Customer Service Operations

Learning Block 1
Customer Service Overview
Abstract
• Customer service, when property implemented, can be an enabling process and a strategy to create
customer satisfaction. In turn, customer satisfaction creates happy and loyal customers; maintaining
these relationships is key for continued sales and repeat business. In order to provide customer
satisfaction at every level, customer service should be defined by the culture of the organization. It
must be the responsibility of every employee during all customer interactions.
• Customer service operations are woven into every aspect of the supply chain; therefore, customer
satisfaction and customer retention are of paramount importance for every company. Companies use
products and services to attract customers, so the need for customer service operations is unavoidable.
• This certification track is intended to provide a description of the basics of customer service, sound
communications processes, advice for dealing with challenging customers, the customer order and
return (reverse logistics) processes, jobs in customer service, and legal concerns.
• The goal of this certification track is to prepare students to successfully pass the customer service
operations national certification examination. The content of the certification track was developed by
LINCS in Supply Chain Management Consortium. SCPro™ Fundamentals Certification examinations
are owned and administered by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

2
Course Agenda
1. Customer Service Overview
2. Communication Skills in Customer Service
3. The Order Process
4. Returns and Reverse Logistics
5. Jobs and Legal Concerns in Customer Service

3
Learning Block Agenda
1. Customer Service Defined
2. Customer Service Barriers
3. Maintenance of Customer Relationships
4. The Customer Life Cycle
5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
6. Service Performance Metrics
Description
This learning block provides an introduction to the key elements
of customer service that are necessary to ensure high levels of
customer satisfaction. In addition to the introduction, various
types of customers are explored, along with common barriers
and approaches to addressing challenging customer situations
that inhibit satisfaction. Finally, the customer order process,
customer relationship management (CRM), customer life
cycle (CLC), and maintenance of ongoing relationships are
explored as processes for customer satisfaction

5
Learning Objectives
• Understand how customer service can lead to customer
satisfaction
• Differentiate key steps in the customer order process
• Explain job roles
• Interpret legal concerns
• Recognize how service performance is measured
• Remember several key technologies used in CRM
• Implement the key aspects of maintaining and improving
customer relationships
Unit 1: Customer Service Defined
• Customer service can best be thought of as the set of processes and
supports an organization employs to create customer satisfaction.
• Customer service, or how an organization interacts with its
customers, should take place before, during, and after a purchase.
• It should also be noted that interactions between sellers and
buyers can be quite different, depending on the industry, product,
or service.
– Business to Consumer (B2C)
– Business to Business (B2B)
Characteristics of Good Customer Service
• The following are accepted characteristics of good customer
service that can lead to customer satisfaction:
– On-time delivery: Products and services delivered as promised
– Politeness: Courteous, well-mannered interactions
– Professionalism: Efficient, competent, and effective
– Personalization: Skilled at making customers feel like special
individuals
– Quality: Providing products and services that meet customer
specification(s)
Types of Customer Service
• Call Center
• Technical Customer Service
• Customer Service Stations
• Live Chat
• Email
• In-Person
Unit 2: Customer Service Barriers
Lack of proper training and Insufficient authority to manage Inability to handle stressful
inadequate staffing requests environments
Customer Expectations
Customer service providers should set customers’ expectations early. It may be
a complicated process, but customer service providers should reassure
customers that they will attempt, in every way possible that is consistent with
the organization’s policies, to not only meet but also to exceed customer
expectations. Different steps these providers can take include:

– Following the organization’s processes and procedures to find the root cause of the
problem
– Keeping an outward presence of calmness, respect, and empathy
– Assuring the customer that customer service providers will do everything within
their power
– Solving the problem in the quickest and easiest way
Unit 3: Maintenance of Customer
Relationships

Devoting time to customers before, during, and after sales transactions

CRM software

Social media or other websites

Unit 4: The Customer Life Cycle
• CLC is a term used to describe the steps
firms follow in identifying, gaining,
managing, and keeping customers.
• Customer life cycle management (CLM)
involves controlling all aspects of the
customer life cycle.
• CLM is an approach that builds long-term
value by ensuring that every part of an
organization understands its particular
role in serving customers well.
Unit 5: Customer Relationship Management
(CRM)
• CRM includes interactions
between organizations and
their customers.
• CRM involves developing and
defining strategies using CRM
software to support a better
and more effective customer
experience.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
The following are key areas when developing CRM
strategies:
– Who are the customers?
– How can both parties benefit from the relationship?
Tools and Technologies Used in CRM
CRM software handles a number of tasks:
– They help gather information about customers like buying patterns,
preferred means of shopping, and spending amounts
– They provide analyses of historical data obtained from customers’
shopping records to determine customer preferences and behavior
– They provide access to data across departments or even with partner
firms
– They allow customers to have access to their transactions online
– They help communicate with customers in a personalized manner, as
with texts, emails, and social media sites
Types of Relationships
• Transactional Relationships
• Collaborative Relationships
• Strategic Relationships
Unit 6: Service Performance Metrics
Service performance metrics should be viewed as critical components
of an organization’s key performance indicators (KPIs).
Delivery Costs Quality
 On-time delivery/receipt  Total delivered costs  Perfect order fulfillment
 Order cycle time o Costs of goods o Complete order
 Response time o Transportation costs o Accurate product
o Inventory carrying selection
costs o Damage-free
o Material handling o Accurate invoices
costs

Figure 1. On-time delivery. Figure 2. Costs. Developed by LINCS Figure 3. Quality. Developed by
Developed by LINCS in Supply Chain in Supply Chain Management LINCS in Supply Chain Management
Management Consortium. Consortium. Consortium.
Summary
Practice Questions
1. What is customer relationship management?

a) It is an approach to reducing costs and increasing profitability solely by using data to analyze customer needs
b) It is a suite of software tools that helps manage customer relationships
c) It is a process for managing difficult customers
d) It is an approach to reducing costs and increasing profitability by improving customer loyalty

2. Customer service can be defined as the overall process or strategy that an organization
employs to:

e) Create customer satisfaction

f) Process warranty returns
g) Build a good website
h) Guard against negative comments on social media
Practice Questions
3. What is a major challenge associated with collaborative relationships?

a) They rarely achieve the kind of performance results that cooperative relationships achieve
b) Organizations must spend time developing the relationship as opposed to other value-adding
activities
c) They take a minimal amount of time, energy, and effort
d) They are costly to implement and are rarely successful

4. Transactional relationships in a supply chain are also called:

e) Cooperative relationships
f) Competitive relationships
g) Arm’s-length relationships
h) Distributive relationships
Practice Questions
5. Which of the following terms best describes an approach that seeks to build long-term value
by ensuring that every part of an organization understands its role in serving the customer?

a) Quality management
b) Value stream management
c) Customer relationship management
d) Customer life cycle management

6. What are the three general types of relationships in the supply chain?

e) Transactional, collaborative, and strategic

f) Combative, adversarial, and non-productive
g) Cooperative, arm’s-length, and short-term
h) Strategic, limited, and cautious
Practice Questions
7. What are the key steps or stages of customer life cycle management (CLM)?

a) Introduction, acquisition, conversion, and loyalty

b) Identifying, gaining, managing, and keeping customers
c) Introduction, growth, maturity, and decline
d) Reach, acquire, maintain, and grow

8. Which of the following describes two or more organizations cooperating and modifying
their business objectives and practices to achieve joint long-term goals and objectives?

e) Arm’s-length
f) Friendship
g) Joint venture
h) Strategic alliance
Practice Questions
9. What are three main categories of performance measures for evaluating customer service
performance?

a) Retention, quality, cost, and supporting measures

b) Technology, quality, cost, and time measures
c) Delivery, cost, and quality
d) Time, quality, price, and supporting measures

10. When should time be devoted to customers to ensure good maintenance of relationships?

e) Before, during, and after the sale

f) During the order entry process only
g) When there is a warranty issue
h) When there is a product failure