service Job Titles
Customer Service Manager (CSM) duties include:
Hiring
Monitoring team performance
Training & staff development
Mentoring & coaching
CSM reports to top level executive such as Directors and Vice Presidents in operational departments such as Customer Service, Customer Care, or Sales
LO4

10. Additional Customer Service-Related Roles
New Customer Service roles include:
Care Agents
Case Managers
Service Delivery Departments
Sales roles must also now have strong customer service skills
Sales representatives now sell products, place the order, expedite the order fulfillment process and follows-up with customer enquiries and complaints
Some organizations have focused customer service roles for order management such as: Order Management Clerks, Order Management Associates, or Order Entry Clerks
LO5

11. Laws, Rules, and Policies
Every organization, firm, or business is governed by rules and regulations set by local, state, and the federal government
Employers and employees are responsible for knowing the laws, regulations, and policies to ensure best practices are followed
When these rules are ignored, serious consequences can affect employers, employees, and even customers
LO5

12. Laws, Rules, and Policies
The core reason certain laws, rules, and company policies must be known is that they directly affect employees, customers, and third parties throughout the supply chain.
These written documents cover:
General employee information
Company expectations
Employees’ rights
Safety and security policies
Personal conduct expectations

13. Laws, Rules, and Legal Responsibility
All individuals are responsible for spotting, recording, and reporting legal and regulatory concerns about employees, suppliers, and customers
Firms and employees must comply with the laws established for their environment
Companies have some common responsibilities and are bound by them.
Firms must familiarize themselves with external factors that govern their industry and the laws that apply to them

14. Legal Responsibility
Several levels of government, law making bodies, and regulatory agencies generate laws
Law making bodies include:
City Councils; Township Boards; County Commissions, State Legislators & Federal Legislators
Law making bodies have regulatory agencies that issue additional rules and guidelines that are enforced by law
The large number of rulemaking bodies makes compliance challenging for businesses and supply chain professionals
Rules may also vary from location to location

15. Trust and Ethics To establish trust, customer service providers must:
Be calm; Communicate thoroughly; Honestly & Quickly with customers
Address issues outside your control immediately with a supervisor or senior management
Ethical standards govern the conduct of individuals or groups
Customer service providers must always choose the right and legal approach
Good ethical practice is a competitive advantage for companies

16. Ethical Responsibility
Unethical behavior damages a company’s image and reputation, low employee morale, high employee turnover, and lost customers
Ethics involves questions about fairness, justness, rightness, or wrongness of an action
Ethics guide behavior
Legal compliance is the minimum acceptable standard for ethical behavior

17. Ethics
Most companies now have ethical behavior expectations that go beyond the legal requirements
Examples of Legal and Ethical Conduct:
Honesty and integrity – in all relationships
Professionalism – High standards of prof. competence
Responsible Management – Use resources to maximize benefits to employers
Service in the public interest – Reject corruption
Conformity with the law – National, state, local, & company

18. Common Laws
Policies and laws are here to protect people and ensure efficient functioning of businesses and society
Legal and regulatory concerns are paramount in every step of supply chain
Outcomes of obeying common law include:
Human Rights
Food safety
Control of hazardous products and materials
Environmental protection

19. Common Laws
The Department of Labor administers and enforces federal labor laws. Common laws include:
Human rights and human rights laws – Protect basic rights, freedoms & how countries treat their citizens
Food safety and food safety laws – Handling, preparing, and storing of food
Hazardous products and materials laws – Production, handling, and storage. Laws protect both handlers and the environment
Environmental laws – Protect the environment. May require specific disposal practices and/or careful packaging in reverse logistics

20. Common Laws
Other laws that govern business conduct include: wages & hours, workplace safety & health, workers’ compensation, and employee benefits
Consequences of Not Following Laws & Policies Include:
Individuals can get hurt
Employees can loose their jobs
Companies can lose profits or be forced out of business
Societies can be affected with pollution and disease
Entire economic sectors can be negatively affected
Companies and employees can be fined and, in extreme cases, possibly jailed

21. Legal & Regulatory Concerns
Legal and regulatory concerns with order management and customer service impact the supply chain management process when these expectations are not met
Awareness ensures that employees conduct themselves professionally and fulfill customers’ expectations