Category: Customer Service

To maintain an effective marketing employee satisfaction should be ensured. The most successful manufacturers always try to provide the best conditions to the employees so that the manufacturing and customer service proceed in the best way and high productivity. To achieve that the managers should conduct market research to understand the customers’ needs and wishes for how employees should provide service.

Representative fulfillment raises worker profitability, and higher efficiency implies more noteworthy help and incentive to your clients. This worth prompts expanded consumer loyalty and steadfastness, which advances productivity and proceeded progress. Thus, by improving marketing the organization can achieve employee loyalty. Fair and considerate marketing will be able to earn a good image among the public, thus, making employees proud and confident in their workplace.

In this progression, the association needs to distinguish why the things need to change, and on the off chance that individuals in the association are not fulfilled, it would be hard for the association to bring change. Additionally, the association ought to incorporate the viewpoint of clients and representatives. On account of Delacroix, the organization’s main goal is to carry new and present-day dance to the clients, thusly, the organization first necessities to distinguish the clients’ point of view that possibly they need to change or not.

Thereafter, it ought to likewise assess its outside and inner climate to develop the best accessible chance, and afterward, it needs to conclude how much the association needs to bring change and in which zone. Besides, the association ought to likewise accumulate data in regards to the representatives’ viewpoint that if that change would be adequate for workers. Assuming the representatives contradict bringing the change, it would get intricate for the association to bring change. Here and there the association feels the need for progress because of the disappointment of workers and high turnover.

Delacroix ought to investigate its clients in reinforcing its business. Natalia can persuade different individuals from the board by depicting the idea of exploration as what sort of examination they need to do. Normally, the organization needs to find out why clients are purchasing tickets for the shows and why they are spreading positive verbal. Hence, this would require subjective client research as it would empower the organization to get the knowledge about what methodology it needs to make later on and what Delacroix means for their lives.

The branding position of the company was unclear since the manufacturer’s idea was misrepresented to the customers. If to analyze the 3Cs approach, there are other competitors such as Saira who produce the same product with similar quality and the company of interest tried to propose ponchos at a lower price. This created a wrong understanding of their concept among customers since the general thought would be that lower price means lower quality.

The brand positioning and message were confusing. To receive a better response from potential customers the managers should look at the way to express their goal in a simpler context because customers a looking for some tricks from the organization that suggest better manufacturing and social issue addressing. There is a possibility that the company needs to focus on another market where there are fewer competitors as the chosen place has already renowned providers of similar products.

In current business conditions, the competitiveness of any enterprise depends primarily on the rate of products and the commensurability of their price with the quality offered. The level of support and feedback provided by firms remains one of the severe issues of service development. Not every business corporation comprehends customer service’s role, leading to a growing number of dissatisfied clients and falling profits. The customer is the principal value for any enterprise, and every company should improve the quality of products and services to provide the necessary level of assistance.

Clients are willing to give a certain amount of money when they receive the quality and feedback they deserve. A few years ago, I built my relationship with a company based on the quality of the purchased product or its price. However, nowadays I value the way sales representatives communicate with me more. Competent customer service is the foremost task of any company that allows it to retain and satisfy the wishes of the customer. Nevertheless, not all experiences when purchasing services are positive; an example is my personal experience of utilizing the Comcast internet service. The company offered favourable conditions for low rates, which immediately attracted my attention. Still, there were network interruptions, which caused complete frustration and the need for technical support intervention. Enterprises must value each client, and support services are designed to solve issues instantly (Aburayya et al., 2020). In this case, however, the support specialists were the most significant disappointment because of the long response and their unwillingness to resolve the matter.

The company staff did not desire to listen to complaints, answered rudely, and the Internet outage was not resolved. It is important to note that every internet company has failures, but it was the lack of initiative of the employees and their manner of communication that caused my immediate desire to terminate the contract. After this situation, it became apparent that when selecting similar services, it is necessary to consider the level of interaction with the consumers and the willingness of employees to provide high-quality service. Customers’ focus is the ability of the company and workers to identify clients’ desires in time to satisfy them to the maximum benefit (Aburayya et al., 2020). Each company must comprehend that the customer is the backbone of the company. I strongly do not recommend the use of this service to those who want to choose or change the Internet service provider because of the company’s inability to solve problems, listen to customer comments and, most importantly is to respond to them quickly and accurately. If the wishes of consumers are not considered, the service will not improve, as evidenced by my experience.

The primary conclusion is straightforward and, at the same time, judging by practice, incomprehensible for numerous corporations and their target groups. The range of products and services is extending daily, thus, offering a wide choice for every consumer. It is necessary to specify that clients and their requirements are the basis of any business. Therefore, consumers should choose only those companies that comply with this principle.

Reference

Aburayya, A., Marzouqi, A., Alawadhi, D., Abdouli, F., & Taryam, M. (2020). An empirical investigation of the effect of employees’ customer orientation on customer loyalty through the mediating role of customer satisfaction and service quality. Management Science Letters, 10(10), 2147-2158.

Force Field Analysis and Action Plan

References

Trustpilot. (n.d.). Shopee. Web.

The Org. (n.d.). Shopee. Web.

Empowerment entails giving employees the power to make decisions on their own for the benefit of their organization. Customer service managers have a responsibility of ensuring that customers are served and treated well in the course of their interaction with the company staff. It is difficult for customer service managers to achieve their objectives if employees work in a very restricted environment. Maintaining customers is not an easy thing considering the competitive nature of modern business.

Organizations that empower their customer service employees are in a better position to increase their sales by attracting new customers and maintaining the existing ones (Huq 2010, 124). Customers can only become loyal to a particular brand depending on the quality of customer service that the company offers them. This article will discuss the importance of empowerment in customer service management. The success of a customer service department depends on employee empowerment.

There are various ways through which an organization can empower its employees in order to improve its customer service management (Wilson 2012, p. 156). It is important to highlight some of them before looking at the benefits of empowerment to customer service management.

Training employees on how to relate and serve customers is one of the ways through which organizations can empower their employees (Wilson 2012, p. 184). Employees should be given the authority to make decisions as along as they are able to enhance customer satisfaction.

Every organization has got unique expectations when it comes to customer service and employees should be trained to meet such expectations. Training as way of empowerment gives employees the confidence to interact with customers and make the right decisions (Buttle 2012, p. 189). Empowerment makes employees to be happy and this is normally reflected in their work. Employees who are happy will definitely strive to satisfy customers and make them happy.

Empowerment is a very important motivational tool when it comes to customer service (Hayes 1998, p. 79). Employees who have the freedom to make a positive contribution to the success of an organization will always feel motivated. Employees who go to the field and interact with customers should be given the first priority when it comes to motivation because the sustainability of an organization depends on how they perform.

According to research findings, empowerment is one of the best tools of motivating employees (Hayes 1998, p. 89). Many employees have very valuable ideas and opinions that can improve customer service but they are never given an opportunity to voice them (Buttle 2012, p. 164). Empowerment provides employees with a chance to make a significant contribution towards the improvement of customer service.

Customer service employees are in a better position to respond to the needs of customers because of their grassroots experience (Buttle 2012, p. 204). Empowered employees have the freedom to make important decision without waiting for senior managers. An example of this scenario is when an employee decides to replace missing labels without waiting for their leaders (Hayes 1998, p. 206).

Empowerment makes employees to be loyal to their organization by working hard to meet its goal. Empowerment eliminates all the constraints that prevent employees from having meaningful interactions with customers. Empowerment enables employees to follow the ideals and strategies of their organization in their interactions with customers (Hayes 1998, p. 257).

Consistent customer outcomes can only be achieved through organizational principles that empower the customer service staff. The customer service staff can only provide quality services if they are empowered by the specific principles of an organization. Organizations should treat their employees well because they rely on them when it comes to customer retention. Good remunerations and positive reinforcements are some of the things that organizations can use to make their employees happy.

Empowerment provides the customer service team with a proper framework to perform its duties better (Voortman 2004, p. 118). Empowered customer service teams can participate in product design and improvement in accordance with customer demands (Buttle 2012, p. 254).

Long-term partnerships with customers are very important in customer service and employees who have been empowered are in a better position to form such partnerships. Customer service employees can deal with complaints that are normally raised by customers.

The work flow within a customer service department is normally accelerated when employees have the power to make decisions (Buttle 2012, p. 294). Empowerment ensures that the customer service staff gains access to important resources and information that can make their work better. It is difficult for a customer service team to make quick decisions without having access to information and resources (Wilson 2012, p. 175).

An empowered customer service team will always have the necessary financial and human resources to implement its plans. Empowered employees can access important company databases that can help them to come up with better customer service strategies. Organizations can close very important deals if employees are empowered to access important resources.

Empowerment comes with proper guidelines that ensure that customer service teams remain stable and effective (Finch 1994, p. 123). The guidelines are meant to ensure that the customer service teams do not in any way abuse their powers. Empowerment can only be of great benefit to customer service management if the levels of autonomy are clearly defined.

Employees can only get the much needed encouragement and support through empowerment. Empowerment is a clear sign of encouragement and support from the company leadership (Finch 1994, p. 227). Empowerment means that senior managers have confidence and trust in the junior employees and this is always a great challenge for employees to perform better (Finch 1994, p. 125).

Empowerment is very important in transforming the attitudes and feelings of employees concerning work. Empowered employees do not require any kind of supervision for them to do their work. The efficiency and productivity of an employee depends on their attitude towards work. Organizations can only encourage their employees to have a positive attitude when dealing with customers by empowering them (Huq 2010, p. 159).

Empowerment brings the best out of employees in terms of talents and creativity (Huq 2010, p. 176). There are some employees who can achieve great things for the customer service department and the entire organization through empowerment. Organizations may not benefit from the talents among their employees if they do not take the initiative to empower their employees.

Self discovery and awareness comes with power. Empowerment comes with new and more demanding responsibilities for the employees (Hayes 1998, p. 209). The new responsibilities are very important in helping employees to advance in their careers. It is difficult for employees without power to advance in their careers.

Employees can only realize their full potential if they are given an opportunity to work without any constraints (Wilson 2012, p. 179). Employees with a certain level of autonomy will definitely be satisfied with their jobs. A satisfied employee represents the company well by giving their best when it comes to customer service. Customer service is a very dynamic area and employees should be in a position to respond to change in the shortest time possible (Buttle 2012, p. 256).

Training is part of empowerment that enables the customer service staff to be aware of the new ways of serving customers. Empowerment makes employees to be loyal to their organization because they feel respected and supported. Research findings indicate that even those organizations that are aware of this concept are reluctant to put it into practice. Senior managers should not fear losing their authority because of empowerment.

In conclusion, employees in the customer service department can not play their role effectively if they are not empowered (Huq 2010, p. 258). Employees should be given the authority to make decisions as along as they are able to enhance customer satisfaction. An employee who is motivated through empowerment takes a personal initiative to enhance customer satisfaction. Customer service management is a very demanding responsibility that can not be accomplished without empowerment (Finch 2010, p. 208).

Empowerment makes employees to be loyal to the organization because they feel respected and supported. An empowered employee is always in a better position to solve problems compared to the one who has not been empowered (Wilson 2012, p. 216). Employees with a certain level of autonomy will definitely be satisfied with their jobs. It is clear from the discussion in this paper that empowerment is very important when it comes to customer service management.

References

Buttle, F 2012, Customer relationship management, Routledge, New York, NY.

Finch, L 1994, Twenty ways to improve customer service, Crisp Publications, New York, NY.

Hayes, J 1998, Managing customer service, Gower Publishing, Ltd., London.

Huq, R 2010, Employee empowerment: The rhetoric and the reality, Triarchy Press Limited New York, NY.

Voortman, C 2004, Global logistics: Management, Junta and Company Ltd., New York, NY.

Wilson, L 2012, Exploring great leadership: A practical look from the inside, iUniverse, New York, NY.

Introduction

If a company wants to have a loyal customer base, the managers should be there when something goes terribly wrong. But with the business’s growth and development, providing immaculate customer service all the time can be very expensive and sometimes difficult. On the other hand, there is nothing better that support from an actual human, there is nothing wrong in using content and new technologies for maximizing the use of the available resources. According to the Forbes article written by Adrian Swinscoe, in order for the company to have a successful customer service, it must have a persistent approach and should constantly look for solutions for resolving any issues that arise.

For solving the problems that arise in the customer service environment as well as improving the processes an organization uses, it is very important to understand what is done in the company at every stage. This is where the concept of flow charts comes into play. Flow charts are able to visually present the steps and decisions linked to the business process moreover the format is very easy to understand. Flowcharts are diagrams that visualize the way all processes within the company are integrated with each other. They are used to:

1. Defining and analyzing the process in the company.
2. Communicating the steps with other employees.
3. Standardizing and improving processes.
4. Problem troubleshooting.

When it comes to using flowcharts for fixing problems that occur in customer service (Figure 1), it can look something like this:

Case Study

Creating diagrams for solving problems related to responding to customer’s requests makes possible to understand why some processes take much longer that it is considered appropriate by the company. Flowcharts can be useful for identifying the unnecessary process that takes too much time. In addition, they are helpful in figuring out what parties can be affected by changes in the information processing methods.

An angry customer is the worst thing that can happen to the customer service team. Managing customer’s anger can be quite a difficult task that requires time and patience, and, to be frank, the help of diagramming techniques targeted at developing answers to managing angry customers can become very handy. A support employee has received a long email in which the customer only argued about the bad services and poor quality of the product without giving any reasoning. Sometimes such anger from customers is unjustified and is caused by the customer having a rough day. Justified or not, managing customers’ anger should be done in such a way, so both the business and the customer are satisfied.

Thus, the company’s manager has come up with four steps that were arranged in a flowchart are were to be followed by the support team when dealing with angry and stressed customers. The four steps are the following:

Apologize

Even if it is not the company’s fault, saying that you are sorry is the first step when dealing with an angry customer. Moreover, it is advisable to have a view that saying ‘I am deeply sorry about that’ means apologizing that the customer’s experience did not meet the expectations, not that it is the fault of the support team or a separate employee.

Sympathize

A large portion of angry customers is complaining because they want somebody to sympathize them, not because they want the problem fixed immediately. When a support team member does not understand why the customer is so angry for no particular reason, it is best to think about how the employee himself or herself would like to be treated in such situation. Small but powerful responses like ‘I understand how are you feeling’ or ‘This situation would cause distress to anyone,’ can be great in letting the customer know that the support team is working to make things better.

Accept responsibility

As a representative of the company, a support team member should be prepared to accept the responsibility for a problem. This does not mean that the company is responsible or that the customer is able to demand anything at this point, this just gives the client an opportunity to express the feelings without being angry at the company ‘without any face.’ For instance, saying ‘I am very sorry for your disappointment, Mr. Jones, but if you hang in on the line I am personally making sure that your problem will be fixed as soon as possible’, is showing that you care and that you are taking the customer seriously.

Be prepared to help

When dealing with angry customers, fixing the actual problem takes very little time. Placing an order to replace a product or file a refund form will take a couple of minutes compared to the stress of actually trying to calm down an agitated customer. If the employee is working towards the client coming back to the company, it is crucial to take all the above steps targeted at managing conflict. Make sure to spend the majority of time in conversation with the customer and leave them satisfied with the service.

Symptoms of Customer Service Failure

The Mount Rundle Hotel has various symptoms that indicate that a customer service failure has occurred. First, this hotel employed a student as its front office operator. The officeholder does not have adequate experience and skills to manage the needs of this department. In addition, the smell from the kitchen interferes with the customer’s comfort, and they are forced to live with the nuisance created. The housekeeping staff do not know their duties and are usually playing catch football instead of stocking and cleaning rooms. The premise lacks an elevator and guests have to use the stairs to get their luggage into their rooms. Moreover, guests like McKenzie are forced to buy toiletries because the hotel does not have any. The accounting department used Steve McKenzie’s credit card without his permission. However, it did not inform him about the issue until when he realized the abnormalities in his statements. In addition, the hotel management takes too long before informing customers about changes in their payment systems.

Causes of Hotel Failures

The hotel failed to provide quality services to its client because of the poor administrative structure. The front office is operated by a student that does not have adequate experience in this job. In addition, lack of employee supervision makes them lazy and thus they do not have time to clean or stock rooms. Moreover, the hotel is not committed to offering quality services to its clients, and that is why nobody is concerned that guests do not have adequate toiletries in their rooms. The management is lazy and has never bothered to research the importance of an elevator on their premises. Everybody is relaxed and happy with the current state of affairs in the hotel. They take advantage of clients that do not complain about poor services to harass those that do not tolerate this behavior. This problem is not unique in this hotel; however, this company does not seem to address its problems to improve the services it offers.

Assessment of Customer’s Behaviour

Steve McKenzie is responsible for the tribulations he experienced at the hotel. First, he knew the facility offered poor services but did not seek other alternatives. There are many hotels in Banff that offer better services, but he kept going to The Mount Randle Hotel. In addition, he should have considered the services of other hotels after staying in this one for four days and seeing that his room was always filled with egg and bacon smell in the morning, lunchtime, and evening. The behavior of this customer was not appropriate because he took a long time (seven months) before balancing his credit card statements. In addition, he volunteered to buy toiletries yet their costs were included in the booking payments. He had not gotten value for his money yet he continued staying in the hotel.

Recommendation

This hotel should recruit experienced and mature staff to handle its front office operations because this department has a lot of work to be done. The management should conduct performance appraisals and periodic inspections in the hotel rooms to assess their conditions. Moreover, all departments must work together to ensure they update clients of any changes in their systems, policies, and services. Lastly, it must train its staff to ensure they offer professional services and avoid thinking that this is the only hotel that offers hospitality services.

Extract (summary)

The goal of every organization is to provide proper services to its customers. This will help attract them and ensure that they maintain them. This is necessary in order to maintain the sales and ensure profitability and sustainability of the business.

Employees are required to understand the needs of their customers. This will put them in a position to match the products of the company with their needs. When the needs of the customers are met, they get satisfied (customer satisfaction) and this is what keeps them coming back for more. Therefore, customer service is important for the success of every business.

Providing customer service is quite a simple task, however, providing efficient customer service is another story all together. This requires proper skills. Organizations can ensure that its employees are well equipped with these skills through providing them with proper training. This may be in the provision of courses that would impart these skills and knowledge to them.

This way, the organization will be able to maintain its customers, make numerous sales and make profits constantly. The main objective of this paper is to look at the importance of effective customer service in the organization’s success.

A vivid definition of customer service will be provided. The importance of customer service will also be evaluated. The impact that customer service has on sales in a business will be looked at. Some of the factors that enhance better customer service will also be discussed.

Introduction

Proper customer service, which is the act of providing services to the customer during the whole transaction process, is important for the success of every business. This involves providing the services before, during and after the customer has purchased the good or service.

Effective customer service is meant to ensure customer satisfaction in order to be able to retain the customer base. This is necessary to maintain the number of sales that the business makes and consequently, continue to make consistent profits.

In order to ensure that the customer service is effective, the organizations require to have well trained customer service providers. This can be achieved through the training of the employees (Pollitt, 2008). In addition, all new employees should also be introduced to the training in order to ensure that all the customer service staff is competent and understand how to handle their customers well.

The future profitability of a company is greatly determined by its effectiveness to deliver customer satisfaction and providing quality real-time training to staff members, which will influence the success of the business.

Customer service

Customer service is generally the provision of quality service to the consumer of the organization’s products. It entails a series of activities during all stages of the consumer’s purchasing process. The main aim of providing customer service is to ensure customer satisfaction.

Price (2011) likes to think about customer service in different perspectives. He believes that it must be thought of as a leadership issue. He believes that one of the most important roles of a manager is to establish an environment of trust.

Another way of viewing it is as a marketing issue. Customer service is a way of reaching and keeping customers. It should be made to be part of the organizations marketing strategy.

How and why it is important

Pollitt points out that being honest to the customers even when the mistake was the company’s is a recovery factor for the customer. Research indicates that telling the customers the truth of the matter when a problem is encountered creates trust. After such encounters, the customers become even more loyal since they can trust the company (business). Reinforcing this trust is the work of the leader.

Making customer service the main agenda of the company is a very vital move. Such organizations are set to achieve a great competitive advantage. This is because the companies that deliver effective customer services are recognized by the customers. When they receive services from other organizations that do not match up the services received from such companies, they will always create preferences hence customer loyalty.

The importance of effective customer service starts at the company’s mission statement. It should be realistic rather than well developed. It should be public relations-related. When it is realistic and genuine, it will provide the foundation to the development of the operational principles.

This way, the company’s core values will be reflected. This way, the customers will be able to relate to them and identify with them. Consequently, this will enhance customer loyalty and the success of the business.

In the current market, nine out of every ten businesses fail after some years of operation (Schlocker, 2004). Schlocker (2004) agrees with John Dijulius that customer service is what makes the difference between the successful businesses and those that fail.

Superior customer service is the necessary ingredient in the operation of the business. Such organizations take time to evaluate and enhance the experiences of the customer. This is done with the main aim of enhancing client loyalty.

Impact of customer service on sales

The main goal of every business is to make profits and this is made possible when the organization makes sales. Charan (2010) believes that people need to think differently when it comes to making sales.

There are situations where an organization constantly loses sales even when it is providing good products and after putting a lot of effort on the services. In such situations, the organization needs to reconsider its goals and the ways of achieving them. It is then to reinvent the strategies to employ while selling them.

Triest, Bun, Raaij, and Vernooij (2008) studied the factors that enhanced customer retention and customer profitability. As they student certain service providers, they concluded that those customers who received free equipment during their previous visits came back for the same services. In other words, retention rates were higher. Therefore, the businesses could make more sales and more profits.

However, these authors argued that this was only applicable for those businesses that had large number of customers. It did not have any effect on the businesses that attracted a smaller number of customers. Essentially, this means that effective customer service is important in order for the business to be more profitable as it retains its customer base.

According to the authors, targeting on marketing expenses that were customer-specific was effective in retaining the customers. This was as opposed to the development of new customers into larger numbers or deriving more profits from them. This was a smart marketing procedure that involved incurring extra costs in the business in order to make more revenue from the customers.

Other similar studies have proved that such marketing decisions positively impact other marketing decisions. These include the pricing of services, customer loyalty, and the frequency of contracting customer, among others.

By offering free equipment, the businesspersons were able to strengthen the relationship with the consumers in order to make them avoid opportunistic behavior, which could negatively affect customer retention initiatives.

The salespeople should not only be people who take orders. They should also be ambassadors. This involves acquiring social skills that would enable them to learn about the needs of their customers. Having a good understanding about the product is also important. This would enable them to present them together with other services in a way that would match the specific needs of the consumers.

Creating value for the customers is very important in creating customer loyalty and ensuring that they will always come for the products (increase sales). The customers will differentiate such salesperson and will be regular customers. Therefore, a salesperson needs to acquire new knowledge and skills so as to be respected and supported by the teammates (Charan, 2010).

Factors that enhance better customer service

In order for employees at any organization to understand how to conduct effective customer service, they require to acquire social skills that will enable them to learn customer needs. This would enable them to understand how to match the customer needs with the products and services they offer (Charan, 2010).

Pollitt (2008) emphasizes on staff training as a factor in enhancing better (effective) customer service. This explains why the passengers on Stena’s Caledonia ferry like the services provided. The staff is provided with training that helps them provide the best customer services. This type of training was referred to as the ‘experiential’ training. It mostly targeted the workers from the catering units.

Those from the lowest ranks to the ones in senior positions were included in the training. It was a course that lasted for one day. All the employees who attended the training provided positive views about the training. They believed that it was helpful. The organization also had a policy that ensured that all new employees had to undergo that particular training.

One of the most important goals of an organization should be to provide customer service that would make the organization stand out from the rest. In order to achieve this, the employees need to be aware of the emotions and needs of the customer. They should also be able to deal with them appropriately and this calls for proper training in customer service and relations.

Experiential training may be provided to the employees in order to develop the necessary skills. This is different from the chalk-and-talk training, which is less effective. This is because experiential training enables them to develop skills by putting them in scenarios that resemble those in real life.

They would be able to go through self-discovery and identify themselves with the needs of the company. Consequently, they would be able to develop new skills that they would incorporate in the corporate culture.

The success of the world-class companies selected in Japan and Brazil was also attributed to training (Da Silva, Tadashi, & Kikuo, 2005). The companies had initiated training programs that raised the awareness about total quality management. This training also emphasized on teamwork in order to ensure that the customer satisfaction is made a team business.

With such training, the employees will also develop an interest and need to improve the organization and to satisfy the needs of the customers at the same time. The success of these world-class organizations is also attributed to the policy of training all new customers. This means that both the new and old employees have the same skills in terms of customer service. The contracted employees are also not left out in the training.

Customer service should also be delivered in a way that depicts respect and humility. Different people from different cultures have their own way of providing customer service. For example, the Japanese have a very different culture from the westerners. This cuts across the business sector and specifically in terms of customer service.

The difference between Japanese culture and westernized culture in terms of customer service is that the Japanese believe in the demonstration of respect and humility through words. The Japanese also believe that one should carry out his duties to the best of his abilities. This seems hypocritical to the westerners. Therefore, the westerners should embrace this in order to enhance customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

Customer service is a vital tool for any organization. It determines the success or failure of an organization. Those organizations that provide excellent services are recognized by their customers and are able to make sales continuously. In order for organizations to ensure efficient customer service, they are required to provide training to all its employees. This would ensure customer satisfaction and the overall success of the company.

References

Charan, R. (2010). Profitable growth. Leadership Excellence, 27(11), 3-5.

Da Silva, J., Tadashi, O., & Kikuo, N. (2005). Look through and beyond the TQM horizon: Lessons learned from world-class companies. The TQM Magazine, 17(1), 67-85.

Pollitt, D. (2008). Experiential training ensures customer service in ship-shape at Stena. Training & Management Development Methods, 22(3), 557-561.

Price, B. (2011). Being a customer service leader. The American Salesman, 56(3), 21-24.

Schlocker, D. (2004). Secret service: Hidden systems that deliver unforgettable customer service. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 9(1), 159-162.

Triest, S., Bun, M., Raaij, E., & Vernooij, M. (2008). The impact of customer-specific marketing expenses on customer retention and customer profitability. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 9(1), 159-162.

Abstract

Zappos.com is the largest online shoe retailer in America and it is owned by Amazon.com. The company is based in Henderson, Nevada. It was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn. 1n 2009, the company was acquired by Amazon. Tony Hsier is the current CEO.

Zappos mission is “to provide the best customer service possible”. Its core values are captured by what it refers to as the “ten Commandments”, which employees are supposed to study, internalize, and practice. The company believes that the right corporate culture is the foundation of exceptional customer service.

Zappos is a rapidly growing company that is also profitable. It has made a significant contribution to Amazon’s profitability. Since 2005, Amazon had been toying with the idea of starting an online retailer of shoes and that is why it started endless.com. The company, however, decided to acquire Zappos. The decision to acquire Zappos was an inspired one because growth prospects are exceptionally bright under the leadership of Tony Hsier.

Zappos is a reputable company to work for. It was listed among the top companies that treat employees well. The company does not only treat employees well, it also it also compensates them handsomely. Employees are trained under a program of continuous self improvement and handed countless other challenges that are motivating.

Zappos is involved in number of activities aimed at protecting the environment. The company also provides direct job opportunities to almost 2000 employees and indirectly to hundreds. This is good for the American economy. When many companies in the US are outsourcing jobs to India, Zappos has made the conscious decision to locate its call centre in United States.

The company was not hugely affected by the 2007 financial crisis, but it had to offload 5% of its workers at some point. Looking at its revenue figures, Zappos growth has been impressive. This has been due to its commitment to exceptional customer service. Future prospects for the company are significant because it is now a trusted brand. Secondly, almost all of its first customer buyers make repeat purchases. As long Zappos maintain its excellent and innovative customer service, it will continue to gain more market share.

Organization and continuity

Operational process

A company such as Zappos that ships shoes and other accessories to clients once they buy online requires considerable operational processes to be reliable (DiJulius, 2008). For activities to be performed in a standard way, there is a need for operational processes and procedures. Common activities in a firm can be accomplished in several ways, but there that single way that is both cheap and efficient. Documenting operational processes help a firm avoid failures and other costly mistakes.

Training new employees includes educating them on operational processes. Most firms do not provide formal training as such, but new employees are put under more experienced workers to mentor and transfer the required knowledge on operational processes and procedures (DiJulius, 2008). Operational processes are essentially documented best practices that have been adapted from elsewhere or developed in-house.

Operations are harmonized by integrating processes and people to drive reliability and improve capacity. When Zappos was incorporated, it faced a number of operational challenges in their quest to ensure that they ship products to their customers successfully (Laseter & Rabinovich, 2012).

To deal with the problems, Zappos adopted a highly sophisticated computer system called Genghis. Gengis manages the operations of the company. It manages the following key areas of operations: order entry, warehouse management, e-commerce system, and inventory (Zappos.com). If a customer wants a certain size of a particular shoe, he can be able to check its availability and the total number of shoes in the store of that size and their colors.

The system also reminds employees to call back customers and also coordinates reboot system of the warehouse. The management gets reports on profit contribution of selling a certain product in their online store. This way, the management can be able to assess whether it’s profitable to sell a certain product or not before stocking.

Management style

Management style refers to ways decisions are made in an organization and relating to subordinates. Management styles can be autocratic, paternalistic, or democratic. According to management experts, management style should be adapted to fit the prevailing circumstances. In a modern organization, democratic management style has been found to give the best results.

Democratic or participative management style is suitable for employee motivation because they feel appreciated and part of the organization.

They also feel that they own the final decision reached, and this inspires them to cooperate towards the realization of what has been decided. This type of management style is best when working as a team. It is the best where quality of what will be produced is more essential than speed.

Tony Hsier has distinguished himself as a great manager. He realized that Zappos needed to offer a excellent service stay ahead of the competition.

Towards that end, he developed a work environment where employees work as a team all committed to offering delightful service to customers. One of the decisions Tony, together with his employees, made at Zappos was to adopt casual dressing style (DiJulius, 2008). Also, during the early days of the company, the whole team collectively developed organizational culture and key values.

One of the reasons that have made Zappos a dominant company is the management style of its CEO, Tony Hsier. The vision of the CEO was to make a successful company that, despite size, could still offer customers exceptional service. That is why the company invests so much on training new employees. New hires on training is given full salary and a $2000 for those who wish to opt out.

Employee involvement which contributed to their growth over the years

According Tony, zappos is a company that is committed to delivering happiness to all the stakeholders (Hsieh, 2011). He is focused on making customers happy. This singular focus on the customer’s happiness is largely responsible for the company enormous success. It is also from this focus that informs its corporate culture.

Tony Hsier believes that when a company is able to attract talented people who also enjoy their work, it is possible to offer exceptional service and develop a strong brand in the process (Hsieh, 2011). The people who are recruited by the company is committed to offering delightful service to customers. New Employees, who feel that they cannot cope, or lack sufficient motivation to work there, are encouraged to leave the company and are given a $2000 reward (Zappos.com).

During interviews, employees are sometimes asked to rate their weirdness on a scale of 10. Interviewers sometimes push job applicants to extreme situations so that they can gauge their reactions when under pressure (Laseter & Rabinovich, 2012). During the early days of the company, workers would stay late into the night to socialize.

The goal was to create an organization where everyone is friendly. A test of innovation is given to prospective employees. Innovation is critical to the company, and it is indeed its hallmark, since it was founded. It is now even more urgent because of emerging vendors who have copied Zappos strategy and business models. Zappos, therefore, has been able to reach this far by relying on the employee’s innovativeness and commitment to excellent service.

Companies may be large, but it is real people that can give individual customers enjoyable and memorable service that they are able to identify with. Eighty per cent of all Zappos customers are repeat customers. They come back, again and again, due to the great service they get from employees. Therefore, by committing themselves to making customers happy, they have made Zappos the excellent company it is.

Marketing practices

Marketing is a crucial aspect of any business. Proper marketing involves not only physical goods but also puts into consideration services surrounding those goods. Proper marketing requires proper understanding of the key factors that would enable a business get customers and keep them. Keeping customers is as important as getting them. This is essential getting a new customer is more expensive than keeping an existing one.

Zappos is aware of what customers are looking for when they go online to shop. According to Tony, they are not only looking for a pair of shoes, but also after a pleasant buying experience. That experience can only be achieved by integrating personalized service and excellent operations management.

Good marketing practices include the following: developing a marketing plan, budget, securing necessary resources and; lastly, establishing metrics to assess the impact of marketing on business (Laseter & Rabinovich, 2012).

Zappos relies on, among other things, word of mouth marketing. This strategy has worked because stories of their superior customer service abound, and this drives customers to their website to make purchases. This has propelled the store to number one online shoe retailer.

Zappos strategy and motto is “customers are kings”. The company, therefore, goes out of its way to meet customer needs and ingratiate itself to buyers to retain their loyalty. Service helps Zappos standout from the crowd and differentiates itself. Although their shoes are not necessarily cheaper than what their competitors are offering, their efficiency, free shipping, and 365 day return policy is particularly attractive to prospective customers.

Zappos also incorporates hiring in its marketing strategy. The only people given the job are those whose personality fits the work culture at Zappos. Together with the four Ps of marketing, customer service complements marketing efforts and it’s what brings all the difference.

Area of focus they manage their operation under

Zappos, like other companies, is a complex organization. It has been able to grow at such a rate by adopting the right strategies in areas such as marketing, supply chain management, proper operational planning, good management, employing innovative human resource management, and making customers the central focus of all operations.

However, Zappos is totally committed to providing customers a excellent service. For instance, the company has adopted the following strategies to provide customers with a great service:

Call centre employees do not follow a preset script in dealing with customers queries. Zappos requires them use as much time as may be required to solve customers’ problem or make a positive impression.

Employees are allowed to send customers gifts and later bill the company. According to Tony Hsier, the company does not have a policy of dealing with customers (Hsieh, 2011). Employees are expected to make a decision based on the circumstances of their interactions with the client. The only guide an employee has is that they should offer outstanding service to the client.

All goods are shipped to customers free, and customers can return the products, if they are not happy, at the cost of the company.

Customers are provided with a 365 days warranty. This allows customers to return faulty items. The corporate culture and commandments are developed around the need for make customers happy. Tony elaborated more on Zappos philosophy of making customers in his recent book. What he has emphasized is the need to serve customers well and make them happy.

That has been Tony’s vision for the company since incorporation of Zappos (Hsieh, 2011). Amazon attempt to acquire the company in 2005 was rejected because the CEO felt that the company would lose its unique culture. As noted elsewhere in this paper, Genghis system was adopted to make it easier for customers to shop at Zappos.

How Zappos improved market share/Profits

Zappos was a pioneer online shoe retailer. Nick got the idea of starting an online shoe retailer after unsuccessfully trying to purchase a pair of shoes in his hometown (Hsieh, 2011). In 2001, Zappos posted 1.6million dollars in revenue. Ten years later, the company’s revenue has jumped to around 2 billion dollars.

By all accounts, the company’s growth has been extremely impressive. The shoe market is estimated to be around 40 billion dollars. Zappos, a shore retailer, therefore, controls around 5% share of the market (Laseter & Rabinovich, 2012). This is notable for a single company because the industry has all type of shoe vendors (small and large) operating offline and a few online.

Summary

The secret to Zappos success is customer service. Zappos commitment to customer service is becoming legendary. There is a story about a woman who had ordered a pair of shoes for her husband but, unfortunately, the man died shortly after the order for the pair of shoes was placed. The lady called the company to cancel the purchase. The following day, she received a bunch of flowers instead. Stories of exceptional service, such as this, have enhanced the reputation of the retailer.

Although it costs Zappos a lot of money to provide exceptional service, the company considers the expenses as marketing costs. As already noted, 80% of the company sales are to repeat customers. Clearly, customers notice and appreciate the good service they are given by Zappos.

The outstanding reputation Zappos has acquired is responsible for its growth. Right now, the company is expanding to include online sales of other products, such as shoes, in addition to shoes.

Zappos is a case study on how excellent customer service driven by robust corporate culture can drive growth. Indeed all managers who care about customer service have visited the company’s headquarters to understand how the company executes its happiness vision for its customers.

The success of the company also highlights the importance of leadership in laying the foundation for success. The incredible service that is behind the success of the company is the brainchild of one man, Tony Hsier. He has driven the company through changes in its operational process to achieve its current excellence.

References

DiJulius, J. R. (2008). What’s the secret?: to providing a world-class customer experience. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Hsieh, T. (2011). Delivering happiness: a path to profits, passion, and purpose.. New York: Grand Central Pub, 2011. Print.

Laseter, T. M., & Rabinovich, E. (2012). Internet retail operations: integrating theory and practice for managers. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

“Zappos Milestone: Timeline | about.zappos.com.” Home | about.zappos.com. N.p., n.d. retrieved <https://www.zappos.com/about/?utm_campaign=zappos&utm_medium=zappos-home&utm_source=footer&utm_content=text>.

Background

FedEx is a transportation company headquartered in the United States; it has branches all over the world. The firm offers delivery and transportation services to a myriad of clients. This organization is subdivided into four major groups, which include FedEx Express, FedEx services, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Freight.

FedEx Express mostly focuses on door to door delivery through a money back guarantee. It does this through its integrated network of vehicles and technologically-based tracking system. FedEx Ground deals with the small package market in Canada and the United States.

This encompasses all the home deliveries that are less than 150 pounds. FedEx Freight covers the distributional or business market. Here, the company transports commodities that are time bound, bulky and essential to the supply chain. This market is also eligible to money back guarantees.

Lastly, FedEx Services handles back-office activities such as IT, customer service, sales and marketing. It also encapsulates FedEx mobile, which is a service that runs on mobiles and other Apple-based products. This facilitates the process of tracking one’s package in order to know where it is located.

The firm’s main competitors include organizations such as DHL, TNT, UPS, and ABF Freight System. In this industry, FedEx is still recognized as a market leader because of initiating a number of services. FedEx was the first organization to introduce overnight letter delivery. It was also the first to bring in Saturday deliveries or deliveries that arrive at 10.30 am on the next day.

The firm handles customs brokerage and is also in charge of delivering packages across the border. Sometimes these clearances can be done electronically. The organization is ISO certified and also won a Baldridge Award for Quality.

It transports approximately 2.9 million packages every night through air transport and meets the needs of Canadian consumers through a group of 3, 500 workers in the country. In the customer care category, the firm has about 250 employees who respond to calls all day and night from Canadian clients.

Statement of the problem

The case study revolves around a customer service malfunction. The concerned client is an Office Manager at Canadian-based firm, Desktop Innovation. FedEx lost her package temporarily and thus failed to deliver it on time.

Furthermore, employees within the organization did not offer sufficient support to her during the delivery of this package. As a result, DI lost a very crucial business opportunity, and cost its clients unnecessary expenditures in dealing with the challenge.

The macro issue is poor customer service at FedEx. The micro issues include poor tracking and follow up of the lost package, inadequate feedback to the client on the status of the package, and uncoordinated responses to alterations in customer delivery requirements.

The customer was also dissatisfied with the kind of compensation the firm was offering her, and she received no personal acknowledgement of wrongs committed by FedEx.

In order to understand this problem fully, one must look at the internal and external constraints that affect the organization. The internal constraints in FedEx are the procedures, processes, systems and policies put in place. An organization’s employees are only as effective as their systems.

In fact, analyses show that approximately 85% of employee effectiveness emanates from organizational systems while the rest of the percentage comes from the person’s skills. Therefore, all the customer service personnel in FedEx who dealt with the aggrieved client are limited by the procedures, processes and policies put in place.

This company has a series of money-back requirements that must be fulfilled in order to qualify for a refund. Employees can only do so much for disgruntled customers if they require a refund but have not followed the right procedures. Therefore, these systems are a constraint in the process.

On top of that, the company is a profit-making institution, which implies that all the decisions being made, must be in the best interest of the company shareholders. Sometimes this may involve reducing refunds because they may hurt their bottom line.

Another set of internal constraints entails the level of coordination within the organization. If communication impediments exist and all employees do not share information accurately, then this will translate into service failure. The firm’s logistics handlers must be in constant communication with the package trackers as well as the customer care representatives.

The company is highly constrained by this issue because it has a vast number of employees who may not always relate to the developments that occur in that company. DI expected to receive their package before the trade show, but since the company lost the package for a substantial amount of time, then it was no longer necessary to send the package to the first location.

In this regard, Anita Kilgour changed the directions, but because the company’s employees were poorly coordinated, then the package went to the wrong location. The firm’s infrastructural capabilities also constrain employees to act in immediate response to consumer complaints. They have to transport their packages to various destinations around the world and sometimes this may necessitate long waiting times.

When packages are to be delivered within North America, then the organization needs to possess tracks that can take on direct routes as this minimizes distortions. However, because most tracks deliver several packages to several destinations, then many stopovers are necessary. Sometimes this may lead to the temporary or permanent loss of an item as was the case with DI’s packages.

This organization takes pride in its people policies. It values its employees and always puts them first. It intends on creating the best atmosphere for people to stay committed to the company, so it achieves this through in house promotions, employee-satisfaction surveys as well as pay for performance.

While this may be an important strategy, it can act as a constraint to great service quality because employees may focus on protecting their own interests. For instance, if their quality is assessed through the numbers of people that they can talk to at any one time, then chances are that they will try as much as possible to finish with one client in order to move onto the next. Anita Kilgour may have been a victim of this kind of focus.

Technology use is essential in the prompt delivery of services especially when the delivered packages must go to various parts of the world. As a result, the firm must invest in technologies that will trace the location of these packages.

Even though technology is designed to enhance service quality, sometimes it may act as a constraint. There is only so much technology can do; besides, the system may not always manage to track the millions of packages handled by the firm at any one time. In this regard, the company will be limited by the responses it can make to customers such as Anita Kilgour.

The external constraints that affect this organization include customs rules or customs clearance. Since the package was going to another country, then the firm needed to deal with some customs related issues. Other external parties determine the pace of customs clearance. Therefore, the company’s ability to meet its customer obligations may be hampered by these third parties. Such a problem may have arisen in this scenario.

The company cannot control the rate at which customers change their demands. Some clients may change package information, and this may not always get to the ground personnel on time. Clearly, Anita did the same for her package, but the company respondents did not relay the information to the shipping personnel. In certain circumstances, however, customers may not always be right.

Although FedEx’s mistakes may cost their clients numerous business opportunities or may increase their overhead costs, it is not possible to compensate clients for these inconveniences. For a company that delivers 2.9 million packages a day and listens to thousands of complaints daily, the firm would go out of business if it paid customers for all their troubles.

Customers may not always have this knowledge and may request for more than is due to them. Company policies show that the organization only compensates a person for transportation charges. Anita is asking for more by talking about booth fees as well as telephone expenses. These unrealistic expectations constraint FedEx’s ability to deliver satisfactorily.

Situation Analysis

An external environment reveals that IT advances are being made in the package delivery or transportation business very frequently. As a result, the organization must stay abreast of these issues almost immediately. It is likely that the firm may have invested in new technology at the time of delivering DI’s package. FedEx also operates in a highly competitive market.

North America has a numerous transportation service providers such as UPS and DHL. Furthermore, some of these companies control crucial aspects of the sector such as mail boxes. One such organization is UPS. This company also has a higher share of ground services than FedEx. It also boasts of superior ground services.

Many competitors are merging and acquiring new portfolios that make it difficult for FedEx to stay ahead. As if this is not enough, some of the biggest FedEx clients happen to be competitors. One such organization is the US Postal service. FedEx has to collaborate with this company, but it also takes away most of its clients.

In addition to the strong competitive environment, the organization must make a name for itself in the global arena. This can sometimes entail a thorough investment in the consolidation of the air freight market by investments in planes and other infrastructure. Therefore, dynamics in the air industry can also affect the company. Infrastructural investments in the road sector also alter business at FedEx.

A SWOT analysis can assist one to understand the internal dynamics that affect this company and hence the case study. One of the major strengths of the company is that it is a household name in the US and Canada. Consequently, it is unlikely that a customer will abandon the business owing to first mistakes.

Additionally, the company operates independently thus enabling it to respond to consumer demands collectively. On top of this, the company’s finances are in order.

The organization has a huge network of pilots and crew members to transport its packages. It is also highly innovative by investing in research and development. The firm has pioneered a number of services in the package delivery industry. Additionally, it has a global presence and invests heavily in technology.

Its major weakness was manifested in this case study; it has a disjointed customer service. The firm seems to think that having a large employee base is all it takes to meet customer expectations, yet this strategy is not working. There are challenges with coordination between various customer service employees.

They also have trouble with following up and giving customers feedback on their packages. Additionally, although the company does relatively well in air freight, it does not have a strong force on the ground. Its technological investments are quite costly. It also makes many late deliveries and must deal with numerous refund requests.

Implementing the money back guarantee is a problem for the firm because so many discrepancies arise. Customer requests for refunds are overwhelming to the company, so it must use various legal strategies to minimize these requests. Many clients feel that the company sometimes promises more than it can deliver because of these conditions.

FedEx has significant opportunities in its industry. First, it can expand into other global markets and thus tap into a larger market. Additionally, it can streamline its internet services so as to minimize the need for contact with consumers. On top of this, the firm can also heighten demand within the logistics industry.

The threats that affect the company are competition from other companies, especially those that offer more superior services than it does. Clients might defect from FedEx owing to frustrations from their poor responses rates and defective customer service.

Analysis of alternatives

The organization has the option of using this complaint as a wake call. It can take the positive criticisms about its customer service and thus conduct a system overhaul. DI’s complaints are not the first, as many other repeat clients have experienced the same problem. If the company takes this route, then it will retrain its workers about the importance of proper customer service.

It will set aside resources to achieve this. Training should involve several business related objectives such as the company goals and the importance of paying attention to customer requests. However it should also involve some practical aspects such as instating a system in which employees who promise to get back to employees can do so as soon as possible.

It seems many of the customer care respondents tend to dwell on dealing with as many incoming calls as possible. The company can make it mandatory to follow up on calls when an employee promises to do so. This means that they need to record the number and details of every customer that needs feedback.

During shift changes, employees can offer the complaint details, contacts and names to the next group of workers so that they can follow up as soon as possible. If the firm pays its people for every phone call handled, then it can also pay them for the number of follow ups done. This would act as an incentive to always get back to clients immediately.

Alternatively, the company may respond to this problem by expanding its workforce and thus deal with burnout issues. It seems that the firm handles too many complaints and it becomes difficult to offer in-depth solutions if a customer care respondent has too much on his or her plate.

The individuals may have developed an apathetic attitude owing to burn out. FedEx can solve this problem by designating certain areas of service provision to certain members. This would make them specialists in that area. Furthermore, customers should be required to remember the name of their previous customer care attendant and thus be directed to them the next time they call the center.

This would reduce time wastage owing to the explanation of problems repeatedly. Additionally, it would provide a much-needed personal touch, since clients would be talking to the same person every time they call the company.

The third alternative that the company may consider is treating this complaint as any other typical one. It could simply give the customer what she was looking for. In this regard, the organization can require the supervisor – Chris – to call this disgruntled customer and admit that the company was wrong.

He should make a verbal apology to the client and could ask the client to make some suggestions about what she would like the company to do. Sometimes all a customer wants is to be heard. It should validate the client’s claims and thus take responsibility for its mistake. The company is restricted by its profit goals to pay for other losses that customers encounter during delivery of their packages.

The supervisor and the customer service head can explain that they are limited by company policies to compensate Anita for the $600 worth of booth fees. As the customer service manager and the supervisor talks to Anita, they need to be as sincere and as apologetic as possible. Nonetheless, they can assure her that all the employees involved in the tracking of her package will be warned about their failure to honor their promises.

Recommendations

The first alternative would be the most feasible; carrying out a customer service overhaul through training and incentives. As explained earlier, one of the constraints in the company is profit making. Hiring more workers would be quite costly to the organization, and this would hurt its bottom line, which implies that the second alternative is out of question.

If the company chooses the third option, then it will not have dealt with the root of the problem. As explained earlier, Anita Kilgour is not the only customer to make such a complaint. Numerous clients experience the same problems, yet the company has done nothing about it. This should be regarded as a wake up call. Although training would cost the company money, it would not be as much as the rehiring on new staff.

Furthermore the company would protect itself from possible loss of business or defections that stem from poor customer service. It should think of the training as an investment in its repeat clients. Option three would send the message that this is an isolated incident, yet it is not. The company can let Anita Kilgour and other similar customers know that it has instated those changes.

Implementation and action plans

The implementation should start as soon as possible; preferably in one month’s time. The more the firm delays, the more customers it will loose. The action plan should entail a six-week training program in which customer service employees in Canada will participate. This should take one hour per day and employees should start practicing what they learn immediately on the job.

The end of the training program should be characterized by a visitation of the company goals and the role of customer care respondents. All staff members should implement a follow up program that will take three months for completion. The payment system will also be changed after 6 months training so as to include follow ups.

Background of the Study

The essence of customer service in companies has been emphasized worldwide. Many companies have improved customer service in their organizations which has led to improved performance in their businesses. Accordingly, customer satisfaction, loyalty and increased profits have been some of the benefits of excellent customer service.

In order to cope with the challenging business environment, companies have resorted to the adoption and implementation of various strategies that would improve customer service.

Provision of quality customer service is a dynamic and interactive process that goes beyond exchanging money for particular goods and services. Provision of quality services requires customers to take part in the process by cooperating with the service providers .

Research has shown that good customer service heavily depends on the employees, especially those who interact with the customers directly. Quality customer service implies that the customers are provided with impressive services which in turn enhance their satisfaction. Delivery of quality services to customers is often associated with customer loyalty.

Exceptional and quality customer service satisfies the customers and it follows that satisfied customers remain loyal to the company. Delivery of attractive customer services encompasses psychological research and practices aimed at satisfying the customers.

It also gives a chance for the development of a framework used in customer service. Expectations of the customers, brand equity, cultural and regional differences and measurement are factors that determine the success of a business in terms of quality customer service .

Customer service requires companies to develop certain skills for dealing with customers. Among the most important skills when dealing with customers is the ability to comprehend and respond to their needs and concerns appropriately. For many years, sales have been associated with the ability to convince customers to use the services of a certain company.

Good customer service begins with complete knowledge of the customer, his conditions, aspirations and challenges. In addition, discipline in customer service is sensitive towards upholding the principles of the customers, sharing critical information about them and identifying their needs in order to provide excellent services to both internal and external customers (Zemke & Woods, 2000).

Importance of Customer Service

It is agreeable that customer service is an important component of the overall strategy of companies to conduct business. Without customers, it would be difficult for companies to sustain their operations. Despite the fact that many companies have been aware of this fact, customers still complain of poor service in some companies.

Most companies believe that they do what they are supposed to do regarding customer service. However, unless the companies put in place certain mechanisms, they would continue to provide unsatisfactory services to their customers .

In all successful business organizations, commitment towards provision of good customer service starts from the top management. The top leaders of companies must realize that they have a duty to not only meet the needs of the customers, but also to work hard to exceed the expectations of the customers.

It is critical for the leaders to come up with an organizational culture that understands and works towards quality customer service. In the current world, business competition has continued to grow on a daily basis. When customers are not satisfied with the services they get from one company or business organization, it is easy for them to move to other business organizations that serve them well.

The only chance companies have is that of making a good first impression to their customers. If leaders in companies ignore the fact that customer service is a prerequisite for the continued existence of their business organizations or fail to provide the necessary resources for quality customer service, they are likely to be pushed out of business .

Appropriate training is one of the ways through which companies can develop a culture of excellent customer service. Employees must be meant to understand what is expected of them when they deal with customers. For instance, there should be established uniform ways of answering customer calls and a predetermined chain of command for dealing with customer complaints among other issues related to customer service.

The procedures used in addressing customer problems are important than the problems themselves. Customers should feel that their interests are given the first priority by the business organization and that their concerns are valued.

Customer feedback is one method that companies can use to evaluate their customer service level. The performance of a company in customer service should not only be benchmarked by use of competitors but also on the basis of the goals that the company has set. Companies should always remember that their endeavor is to exceed the expectations of the customers.

Written surveys may be used to gauge the satisfaction of the customers. This gives feedback regarding several issues on the operations of the company. Written comments should be allowed in the surveys since they highlight areas that might potentially cause problems.

Interaction between the management of a company and the customers measures the general effort of the company apart from gauging the commitment of the company towards achieving its goals.

Managers who are detached from the customers do not have enough information on what the employees do and what the customers need. Customers feel a sense of satisfaction when they share information with people who set policies as opposed to people who merely execute the set policies .

With the stiff competition in the current markets, companies need to be the types that get things right at the first instance and quick to correct any mistakes. Perfecting these aspects leads to customer loyalty. As already mentioned, customer loyalty is an important strategy of ensuring business success and continuity.

Excellent customer service is the pillar of any business since it provides an avenue for further growth and assists in shaping the reputation of the business organization.

Different strategies can be used to attract customers to business organizations but unless a concrete way of ensuring the customer loyalty is developed, the desired profits cannot be realized. Excellent customer service also entails making the customers happy such that they market the business organization by informing others of the good services they receive (Business Case Studies, 2011).

Research Questions

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the concept of customer service in companies. The research endeavors to answer the following questions:

• What is importance of quality customer service in companies?
• What is the relationship between quality customer service and customer satisfaction?
• Do companies contribute towards customer dissatisfaction through poor customer service?
• What are the strategies that can be applied by companies to ensure excellent customer service that would lead to customer satisfaction?

Literature Review

Quality customer service reflects an organization that is highly concerned about the needs of the customers (Albrecht & Zemke, 1990). Most companies have experienced numerous changes regarding how customers perceive and interact with them. Albrecht & Zemke (1990) emphasize the fact that effective customer service is an issue that private and public companies have to deal with in order to enhance their business performance.

Customers use new standards of measuring the performance of a company hence companies cannot ignore the fact that they are responsible for customer satisfaction through excellent customer service. As a result, there is the need for companies to develop customer service strategies. In developing customer service strategies, identification of potential and existing customers is usually the first step.

Most companies seem to be so busy and disinterested in people such that they never take time to understand their customers well and know what they want (Blanding, 1991). Companies can improve their service delivery by conducting a process of defining their customers and finding out what the customers want from the organization. Customers are classified into internal and external customers.

Internal customers are the employees of a company who are involved in serving external customers. The internal customers rely on services that are provided from within the company. External customers are the individuals who directly benefit from the services of the organization and in turn provide revenue for the company or fund the company through the tax they pay.

Customers are always treated as individuals instead of treating them as groups or communities . Despite the fact that a community may be comprised of many people, companies deal with each of the members of the community one by one. Each of the members has personal needs that have to be met by the company. It is imperative for companies to have good knowledge of the exact needs that the customers have.

Unless a company knows what its customers consider important, it would be difficult for the management to make the necessary changes in order to ensure excellent customer service. Companies generate different expectations from both internal and external customers.

Researchers have argued that customer service should be woven as a common thread in companies in order to create a customer service culture. Unless all employees perceive their connection with expert customer service, customers would not receive the excellent services they deserve.

The beliefs, norms, shared values and the ideologies of a company should be consciously and explicitly geared towards providing excellent customer service. Unless this happens, companies would not be able to provide consistent quality customer service that would create a good reputation for the company.

The philosophy of quality customer service culture must be passed on in a manner that enables employees to understand at a personal level, the importance of quality customer service to the overall success of the company.

Companies that develop market dominance run the risk of developing arrogance . This is manifested when employees start talking to customers rudely instead of listening to them and listening to their feelings and needs. Quality customer service is only present if customers decide that it should be there.

The most important and most reliable measurement of customer service is an evaluation of the most recent experiences of customers with a company and their level of satisfaction.

Customer Service Debates

Different authors have written on the subject of customer service highlighting different issues. Various explanations regarding why customers express dissatisfaction and what companies should do to ensure excellent customer service have been advanced.

Perhaps, one of the greatest mistakes made by companies with regard to customer service is responding to customer issues slowly. Customers judge companies on the basis of how effectively their issues are solved. Apologizing to customers may be important but if the problems are not solved, the customers are never satisfied (Zemke & Woods, 2000).

Unprofessional conduct by employees destroys the reputation of companies when customers share the experiences with other potential customers. Some customers may portray a lot of anger but the work of the employees is to listen to them. Although customers are expected to be calm, anger from customers who have been treated unfairly on issues that cost them is usually justified.

Problems in customer service become detrimental in companies when the management is poor and customers are promised that their issues would be resolved but this does not happen. Debates revolving around customer service stress a number of strategies that companies should use.

For instance, it is important for companies to ensure that any services promised to customers are made available. When errors are made since it is not possible to avoid them, customers should be given explanations because this is one way of maintaining their loyalty. Customer loyalty should always be taken seriously since their perceived lack of appreciation affects their loyalty.

It is also agreeable that the response time should be fast when customers raise issues that need to be resolved. This is only possible if companies engage the services of well trained employees. Employee training eliminates instances of unprofessional conduct that destroys customer loyalty.

In addition, there have been debates that companies should work hard towards showing customers the importance of remaining loyal to a particular company. This can only be achieved by ensuring that excellent customer service is made a priority.

Customer Satisfaction

The concept of customer service is closely related to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has been defined and discussed by different researchers in order to measure the concept. Customer satisfaction is based on the experiences that customers have through their interactions with a particular company. Satisfaction is regarded as the customer’s assessment of the services of a company that is influenced by personal expectations.

Other researchers have defined satisfaction as the feeling of either pleasure or discontent after making a comparison between the outcome and what the customer expected. Customers react differently to certain encounters and this also influences their satisfaction. Customer satisfaction can be transaction specific or cumulative satisfaction.

Transaction specific satisfaction is the evaluation that a customer does after a particular service experience. On the other hand, cumulative satisfaction is the overall evaluation that a customer makes of a company since he started using the services of the company (The Social Customer, 2011).

Since customer satisfaction is an important aspect of customer service in companies, it is crucial for companies to measure the level of customer satisfaction in order to realize their goals. Many researchers have discovered the close relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction.

They have realized that there are various factors that contribute towards customer satisfaction. For instance, companies should consider understanding fully the needs and expectations of the customers.

This research is aimed at looking at the issue of customer service and its importance to companies in detail. From the literature review, it is quite clear that customer service is closely related to customer satisfaction.

It is only after the needs of the customers are met through excellent customer service that companies would improve their services. The literature that has been reviewed in this research revolves around the importance of quality customer service and how it leads to customer satisfaction (Albrecht & Zemke, 1990).

This literature fits into the research since the research aims at among other things finding out the relationship between quality customer service and customer satisfaction. The literature review has analyzed in detail how companies should treat their customers in order to satisfy them.

The literature review would be used to conduct the primary research since it entails collecting all the relevant data regarding customer service. For instance, it touches on various aspects of customer relations such as debates revolving around customer service and the relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction.

Research Methodology

In carrying out researches, different methodologies are used depending on the type of research being carried out. This research would rely on the descriptive type of research. This type of research presents facts concerning a certain situation as it is at the time of study. A descriptive research also focuses on relationships that exist among various aspects.

In addition, qualitative research is an appropriate research method to be used in carrying out this study. This is because qualitative researchers do not only rely on statistics like quantitative researchers do (University of New York, 2010). Qualitative research focuses on the analysis of information that is not structured.

In this research, the choice of the research method would give more information about the attitudes of different people, motivations, lifestyles and value systems. During the actual data collection, the major methods that would be used to collect the data include use of questionnaires and surveys.

A questionnaire is an appropriate method of collecting information from a wide range of respondents. The questions in the questionnaire would be open ended questions for the respondents to give adequate information. Their structure would be in such a way that the respondents would understand the questions easily.

Apart from questionnaires, sampling is also another method of data collection that would be used in the research. It would be appropriate to sample employees in 3-4 companies to collect information regarding customer service. The companies would be approached through the top management and clear explanation of the aim of the research given.

After sampling company employees, it would also be important to sample 5 customers to get their perspectives and experiences on customer service with the companies. The interview method would be used to collect information from the company employees and the customers.

This is because interviews have the capacity to generate first hand information. In addition, they give the researcher and the respondent a chance to ask each other questions for the sake of clarification. Once the data has been collected from the field, what would follow is a detailed analysis of the information gathered.

Data analysis is an important process after actual field collection of information. It is a process that entails compilation of the data collected and evaluating its credibility.

In carrying out data analysis, various issues touching on ethical considerations would be considered. For instance, some of the data collected might not be accurate and during this time, information would be sorted out to remain with the most credible and relevant data for the research.

Time Scale

It would be important to have a reasonable time frame within which the research would be conducted. This is because unless there is careful and proper planning of the available time, some aspects of the research would not be tackled and if tackled, this might not be done exhaustively.

Reference List

Albrecht, K., & Zemke, R. (1990). The Only Thing that Matters. New York,NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Basu, R. (2004). Implementing quality: a practical guide to tools and techniques. Cornwall: Cengage Learning EMEA.

Berndt, A., & Brink, A. (2004). Customer Relationship Management and Customer Service. Lansdowne: Juta and Company Ltd.

Berry, L. (1991). Marketing Services:Competing Through Quality. New York: The Free Press.

Blanding, W. (1991). Customer Service Operations. New York,NY: American Management Association.

Business Case Studies. (2011). The importance of customer service. Web.

Gale, B. (2010). Managing Customer Value: Creating Quality and Service That Customers Can Se. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Goodman, J. (2009). Strategicc Customer Service. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Hinton, T. (1991). The Spirit of Service. Oxford: Kendal/Hunt Publishing.

Karl, J. (2011). Customer Service – The Importance of Quality Service. Web.

Stewart, J. (1990). Bridge not Walls. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing.

The Social Customer. (2011). Proactive Customer Service and the Great Debate on Handling Complaints. Web.

University of New York. (2010). Research methods and resources. Web.

Yahalom, T. (2010). How to Improve Your Company’s Customer Service. Web.

Zemke, R., & Woods, J. (2000). Best Practices in Customer Management. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Appendix

Appendix A

The diagram below shows the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

From: B2B market research company. Web.

Appendix B

The concept of customer service is believed to have emerged in the 1940s in Geneva Switzerland. It continued to advance and to date, most companies focus on quality customer service as part of the overall strategy of remaining in business.