HRD in Service Sector

UNIT 2
 Elements of Customer Service

1. Respect. Respect the fact that customers actually pay

our salaries and make our profits for us. Make them feel
important and appreciated and treat them as individuals,
not ciphers. Remain polite, even if they are asking irritating
questions, and thank them every time you get the chance.
When something goes wrong, know how to apologize. It's
easy, and customers like it. The customer may not always
be right, but the customer must always win. Make it easy
for customers to complain, and take their complaints to
heart. It's an opportunity to improve your service and
product.
 Elements of Customer Service

2. Understanding. Understand, identify, and anticipate needs.

Customers don't really buy products or services; they buy solutions to
problems. The better we solve those problems, the more appreciative
they are, and the better their experiences in dealing with your
business. The better you know your customers, the better you can
anticipate their needs. Communicate regularly: Engage in
conversations and exchange ideas and you will become keenly aware of
their wants and needs—and therefore better able to satisfy them.
3. Listening. Keep your ears—and eyes—open. Hear what the market
is saying, open dialogues, and be a good listener. Identify customer
needs by asking questions and concentrating on what the customer is
really saying. Effectively listening to the customer and giving him or
her your undivided attention, even in an online environment, are
particularly important.
Encourage and welcome feedback and suggestions from your
customers about your service and your product. Provide methods that
allow them to offer constructive criticism, comments, and suggestions.
 Elements of Customer Service

4. Responding. Now you have to respond positively. This

is not to say that you have to change your entire business
model or product line to suit the demands of various
customers. Seek ways to help your customers and give them
what they are looking for without compromising your
company or products.
In most cases, requests will be fairly straightforward and
achievable. Even if they are unreasonable or appear
impossible to fulfill, offer to look into the matter and
promise to come back with an answer within a specified
time period. Look for ways to make it easy to do business
with you. And always do what you promise.
 Elements of Customer Service

5. Serving. Essentially this means fulfilling your promises.

Help customers understand your systems. Your organization
may have the world's best systems for getting things done, but
if customers don't understand them, they can get confused,
impatient, and angry. Take time to explain how your systems
work and how they simplify transactions.
Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies
lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate your
company above the competition. Consider how to give
customers what they cannot get elsewhere. Offer them
something that is totally unexpected—give them the "wow"
factor.
And thank people for giving your company their valuable
time, even when they don't buy.
 Components of Service

The components of the service system are:

(1) The service operations system,
(2) The service delivery system, and
(3) The service marketing system.
 The Service Operations System

The service operations system comprises backstage activities, such as

staff training, stock replenishment, etc., as well as the front stage
aspects of the operation experienced directly by the customer, such as
how they are treated by employees as soon as they enter the parlour, or
how quickly they are moved around from the washbasins to the cutting
chair (if they are receiving a cut and blow for example).
Although there is generally no need for the customer to see most
aspects of service operations (therefore they are kept backstage), some
service providers deliberately expose customers to backstage activities
in an attempt to influence positively their perceptions of the quality of
the service provided.
Restaurants frequently invite customers to visit kitchens where the
food is being prepared either before or after they have eaten. This is
designed to reinforce an image of fresh food prepared in a hygienic
cooking environment which may influence their perception of the
overall quality of their experience.
 The Service Delivery System

The service delivery system encompasses not only the visible elements of the service
operating system, employees and the physical facilities, but also includes exposure
to other customers. In many- service businesses, positive on-site interaction can
have a significant impact on customers’ overall perception of their experience. In
the hairdressing parlour, customers may find themselves waiting for a period of
time for their particular stylist in a communal reception area.
Conversations frequently take place at this point between customers who have never
met prior to entering the delivery system. Although the discussions may consist
largely of banter and pleasantries not directly connected with the hairdressing
service (e.g. conversations about the weather, traffic in town, etc.), the exchanges
can for many customers improve their overall experience by making the time pass
more quickly.
Occasionally, when conversations turn to the service itself, the provider can benefit
positively from the exchange. For instance, one customer who has visited the
parlour several times may comment on the skill and expertise of a certain stylist,
and the generally professional attitude of all employees. To new customers
attending for the first time the comments might have a positive influence on their
opinion of the parlour.
 The Service Marketing System

The service marketing system incorporates elements

of the service experience which may contribute to the
customer’s overall view of the organisation but are
not specifically part of the delivery system. Clearly,
many of these are the elements which the
organisation may not be able to control, such as
conversations customers may have about the parlour
with friends or relatives at home, or exposure to the
service they may get from reading a hairdressing
editorial in the local paper.
 Customer Groups

A customer group is a way of seggregating customers

that are similar in some way. For example, you may
use them to distinguish between retail and wholesale
customers or between company employees and
external customers etc.
 Uses of Customer Groups

Groups may be used to:

Control what prices are displayed to customers.
Enable promotions:
Promotions may be enabled for customers belonging to a
particular group. i.e. You may want to enable certain
promotions just for your retail customers.
Send communications:
Bulk emails may be sent to only customers belonging to a
particular customer group.
Mailing Lists can be created containing only customers
belonging to a particular customer group.
 Identifying Customer Groups

As an Organisation one can segregate and identify

customer groups as per:
1. A priori based segmentation, the simplest
approach, uses a classification scheme based on
publicly available characteristics — such as
industry and company size — to create distinct
groups of customers within a market. However, a
priori market segmentation may not always be
valid, since companies in the same industry and of
the same size may have very different needs.
 Identifying Customer Groups

2. Needs-based segmentation is based on

differentiated, validated drivers (needs) that customers
express for a specific product or service being offered.
The needs are discovered and verified through primary
market research, and segments are demarcated based
on those different needs rather than characteristics
such as industry or company size.
3. Value-based segmentation differentiates customers by
their economic value, grouping customers with the
same value level into individual segments that can be
distinctly targeted.