Customer Service

The objective of this workshop is to enable the
participants to know the following:
• What is a Customer?
• Why is a Customer Important?
• What matters most to the customers?
• What is Service?
• Features of Service
• Components of Good Service.
• Managing quality in giving service to a customer.

Welcome to the People Industry
The people industry’s focus is only on Customer / Client Satisfaction and Growth.
Development of service industry started in the USA and grew across Europe.
It is a very string component of the Economy and is growing continuously.
Growth and Development of the people industry indicates the development of
an economy vis-à-vis.
 As primary and secondary industries developed
 Country becomes self sufficient
 Constitutes 40% of GDP in India, 70% in USA
 Less diversion of resources to primary & secondary industries
Characterized by:
 Healthy Economy
 Self Sufficient people

India & Service Industry
A Late entrant but, growth and development is peaking to
new heights due to:
 Economic liberalization
 Advent of MNC’s
 Globalization, Global village concept
For Indians:
A new concept used to:
 Farming and of Factory work
Altogether a different (interesting) and challenging game

CUSTOMER CARE
Introduction: The art of customer care is a gift within all of us which needs to be fine-tuned, similar to
a musical instrument being tuned before a programme. But how does one tune this art to be the best
in the profession……..
CONCEPT
This concept is prevalent all around the world. Blessed are we Indians with natural warmth and
inbuilt care, traditions and hospitality. We should be in the best in the world: logically so and we do
practice this art in our daily lives without being aware of it, going cheerfully to pick up a client at odd
hours, escorting him to the hotel, etc. Then where do we lack? We lack finesse, polished
communication skills, professional standards, etc.
DEVELOPMENT
These skills that help us become masters of this art, have to be initiated in its total perspective and
practiced daily. The first obvious question would be where do I learn these skills? These skills can be
learnt at work from a senior or a peer or from books and interaction. The best learning is usually
through structured Training and Development Programmes.

Let’s understand what Customer Care really means:
CUSTOMER: is the user of a service which you provide
CARE: Assistance, Concern, Interest or Emotion
Now that we have the meaning of Customer Care: we need to implement it.
All our efforts have to be customer focused and customer driven as “The Customer is
Queen/King”
A simple example of customer care is practiced by the vegetable / groceries vendor on streets
everyday by giving out a complimentary offering of coriander, ginger and green chilies to every
customer. Very trivial to say the least but It ENSURES a very strong CLIENT LOYALTY thus ensuring
the vendor, RETENTION of his client, and the probability of more clients through such clients.
The first lesson to be learnt and implemented is the RETENTION of existing customers. In this fast
moving world of changing tastes and influences, retaining a customer’s loyalty is critical to
success and easy, provided you always follow the golden principle “Put Yourself in the client’s
shoes” and you “Treat them the way you would like to be treated” i.e. emphasize with the
customer.

RETAINING A CUSTOMER
Very often, we take our existing customers for granted, letting complacency take over and not doing
that extra but or going an extra mile, similar to baking a good cake but making a mess of the icing, not
realizing the complexity and cost of acquiring a new customer is far greater than retaining an old
customer.
With globalization, there are hardly any differences between the two services of the same nature
EXCEPT FOR THE HUMAN ELEMENT manning these services. To acquire a new customer, the entire
process of market research, marketing, sales, customer care has to be reactivated from scratch.
With no definite chances of turning the prospective customer into a customer or making the existing
customer to continue indefinitely.
This leads to a waste of revenue, time, efforts and energy: all this can be avoided only if you take your
existing customers seriously. Ensure that their needs are serviced to their satisfaction and at time
beyond their satisfaction. This will demonstrate your “SERVICE QUALITY”, give you professional
satisfaction and then your organization can command premium on services.
THE CHOICE
The responsibility is on you, whether you want the satisfaction of maintaining an old relationship or try
to make a new one (with all those waste of efforts, etc.)

THE DIFFERENCE IS YOU (YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE)
You, the person, have many roles to play in life as a father, son, mother, daughter, neighbor, friend, lover,
beloved, etc. The list is endless. You will also have a PROFESSIONAL role with a company performing your
duties in the capacity of a CUSTOMER CARE EXECUTIVE or a SALES COORDINATOR, etc.
Then what makes the difference between you and another professional in the same walk of life? Do you
remember that nasty, uncouth clerk at your Bank? Yes, you certainly do because all you desired was a simple
information on how to get your pass book updated.
You were told to come back later by the clerk who was doing nothing. You formed an opinion of the Bank
based on one interaction with just one employee of the Bank. The clerk did not bother; but that cost the
Bank your account; plenty of unsolicited negative publicity from you in the community.
So, we now do know a little bit about customer behavior……. Let us go on….
Do you remember that cultured counter assistant at the super market? May be…. Yes.
The tendency with us human beings is that we tend to remember and spread negative publicity through
word of mouth unsolicited and to far more people than positive interactions.

WHY (YOU)?
Well, because we’re human beings and form the impression of the
service and / or company just by one single interaction.
REMEMBER, EVEN YOUR CUSTOMERS are human beings and they come
in SHAPES & SIZES. Then, what is the prime reason, they choose to avail
of your service, call you up by name to speak to you only and nobody
else?

THE DIFFERENCE IS YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE THE POSITIVE
DIFFERENCE AND YOU HAVE TO KEEP THAT POSITIVE DIFFERENCE AWLAYS,
TIME AND TIME AGAIN
This workshop is developed keeping in mind you and your customers’ needs, and how to
help you fulfill them to your customers’ satisfaction. Time and time again.
The success of this programme will be gauged by how well you practice and imbibe all the
learning inputs of the workshop in your daily life and YES, help in creating that movement
within your workplace. Because REMEMBER, even the mightiest waterfalls start off from a
drop of water to travel on and on to culminate into inspiring, might waterfalls leaving us all
awe stuck and mesmerized by the sheer effects.

CUSTOMER CARE ---- ITS SIGNATURE
“IT IS NOT WHAT YOU DO, BUT IT IS THE WAY YOU DO IT.”
The fact that the product only represents 30% of the impact on customer satisfaction while
delivery of services which represents 30% of the costs but 70% of impact lends authenticity
to the fact that it’s not what you do, but the way you do it. That either creates or negates
customer satisfaction.
Customer care and allied services as quoted have been the most cited factor in polls and
feedback of customers switching from one company to another.
Price wars, freebies are all short-term tactics, which are only used when the company is
starting operations or making profits.
Implementing customer care practice is a cost effective way: simple and more rewarding
than any other approach for ensuring retaining customers as well as increase in customer
base, thereby ensuring personal, professional and organizational progress and profitability.

WELL TRAINEDANDEFFECTIVECUSTOMERCAREHELPSTHE COMPANY
1: ENSURE CUSTOMER LOYALTY
In this competitive world, a majority of customers leave due to service related reasons. It takes 2-3 years
for the cost of acquiring a customer to be realized. Only then do profits accrue. This only proves that
customer satisfaction at the highest level is needed to retain customers & ensure sound profitability.
2: SIMPLE & ECONOMICAL TO SELL ADDITIONAL / ALLIED SERVICES TO EXISTING CUSTOMERS
3: A SATISFIED CUSTOMER ACTS AS AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN AND AS AN HONORARY SALES PERSON
FOR THE COMPANY.
These customers are trusted by others they speak to, thereby enlarging and enhancing your customer
base.
4: CUSTOMER CARE IS THE ONLY FACT THAT SEPERATES SERVICE INDUSTRY COMPANIES FROM ONE
ANOTHER, ALL OTHER FACTORS BEING THE SAME.

CUSTOMER:
“A customer is the most important visitor in our
premises. He is not dependent on us. We are
dependent on them.
He is not an interruption in our work. He is the
purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business, he
is part of it.
We are not doing a favor by serving him. He is doing
us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
…….. MAHATMA GANDHI

MOST PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE
PAID BY THEIR COMPANY ----
THAT’S WRONG.
WE ARE ALL PAID BY OUR
CUSTOMERS.

CLIENT
DEFINITION:
 User of service pays for service in monetary
terms.
INTRODUCTION:
 Becomes client due to using of service regularly.
 Trusts in people working for the company.
 Expects needs to be fulfilled.
 Depends on people of this service for his
personal / professional requirements.

CUSTOMER:
 Raison D’etre ---- of existence, growth &
development
 Customer is supreme
 Customer is Queen / King
 Benefactor / Patron / God
 User of services
 Pays for services
 Keeps you in Business
 Expects needs to be fulfilled
 Relies on service for personal / business

WHY IS CUSTOMER IMPORTANT?
• A: TO THE ORGANISATION
• Monetary rewards: Revenues (Cash/money)
• Karmic Rewards: Name, market image advertisement by word of mouth, goodwill
• B: TO THE EMPLOYER
• Salaries and perks
• Promotions
• Better Standard of living
• Career enhancement
• Sense of belonging
• Personal goodwill in the market

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO CUSTOMERS
 Technical Aspects: Manufacturing &
Interface
 Functional Aspects: Service delivery

• Reliability : Get things right first time
• Responsiveness: Ever willing
• Competence: Necessary skills and capability
• Access: Service provider is easy to contact
• Courtesy: Considerate and respectful
• Communication: Patient listening
• Creditability: Acceptability, trust and caring
• Security: Psychological and physical security
• Understanding: understand customer needs and
concerns
• Tangible: Facilities inspiring confidence
10 Point Barometer of Customer Perception:

WHY RELATIONSHIP MARKETING?
 Established Customer Retention --- 5 times cheaper
 Existing customer buy more
 Regular customer pays premium for service
 Retained customer orders frequently and
consistently
 Less servicing cost
 Satisfied customer brings referrals
 Satisfied customer pays competitive edge

SERVICE INDUSTRY & ITS CHARACTERISTICS
Service Organizations are those which deliver their products
personally to customers i.e. Banks, Hotels, Airlines, Paging,
Hospitals, Estate Agents, Solicitors and schools.
 There is an interface with customers
 Service organizations are more complex for reason of
manufacturing and interface
 This complexity is compounded due to multiple intensity. Higher
the service intensity, more critical the interface.
 Interaction affects perception of quality

1: Managing Service Delivery
2: Perishability: Services cannot be stored i.e. every empty seat on a flight represents a loss ---
insufficient capacity creates a problem.
3: Interface --- moments of truth
 Service Organisations are expected to deliver consistently
 Customer mood and behavior has bearings
 Word of mouth provides positive / negative publicity
 Ample scope for things to go wrong
 Service recovery to great extent possible.
 A key – when things go wrong, overcompensate (handsome gesture invariably pays and
cost of miserly response is incalculable)
 New customers don’t tolerate bad experiences hence “the key” spend a little extra time
with them
 People appreciate the attention and bond is generated
 First Impression is decisive

SERVQUAL(SERVICEQUALITY)
 Reliability
 Responsiveness
 Assurance
 Empathy
 Tangibles
QUALITYPRODUCT:
 What is expected : exceed exception
 Unique service (not average customer service)

FEATURES OF SERVICE
It is “providing assistance”
 Intangible
o Cannot be seen / touched
o Can only be “felt as an experience”
 Moments of truth – interface
 Difference in service has become an USP
 Constant interaction with customer, every interaction a catalyst for further
sales / re-sales / de-sales
 Market grapevine of service rating – key issue
 Human factor, vital for business
 Perishable nature of business
 List examples

COMPONENTSOF GOODSERVICE
Ownership
Empathy
Communication
Preventability
Positive Attitude
Customer Handling Skills

MANAGING QUALITY IN PROVIDING SERVICE TO A CUSTOMER
Customer Satisfaction – fulfilling expectation
 Know important determinants of quality – Find out what matters to customer and
concentrate upon providing it
o See:
 Who are our customers?
 What do they want?
 What / How best can we provide?
 Managing Customer Expectations
o Fill the gap of your service and customer satisfaction
o No pleasure ever lives up to expectations
o Undersell than oversell
o Keep scope for pleasant surprises
 Managing impressions of quality and service delivery
o Service delivery is like a theatrical performance
 Customer Education
o Educated customer use service optimally. Make them know how to use a service

 Reliable Support System
o Provide a clean, tidy and welcoming environment
o Service friendly technology
o Reduce waiting time
o Support system should reflect customer / priorities
 Solicit Feedback
o No complaints – does not mean satisfaction
o Many dissatisfied customers decide never to return
o Inaccurate feedback is bad
o Unimplemented feedback is worse
 Trained staff is a formidable competitive weapon

WHAT HINDERS GOOD
SERVICE
 Poor job craft
 Customer handling skills
 Negative attitude
 Lack of systems and procedures
 Communication

What do customers really buy?
Examine the scenes below and determine
 What the customer wanted out of the transaction
 Whether the customer was satisfied or dissatisfied as a result of the transaction as
it took place
A: A Businessman arrives at a hotel late one evening to be informed by the Reception
that there is no trace of reservation confirmation, the businessman is sure he had sent.
As a result, as the businessman had not arrived by 07.00 pm, the Receptionist left the
room saying “I’m very sorry” looking rather bored as if she had said those words
twenty times that evening, already. “There’s another hotel just around the corner.
Why don’t you try there?”
What should have been done by you?

B: Last week John bought a track suit from a department store. It was just the right size
and looked good on him. After wearing it to the gym he washed it as per the
manufacturer’s label. To his horror, when he tries it again, it has shrunk dramatically. He
returns it to the store and explains the problem to a young sales assistant. He says “This
is a common problem. You have to reshape them while they’re still wet. You did not
know? You have ruined it now. Moreover, we don’t guarantee goods once sold.
What should have been done by you?
C: An elderly lady, about to visit her son who now lives abroad, has just boarded an
aircraft. It is the first time she has ever flown and she looks a bit lost. One of the cabin
crew sees her and quickly goes over and help her in every manner possible… guiding
her to the seat, storing her hand baggage, etc.
What should have been done by you?

D: A man walks in to an office building and goes up to the reception
counter. There are two women behind the counter. One is doing
something in her computer and the other standing next to her. She
sees the customer, but avoids eye contact. After a good 30 seconds,
enquires “What do you want?”
What should have been done by you?