MODULE 11. Establishing and Maintaining quality customer service.ppt

Slide 1 Areas to Cover This unit comprises three Elements: Identify customer/Customer requirements Ensure delivery of quality products and services Evaluate customer service. Slide 2 Element 1: Identify Customer requirements...

Slide 1 Areas to Cover This unit comprises three Elements: Identify customer/Customer requirements Ensure delivery of quality products and services Evaluate customer service. Slide 2 Element 1: Identify Customer requirements Slide 3 Quality Customer service  Regardless of the reason for their visit it is important all Customers that receive quality service  Quality service is being able to use a combination of products and services, as a combined offering, that at a minimum, meets the needs and expectations of all Customers (Continued) Slide 4 Quality Customer service  Quality customer service is not just associated with 5 star hotels, it is a fundamental aspect of all hospitality businesses, whether budget or luxury  Simply customer service is important to any business in any industry  It is about ensuring customers leave your premises pleased with the experience they received. Slide 5 Researching customer needs  Before we can tailor our products and services to provide an offering that the Customer wants, we first need to find out what the Customer actually wants  Many businesses make the mistake of providing an offering they THINK the Customer wants, but what is offered doesn’t meet their needs (Continued) Slide 6 Researching customer needs  Therefore research of what the customer wants is an essential activity. This is the essence of marketing  Marketing must be customer-focused  To identify exactly what this focus needs to be we have to obtain information on customer needs and wants by undertaking some basic market research. Slide 7 The customer A customer can be seen as:  A person on the receiving end of what the business offers  Someone who is willing to pay a fair price for a quality product and wants to be neither over-charged nor under-served  The reason the company is in business  Someone who has certain needs and wants them filled  If we cannot fill them, will go to a competitor who will. Slide 8 The customer There is no ‘one’ customer  Customers are all individuals and come with individual needs and expectations  Businesses cater to a range of types of customers, known as target market segments  Challenge lies in being able to provide an offering to meet their individual needs  We have to recognize each type of customer and treat them as individuals (Continued) Slide 9 Customer needs, wishes and expectations What is the difference between a customer’s:  Needs  Wishes  Expectations. Slide 10 Customer needs, wishes and expectations Needs  The things customers are unable to do without  This may be a meal or beverage. Wishes  Way in which our customer would prefer to satisfy a specific need, but they may not have the resources to meet these wishes  They are willing to settle for less. Slide 11 Customer needs, wishes and expectations Expectations These spring from the customers’ needs and wishes but are also influenced by:  The company’s image or reputation in the market  The customer’s previous perceptions and their experience with the company  The company’s advertising. Slide 12 Identify customer needs, wishes and expectations Exercise  How can you identify these? Slide 13 Identify customer needs, wishes and expectations  Involve the customers in developing new services  Organise and conduct a series of focus groups  Actively listen to the customers  Make decisions and act on the basis of the customer’s motives, needs and expectations  Wear customer spectacles and see with the customer’s eyes (Continued) Slide 14 Identify customer needs, wishes and expectations  Actively look for customer feedback  Ask customers what elements or factors of service are of particular importance to them  Analyse the market trends  Analyse the competitors. Slide 15 Identify customer needs, wishes and expectations Use staff feedback  Staff must be actively encouraged to provide input to the development of quality customer service, too  After all it is staff who are delivering the service and they who are best placed to understand what the needs and wants of customers may be. How can you get staff feedback? Slide 16 Identify customer needs, wishes and expectations Use staff feedback Involving staff in this research process could include:  Encouraging staff to feedback all relevant comments from customers  Not shooting the messenger  Setting agenda items for staff meetings which include ‘customer service’  Developing appropriate documentation. Slide 17 Conduct data analysis to identify service deficiencies Research should be designed to identify:  What the customer wants  What we are currently offering to the customer  What we can improve. Slide 18 Informal and formal research Research can be defined as a search for knowledge conducted on an:  Informal basis  Formal basis. Slide 19 Informal research Informal research is casual in nature and may include:  Discussing information with colleague  Seeking customer feedback by asking questions  Personal observation of customers and service delivery and then self-reflection on what you have seen  Discussing information with a wider network of contacts  Discussing information with the public in public places  Articles seen on TV or reading the newspaper, magazines or books. Slide 20 Identify service deficiencies Once we have identified causes of service deficiencies, staff and management must:  Address these  Seek to find options to improve service levels. Slide 21 Involve staff in customer service planning Getting the staff involved Activities providing opportunities for staff participation in the planning process include:  The formation of quality improvement groups or ‘quality circles’  Establishment of group training sessions  Introducing a variety of methods and systems to spread information  Keep the message in front of everyone’s eyes. Slide 22 Service improvement options Operational focus  Create a competitive advantage over competition by either doing something different, more superior or cheaper  New or revised products  New services  New menus  Renovations  New equipment with staff fully trained in their operations. Slide 23 Service improvement options Customer focus  Approaches to the customers may include:  Making the customer a ‘member’ of the organisation  Rewarding faithful customers  Communicating with customers to promote goodwill, trust and satisfaction  Identifying customer’s unstated needs  Ensuring customers’ needs and (reasonable) requests are met  Providing friendly and courtesy assistance. Slide 24 Service improvement options Regardless of the type of organisation, solutions will only work if the customer believes them to be:  Meeting their needs, wants and expectations  Is of good value  Is better than that provided by the competition. Slide 25 Element 2: Ensure delivery of quality products and services Slide 26 Ensure delivery of quality products and services Performance Criteria for this Element are: Ensure products and services meet customers’ needs and reflect enterprise standards Ensure team performance consistently meets enterprise standards Assistcolleagues to meet and exceed customer service standards by providing appropriate professional development. Slide 27 Develop standards and plans to address service issues The development process  Establish a ‘customer service’ team of interested, experienced and dedicated  Look at what other venues are providing in terms of service  Identify the ‘areas’ in the venue about which you believe there needs to be a customer service standard and a plan. Slide 28 Monitor service to ensure standards are met The common monitoring methods are:  Workplace observation  Talking to customers  Talking to staff  Reading customer complaints and feedback  Analysing business statistics. Slide 29 Coaching team members Basics of coaching  Focus on the person to be coached  Use the two primary delivery strategies of ‘explanation’ and ‘demonstration’  Follow the rhyme: “I do it normal, I do it slow. You do it with me, then off you go.”  Make sure underpinning skills and knowledge are covered  Allow for appropriate practice  Follow up with the staff member as required to see if extra coaching or assistance is needed. Slide 30 Element 3: Evaluate customer service Slide 31 Reviewing customer satisfaction Objectives of collecting and reviewing customer feedback  Identify the extent to which customers and others are satisfied with service delivery  Identify the areas in which there is satisfaction with service delivery  Identify the precise areas within areas where there is dissatisfaction  Identify the precise nature of any dissatisfaction (Continued) Slide 32 Reviewing customer satisfaction The review should be as wide-ranging as possible, meaning it should involve: Regular customers New customers Customers who are one-off customers Corporate customers Staff Management. Slide 33 Reviewing customer satisfaction Types of feedback  Positive – customers give compliments about aspects of service  Neutral – customers say they ‘enjoyed’ their experience, not provide any further comment  Negative – customers have a complaint regarding an aspect of their ‘experience’. Slide 34 Collecting customer feedback Methods of collecting customer feedback  Direct communication from customer to staff  Observations  Customer comment cards  Online feedback  Meetings. Slide 35 Documenting customer feedback Once customer feedback is collected, it must:  Be documented accurately  Identify further opportunities for workplace improvement  Used as the framework for customer service improvement strategies. Slide 36 Compare information to identify changes in customer satisfaction  Once information has been collected, it should be compared against benchmarks to determine if the changes are positive or negative Slide 37 Continuous monitoring of service  This activity is not a once off event. It must be a process that occurs on a regular basis  There are always additional changes that can be made to improve any aspect of customer service  All staff regardless of position, must strive to ensuring the customer service provided is the best it can possibly be  That is the true essence of maintaining quality customer service. Slide 38