Unit 2 Prepare to deliver excellent customer service Session 1 Understanding customer service principles
Handout
In this Session, you have learned about: The importance of learning about your organisation’s products and services and how they are publicised Your organisation’s offer and how to keep up to date with it Customer service procedures The implications of poor customer service across different sectors.
Your organisation’s products and services
Sources of information: Your manager/supervisor and colleagues The training that you had when you started your job Your ‘customer promise’ Brochures and advertisements The internet/intranet Your suppliers and manufacturers.
A feature describes what a product or service does; a benefit answers the customer’s question, ‘What’s in it for me?’ and represents a solution to a specific need. Research is important as you need to be aware of the products / services offered by competitor organisations and other locations within your organisation. You may need to answer questions about products that you are not familiar with. For this reason it is important to know which staff support your role and what they are responsible for.
Making customers aware of an organisation’s offer
Just as organisations offer different products and services, there may be subtle differences in customer service between public, commercial and third sector organisations. A service offer is anything that lists or states the standards of service that your customers can expect from the organisation. It can also be known as a service level agreement and may include: The quality/standard the customer can expect from your product or service Pricing Any potential limitations of your product/service How your organisation differs from competitors, such as unique selling points Meeting any special offers, like sale discounts or free delivery pledges A service level agreement can help to achieve