Customer Service Narrative Essay Example

very important part of many businesses, and can often make a difference in the choice a customer makes between suppliers of identical or very similar products. Many hotels and restaurants have the same facilities, equipment and range of products and services. The one thing they can do differently is customer service. Customer service is a competitive tool and can make the difference to the customer experience. This can be achieved by staff being:

• Welcoming.
• Helpful to all customers, without exception. Knowledgeable about products and services on offer.
• Courteous, polite and trustworthy.
• Willing to listen and act.
• Willing to deal with customer problems in an effective way.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction comes more and more from the way the person is treated by the service deliverer - you - you are the person who can make the difference. When customers become unhappy, it is often because they are not pleased with the way they have been treated. Therefore, it is important to always be aware that customers like to be treated well and with respect.

Service is about hospitality: Hospitality means, a friendly, receptive welcome for all our customers. We need to make sure that our customers are well looked after, whilst visiting us. P1 discuss the reasons for customer service policy? Smart companies have customer service policies in place to protect their best interests and the bottom line. Smarter companies, however, know how and when to bend certain policies for customers who have the right profitability, loyalty, frequency of purchase and long-term revenue potential.

This helps protect customer loyalty and works to maximize the bottom line Reason for Policy: To provide guidance for staff and councillors in dealing

with customers. To ensure that Council resources are used efficiently and effectively when dealing with customers. To ensure that all customers are treated fairly and reasonably. To provide a mechanism for dealing with difficult customers having regard to staff wellbeing and safety There is a few key steps for customer service policy: Customer requirements & expectations

Consultation Condifentatialy Satisfaction & perception Monitoring Effective communications Customer requirements & expectations Proactive customer service prevents issues from arising, thereby saving customers the hassle of contacting customer care in case of an issue. It helps your business exceed customer expectations. This is of particular significance for those with an online presence where a potential customer is on his own, since there are no employees physically present to assist him. Detailed FAQs and an easy to navigate site are examples of proactive online customer service.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

In any industry, communication has always played a key part in the success of the company. Effective and balance communication have enabled better understanding of each party’s objectives and views and therefore streamlined actions and developments leading to success and profitability. P2 discuss the purpose of evaluating a customer service policy, indicating how can this assist future staff training & development?

Customer service evaluation is a process of finding out which services provided by the company have been valued the least and most by its customers. It also helps you to determine the level of satisfaction that the customers receive from the services provided. Customer service evaluation helps you in allocating your resources more efficiently and enables you to improve the services you are offering to your customers, while meeting

their specific requirements. Customer service can be evaluated in many ways by first monitoring and then assessing the performance of customer service personnel.

Product Knowledge

Good customer service is rooted in how well your employees can confidently explain the company's products and services. Review your product and service lines with employees. Employees should be able to explain the basic components of each product, features and benefits and specific competitive product differentiators. Employees should also understand how to match specific products and services with particular customer needs. For example, employees who work at a bank should understand that they should recommend a senior checking account when they are speaking with an older customer.

Customer Communication

Examine one of the most important aspects of customer service - communication. Ensure that employees are effectively communicating your brand and service expectations by evaluating how well they interact with customers and demonstrate competence. The majority of customer dissatisfaction is derived from poor communication and inadequate employee listening skills. Evaluate how well employees translate and act upon customers' communicated needs. Do employees ask open-ended questions and make suggestions based on customer comments?

Another aspect of effective customer communication are nonverbal signals. Do employees make eye contact with customers and smile? Do they appear engaged and interested in what the customer is telling them? You'll also want to look for other nonverbal behavior such as head nodding to indicate an understanding of what the customer is communicating and shaking hands when meeting the customer. Conclusion In a competitive market, good customer service is vital. Company uses all kinds of data to make sure that its customer service is continually improving and deserves the term 'legendary'.

To ensure that

customers do not just walk away and never come back again, complaints must be taken very seriously and should be dealt with efficiently, effectively and in line with the customer's requirements. There used to be an old saying in marketing, which you still hear today ‘the customer is king’ or ‘the customer is sovereign’ meaning the customer is the most important person to the organisation. Remember, retaining customers is much cheaper than getting new ones, so it pays to sort out customer complaints.