CUSTOMER CARE

Customer care

Definition
 is the manner in which customers are treated by the business
Introduction
 Customer care creates a new orientation in an organization with and
increasing focus on improving the delivery of the needed services by the
customers.
 This should always be viewed as the clientele having rights and expectations
that must be fulfilled.
 As an entrepreneur one needs to appreciate that customer care should be
part and parcel of his/her business operations if you intend to achieve
success.
 The customer care vision by organisation embraces employees that put its
customers first and that is open transparent, accountable and responsive
 The customer is king and always right as a way of doing business
 The customer is always observed as having a right to demand quality services
from the organisation
 In the modern business world there is an increasing focus on enhancing
service delivery and on ascertaining that the delivered as promised
 An entrepreneur should be responsible, accessible and quick to help source
problems
 Should be reliable and deliver what he/she promises on time
 Should be knowledgeable and courteous
 Should be empathetic and should understand the needs of customers
 Work area should always be clean and organized.
Ten tips for customer care

1.Reliability
 this refers to consistency of performance and dependability
 perform the service right the first time fulfill promises
 be impartial and avoid favoritism
 Be firm with friends and relatives as far as business transactions are
concerned.
 
2.Responsiveness
 this refers to the willingness as well as readiness of the entrepreneur or his
employees in providing the services within reasonable time immediately if not
sooner
 
3.Competence
 -This refers to the possession of the required skills and knowledge by those
who deliver the services to the customer. This will create confidence.
 
4.ccessibility
 this refers to the degree of approachability and ease of contact of the
entrepreneur or his employees
 drop what you are doing ignored to greet and serve customer
 
5.Courtesy
 This refers to politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness of your
organization’s contact such as receptionist, secretaries, telephonist, etc, they
must be polite and courteous at all times – remember, a smile goes a long
way.
6.Communication
 keep your customer well informed in a language and style they understand
 it is important to hear and understand what your customers are saying
 communicate effectively with your suppliers as well
 
7.Credibility
 this refers to being trustworthy and faithful
 put customers at heart
 they should feel that he/she is given priority and should have the trust that
any order will be executed and received when expected
8.Security
 customer should be protected from danger, risk or doubt within the premises
9.Knowledge of Customer
 the entrepreneur should know the client specific requirements
 be able to recognize regular clients
 strive to provide individualized attention
 Understand what makes them buy is it need Price?
 
10.Tangibles
 This could include the physical evidence (i.e. building, good handling, tools,
equipment, packages etc). This could also include the appearance of your
personnel
 employees must be neat, orderly and clean
 
Benefits/importance of customer care

 If customers are put first, the entrepreneur will be rewarded with new
business and increased profit margins and sales.
 Customer care creates new customers
 Constructive consumer dialogue enables the entrepreneur to know and
understand what the customers needs and wants
 It builds good relationships and loyalty with customers
 Can make passive customers become in violated participants (i.e. loyalty)
 Create corporate excellence
 Build good reputation and good image i.e. it is a tool for good corporate
image building
 Business can become a market driven entity as you get information on what
your customers need and want
Perquisites of meeting Customers
expectations
 
 be courteous and tactful
 be friendly and helpful
 deal promptly and decisively with customers
 rectify faults quickly and keep promises
 listen to customers attentively and respond promptly
 avoid being sarcastic when dealing with customers
 present information logically and comprehensively
 stick to your commitments
 Always inform your customers on what happens at your business if it may
affect them (i.e. sale, new product? Services
 be fair and honest when dealing with customers
 demonstrate the right skills at the right time
 always give customers professional treatment
 know the customers business and needs
Who gets to decide if a customer service is good?

 customer service is a function of your customers perceptions not your

standards in other words, the customers gets to decide if he or she has
received good services
 even though all of your standards may have been met if the customer does
not feel well served, your customer service is poor
 customer satisfaction is ultimately the result of the sum total of the
customer’s experience
 Customer satisfaction is ultimately the result of the sum total of the
customer’s experience at your establishment.
 Customers come back to a place that has provided a pleasant experience for
them. Thus owners and managers need to focus not on tangible as ends
themselves but on how all the particulars combine to create a certain
experience
Prime examples of poor customer care

1.poor delivery and accessibility of services

2.poor quality and state of merchandise
3existence of long queues of customers waiting to be serve
4. dirty environment of business
5. failure in meeting client expectations
Dealing with unprincipled customers

 never show that customer is wrong or behaving badly

 always take it that he/she is right
 appreciate and understand at there should be some customer’s who visit your
business with hidden agenda and ulterior motives (i.e. competitors of those
interested in policing I’ve price control monitors
 make very attempt to deter their bad intentions by being upright in your
dealings
You can defeat unprincipled customers by taking the
following steps:

 continue to show a good image of your business

 smile when talking to customers
 accept blunders where you can realize them promise to improve and make an
apology
 avoid arguing with customers
 always hold your composure and avoid losing your temper in front of your
customer
 
Building Customer Trust

 From a customer’s point of view, there is probably no concept more

important than trust. How can you strengthen customer trust?
 Keep your promises
 Make promises that you can keep
 do everything to keep the commitments you make
 if you cannot fulfill the promises let the customer know
 call back if you promise even if you don’t have the information the customer
is expecting
 Following up on an order to be sure everything is okay.
 Properly hold complaints all the time.
 Make recommendations that are best for the customers.
 Recommend a competitor when there’s a need that you can’t satisfy.
 Make yourself available after the sale.
 
Creating Customer Comfort

 Customer care is also defined as meeting needs and creating comfort.

Meeting needs is a given, creating comfort is a function of enabling the
customer to feel a sense of control when he/she is at your business.
Customers feel in control when they know the drill i.e. when they know how
things work and how to get things done
Develop and maintain a customer charter
 Make sure that there is availability and visibility of both a mission statement
and customer charter. The customer’s charter will remind your workers
always to abide by its contents and will assure customers of their
expectations of the services and what move to take if they are not met. Your
customers’ charter should indicate the standards of services to be delivered
and the way in which the worker will perform their duties
  
 Telephone
 number of rings before the telephone is answered are given
 Enquires
 short turn around time
 follow up
 courtesy options offered to caller
 Correspondence
 Correct
 Shorthorn around time
 Acknowledgement of receipt
 Delivery deadlines met
 Delays explained and apology given 
 Outgoing services
 automatic follow up
 customer feedback
 be sure that your customer’s charter informs clients about the availability of
a system of redress in case of grievances