Business Queensland (https://www.business.qld.gov.

au)

 Improving customer service

Creating a service delivery flowchart

Creating a service delivery flowchart will help you to examine the links between what your customers expect, service
delivered by trained staff, and how successfully the service met customer expectations. Flowcharting helps to identify
service gaps or areas for improvements.

Take a piece of paper or a white board and draw a set of maps and figures to describe how the service is delivered,
where things can go wrong, and what is done when there is a service failure.

Marketing experts propose 4 actions to close such service gaps.

Understand customer expectations

Learn what customers expect by:
doing customer research and studying customer complaints
using information from customers to try new ways to deliver the service
getting your staff talking to your customers.

Establish service values and standards

Establish service quality values and standards by:
developing values and standards that are realistic, clear and achievable
regularly talking to and assessing staff using these service standards
knowing what tasks are most important to maximise customer satisfaction (e.g. reduce queues, deliver on
time).

Train staff
Ensure that staff are adequately trained by:
providing staff with the technical training they need to meet the service standard
building teamwork among staff
empowering staff to take appropriate action to resolve customer concerns.

Meet expectations
Ensure the service matches the promises by:
making sure that all advertising material reflects the nature of the product or service
making staff aware of all advertising and promotional activities so they know what customers are expecting
offering customers different levels of service for different prices and explaining the differences between those
levels.

Also consider...
 Learn more about training your staff (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/staff-
development/training).
Read about creating a customer service program (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-
business/consumer-laws/customer-service/improving/creating-program).
Learn about writing business processes, procedures and standards (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-
business/planning/business-planning/processes-procedures-standards).
Read more about researching customers (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-business/planning/market-
customer-research/researching-customers).
Learn about establishing your business values (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/starting-
business/planning/business-planning/values).
Find out about managing customer complaints (https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/consumer-
laws/customer-service/complaints).

Last reviewed: 22 Jun 2016

Last updated: 22 Jun 2016

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