CUSTOMER SERVICE

What is Customer Service?

• Customer Service: handles company issues through:– Calling centers– In store/person– Email– Or on site technical support staff

• A company’s ability to supply their customers’ wants and needs

Importance

• Customer Service is a priority to companies because of its:– Significance– Identification– Function– Publicity– Problem solving/prevention

Significance

• Important because it is often the only contact a customer has with a company– Customers vital to organization– Some customers spend hundreds or thousands of

dollars per year with company– Issues with product/service they want solutions

• Example: HP

Identification

• Important because it can help differentiate a company from its competitors– Especially true for smaller businesses

• Example: Neighbourhood Coffee shop vs Tim Horton’s

Function• A company with excellent customer service is more

likely to get repeat business from customers– Will benefit with greater sales and profit

• Companies with poor customer service may lose customers– Negative impact on their business

• It costs a company more money to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one– Advertising, sales calls, etc.

Publicity

• People who have a positive experience with a company’s customer service department tend to tell others– Can be used as a form of promotion for the

organization• Same goes for a negative experience

• Who who share an example of a positive or negative example of customer service?

Problem Solving/Prevention

• Important because of potential complaints– Complaints about employees– Complaints about products– Complaints about services– Complaints about locations– Complaints about almost anything

• Customer service is required to solve problems, and act as a way to prevent any problems from occurring.

Feedback Cards

• Provides information to organization to gather information about their product/service, employees, overall experiences from customers

Feedback Examples

Canada’s Worst Customer Service Poll

• http://money.ca.msn.com/savings-debt/gallery/customer-service-hall-of-shame?page=1

Canada’s Worst Customer Service

• http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2012/canadasworstcustomerservice/

• http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/Marketplace/Season+39/ID/2184327283/

The Customer Service Game

Scenario A

Your product is sold with “100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.” A customer attempts to return a product for a refund, saying he is dissatisfied with it. The product is showing a lot of wear, and you have no doubt the customer has received a lot of good use from it. What do you do to satisfy this customer?

Scenario B

You receive a complaint about one of your products that didn’t perform according to the customer’s expectations. Upon careful examination, you find the instructions in the box were for an earlier model of the product, which operates a bit differently. This problem was obviously caused by the manufacturer. What do you tell the customer? What do you do to satisfy the customer?

Scenario C

A customer returns a product with which they are unhappy. You try to determine the reason, but they only make vague statements that lead you to suspect that they just want a refund so that they can go buy a competitor’s new product. What do you do?

Scenario D

Your company has created a good product that is selling well. However, some users have found a way to modify the product for an alternate use that you didn’t anticipate, which involves risk and danger. What do you do?

Scenario E

You have an enthusiastic sales force selling your product, and the initial sales reports are impressive. You get feedback that some customers are not satisfied because the salespeople are making exaggerated claims about the product that are creating unrealistic customer expectations. What do you do?