The Customer is always right! There are occasions when the customer is right, however there are also times when the customer is not entirely right or when their behavior in making a complaint is such that they need to be appropriately challenged so that the substantive issue is dealt with. Tactics for Dealing with Customer Complaints When dealing with customer complaints, mangers can use tactics based on a five-category scheme called conflict-handling modes: competing, compromising, collaborating, accommodating and avoiding. Competing: (It has been decided that enough is enough, if the customer sues, you’ll meet them in court) Repeat what you have said Remind them that they can have their goods back Warn the customer that you will not continue the conversation if they become abusive Note what is said (possibly need to use in court) Keep calm yourself and remain professional Recognize when the conversation has gone on long Continue reading
Services Marketing
Service Failure and Recovery
Service Failures Even with the best service organizations, failures can just happen — they may be due to the service not available when promised, it may be delivered late or too slowly (some times too fast??), the outcome may be incorrect or poorly executed, or employees may be rude or uncaring. All these types of service failures bring about negative experiences. If left unfixed they can result in customers leaving, telling others about the negative experiences or even challenging through consumer courts. Research has shown that resolving the problems effectively has a strong impact on the customer satisfaction, loyalty, and bottom-line performance. Customers who experience service failures, but are ultimately satisfied based on recovery efforts by the firm, will be more loyal. The Recovery Paradox It is suggested that customers who are dissatisfied, but experience a high level of excellent service recovery, may be more satisfied and more likely Continue reading
Service Organizations
An organization providing intangible services rather than tangible goods is termed as Service organization. In the standard industrial classification, service organizations include hotels, restaurants and other lodging and eating establishments, barber shops, beauty parlors and other personal services, repair services, motion picture, television and other amusement and recreational services, legal services and accounting, engineering, research/development, architecture and other professional organization. Service organizations also includes educational organizations, banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions. Also government agencies and most other non-profit organizations are service organizations. Characteristics of Service Organizations Quantity Measurement: It is easy to keep track of the quantity of tangible goods, both during the production process and when the goods are sold, but it is not easy to measure the quantity of many services. We can measure the number of patients that a physician treats in a day, for example, and even classify these visits by type of complaint, Continue reading
How to Use Customer Service as a Competitive Advantage for Small Businesses?
Customer service is the provision of service being provided by the seller to customers before, during and after a purchase of any product. A customer is a person who buys products (goods or services) from a shop or a business organization. Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction — that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. It is also the process of assisting another person or persons who buys goods and services from a shop. In order to make the organization effective and productive, all the employees need to develop a positive service attitude towards customers. The goal of quality customer service in any organization is to send a positive message with a good attitude to the customers to make them more loyal and happy thereby. Such a message must focus on addressing the needs Continue reading