Customer Service

Discussion in 'Hip Business Network' started by odonII, Nov 24, 2013.

  1. odonII

    odonII O

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    Can anybody explain how financial implications can affect your organisation’s offer and customer service expectation? And give a couple of examples of when customer service may be limited by organisational goals? Thanks.
    (I have one e.g involving technological advances / changes in technology.)
     
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  2. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    Say what?
     
  3. odonII

    odonII O

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    It's an online course I'm doing, and they are a couple of questions I'm stuck on. The course material does not really explain. I was hoping to drop it here this morning, and have something to help me along by this evening.
    I have a feeling ^ will be what most people will be thinking (Or: Good luck with that.)
     
  4. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    yeah, good luck with that ;) haha. I'm a dumb hairstylist. I don't understand big words. hahaha. I just use chemistry to make things pretty.
     
  5. odonII

    odonII O

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    Even hairstylists need to know the fundamentals of good customer service.
    Is it your own business?
     
  6. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    Yes. I own my own business. I think I have good customer service. I must. There are some people I've had as clients since I started 15 years ago. So tell me how that applies and I'll see if I can help.
     
  7. odonII

    odonII O

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    In commercial organisations the service offer is partly or largely determined by the price that is being charged and by the service offer of competitors. A unique service offer is one that differentiates the offer that an organisation is making from that of its competitors or comparable organisations.

    The service offer is something over and above what an organisation will do for you.

    It is about knowing the service offer and the details of it – what is says in the small print.

    Some examples:

    If you return the goods, you can get your money back (some organisations may have stipulations around this – for example to be returned within a number of days)
    a bank says that if you switch your credit cards to us you get % interest for 6 months. An existing customer moves all their credit cards to this bank and then on their 1st bill they find out that its only for new customers and you are an existing one so you don't get % interest
    we will get back to you in 24 hours

    Customer expectations are what people think should happen and how they think they should be treated when asking for or receiving customer service.

    Expectations are formed by:

    - what people hear and see
    - what they read and what the organisation tells them
    - what happens during the customer experience
    - what has happened to them in other customer service experiences.

    Generally customer expectations rise and organisations try to match that rise through continuous improvement in customer service.

    This is what the course material has to offer (sorry :p)

    While most organisations will strive to provide good, if not great, customer service, they often find that some of the promises in their charters, manifestos or service agreements are the very things that limit them (on occasion) from delivering that customer service.

    Technological advances may be one example of how an organisation’s goals may limit customer service provision.

    For example, changes in technology may mean that it is more economical for an organisation to ask customers to switch to a more efficient or newer type of technology (such as broadband) but this may come at a cost (for example, a high line rental or outlay) on the customer’s part.

    Costs

    Any service offer must have costs at the forefront of its mind. For example, if an organisation’s service offer allows customers to return goods that are faulty or not fit for purpose within two weeks of purchasing them, this would be honoured under UK law.

    However, if the customer simply decided against purchasing them, they would not be entitled to a refund. Many organisations would provide a credit note to the value of the purchase, so the customer would be able to buy something they liked.

    It may make economic sense for the organisation to do this but for its customers it may mean paying for new technology that they don’t want or understand.

    Organisational goals can limit customer service
     
  8. odonII

    odonII O

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    Sorry, I was just joking. I was being a bit cheeky there :blush5:
     
  9. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    This is EXACTLY why I didn't go to college. I can't focus on stuff like that. I seriously read the first line 4 times before I could even begin to think about what it means. I'm a visual person, hence my job. If I had to sit and read stuff like that all day and try to figure it out I would probably slit my wrists. Good job to you for choosing to do that. I'm just not made that way. I was terrible in school because I am pretty sure I have Attention Deficit Disorder. I get distracted too easily to read all of that and figure it out. I'll try again....Ok, I read it out loud so I understand what it means now. I just can't remember what you need help with. hahaha. Oh shit, its 3 am and my mind is gone.
     
  10. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    All of that does actually apply to my job. I charge for a service. I have competitors. I have to figure out what to do to make people come to me instead of someone else. I have to satisfy their needs or they will take their business elsewhere. If I do a service on someone and they call me when they get home and say they don't like it then I redo the service for free or offer them a refund. If they buy products from me and decide they don't like them they can exchange the product for something else or get a refund. If they call me 3 weeks after a service to complain I will fix it for a reduced price but not do it for free. Actually that depends on what the complaint is. My goal is to do what I have to do to make that customer happy. Thank God I don't have customers that complain. Haha. So you may have been giving me a hard time but I deal with exactly what you are talking about as a business owner. To there :p
     
  11. guerillabedlam

    guerillabedlam _|=|-|=|_

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    When an organization has a strict amount of alloted hours for employees, which may in turn mean a limited amount of employees to attend to customers. This can effect the strength of customer service, particularly with organizations that have specialty services.

    Changing to a different brand/vendor/supplier may effect customer service.
     
    4 people like this.
  12. RubySoho6

    RubySoho6 Organized Chaos

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    I could give you hair equivalent to the situation that the customer may not leave 100% satisfied after 1 service and they may need to spend more money to get what they need. I'm not sure if I'm saying what I mean. Basically, I think I could give you the hair scenario of what your original post was asking but if you aren't interested then I won't.
     
    1 person likes this.
  13. skip

    skip Founder Administrator

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    Since you rent construction equipment, you only need to reach a local audience. A website is good, but most of your traffic will likely be outside your service area, and not likely to bring you business. Your best bet is to advertise locally in the most viewed media that reaches potential customers.

    If your customers are construction companies, you might want to network with the local companies. You can go old school and send them brochures in the mail (yes we still have mail!). Or you could perhaps buy a mailing list of companies that might be good leads in your area and hit them up with mail and even phone calls!

    I started a business that was very successful by building my own list of local businesses and hiring someone to contact everyone by phone. I gave her a script to use on the calls and we ended up getting more biz than we could handle.

    Online there are local websites that offer a gateway to everyone in the community. Craigslist, Facebook, and others usually have a local page where you can advertise your services. So the key is not just your website, but using every social networking option available including snail mail and cold calls.
     
    Native Vee likes this.
  14. wilsjane

    wilsjane Nutty Professor HipForums Supporter

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    Customer service is what makes or breaks both companies and the individuals who work for them. This becomes very apparent when the name over the shop door is either himself or a future generation still hands on running the company. HF is still in the first generation and I doubt that I would be making this reply if you had sold out to the vultures (Google).

    This is not always obvious at a glance in entertainment such as the theatre, but holding the start after an interval until the audience are seated, can be the deciding issue for people loving the theatre. I used bar bells and foyer announcements to achieve this. (Ladies and Gentlemen, please return to your seats, the curtain will rise in three minutes) That was actually five, but still held if necessary.

    Perhaps the finest example of what I got away with happened in the mid 1970's I had spent months restoring little used magnetic sound heads to play Fantasia in all it's 1928 glory, including the 4x3 screen ratio, rather than decapitating the picture that had taken a group of 50 stop frame animators 7 years to produce the gels.

    On the opening night disaster struck, when the sound seemed as if it was recorded under a waterfall, towards the end of the first reel.
    To everyone's amazement, I stopped, raised the house lighting and made an announcement, explaining that I was going to run on one soundhead and this would involve stopping twice between sequences to reload the film. I explained the reasons and that we were not breaking down.
    I also said that at the end of the performance, we would re-run the first reel for people who wanted to remain. Around 80% of the audience stayed.

    The following day, all hell broke loose, with both Odeon and Walt Disney expecting hundreds of complaint, since people had travelled from all parts of the country for the opening. This had included a few flying in from the US and a devout Disney fan from Australia.

    Not a single complaint, but scores of compliments on the film presentation and wonderful, although somewhat unusual premier.
    Needless to say, the actual recording and transfers were done between Anvil sound studios and Rank film laboratories. Sadly neither of these exist today.

    The actual fault I had was because although we had rehearsed dozens of times, we had not run the carbon arc lamps, in order to save electrodes and electricity.
    A small vibration from the carbon feed unit, was causing an intermittent open circuit on the screen to one of the magnetic soundhead fine cables. Once it went through the amplifiers, that was that. I had the distortion on the oscilloscope, to the repair was fairly simple.
     
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