Customer Service Standards Essay

Explain how customer service standards are planned, implemented and monitored, and the impact this has on the operation of a selected business. In this task I will explain why customer service needs to be planned, how this is monitored and what impact it has for the whole organisation. The present customers of the organisation are really important for the organisation and company has to do ‘a step forward’ to make them satisfy and to keep them. If a company has no customers there are no profits for the business. Keeping existing customers is important as finding new ones is time consuming and costly. Planning customer service standards If companies plan their customer service they are more likely to exist in a business environment. Companies which have planned customer service for both; external and internal customers are more likely to be succeeding than others. Setting aims, outlining measurable benchmarks Companies must have standards which are measured and it the targets are not achieved action will be taken. Setting aims Aims are main announcements of what the business wants to achieve. Objectives are targets which are measured to check if they are achieved. Aims and objectives are really important for the business as without them there is no meaning to business. Aim and objectives give meaning to successive activities of planning, directing, staffing, organising and controlling. Methods of setting aims for customer service are wide. It depends on company and what good or service they provide. Some of the businesses have different aims, like providing employment for the owner; increasing sales and production or taking over businesses. Except aims, like making profits, providing goods and services, businesses have to state objectives by which they can get their aims. In example, if a business settled an aim to make a profit, they have to think how to achieve this; they need to set targets to know how much they want to spend and how much they want to receive. These targets should be specific as to what must be achieved; measurable to measure their success and relevant to business aim. A mission statement is a statement which determines a company or organisation. The mission statement must advise any of the organisation’s action. It influences overall success and run decision-making. In the Barclays bank, their aim is to be no. 1 bank in the England. They want to be the best choice for the customers by what they can make more profits and eliminate other banks. The Barclays objective is to provide first class customer service and offer market landing products. To achieve what they want, they use lots of trainings which can improve their skills in area where they need to be improved. This bank mission statement is related with their aims and objectives – ‘To be innovative, customer focused group that delivers superb products and service ensures excellent careers for all people and contributes positively to the communities in which we live and work.’ All of these focused and linked make the bank successful by what they have more customers and more profits. However, step by step they are better. Outlining measurable benchmarks Benchmarks purpose is to set minimum level of service, quality and quantity customer service system must reach in order to meet their objectives. Benchmarks need to be realistic, understandable and measurable. Benchmarking is the process of comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to industry best practices from other industries. The Barclays can benchmark against another businesses by hiring the best qualified people on positions. They can make the best training for them to improve their skills, do meetings where they can talk about any issues and where they can resolve all of the problems. Make easy accessible entrances and dimensioned halls. Taking phone calls faster, and making good first impression by wearing clean and suit clothes. They can be friendly to all customers and greet them when they walking into the bank, listen to customers when they talking make sure that customer understood what was said to him. The staff of the bank should know all of the health and safety procedures and keep everything clean. Designing qualitative and quantitative performance indicators Performance indicators are needed to control achievements and to know how business and its service can be improved. Qualitative performance indicators are non numeric, like judgements and opinions; it includes management relationships; customer satisfaction – like monitoring customer feedback programme; employee morale – like level of staff turnover; quality and taste of product and customer loyalty; levels of staff absenteeism – like staffs that are unhappy or stressed. Quantitative performance indicators are numeric indicators; it includes sales and profit levels – to check if they raised or dropped; speed of service – in what time customer received what they ordered; customer retention; number of complains about staff/service/products; percentage of orders resulting from visits to customers by salespeople and responses to marketing material sent out. Public services, like ambulances or police also set performance indicators, as in need they have to arrive in max 8 minutes. Qualitative indicators in the Barclays bank are made by mastery shopper, who comes once in a month. He is checking performance of all of the employees and afterwards he is doing a report of what he saw. Mystery shopper comes to the branch and he looks and behaves like a normal customer. He pretends that he buys a product provided by a bank and check how employee who serve him is dealing with this. Other methods of checking qualitative indicator are feedbacks from customers and temporary employees. Also, complains sometimes are taken from customers and can be done by a website or can be done verbally to the staff of the bank where after they go to the log system. Quantitative indicators are measured by number of appointments of cashiers and private bankers. They are measured on solutions given by cashiers and private bankers; also it is measured in customers service served. Number of complains are counted, products sold to the customers are counted and after it is compared with this amount from previous month to check if there is any improvement. Implementing and monitoring customer care standards A company who want be successful, have to not just set good customer care standards but also monitor it afterwards. Providing staff training on raising customer service standards Lots of businesses now, in which customer service in involved are making at least one day of customer service training on the induction. New staff must be present in training at a head of the organisation or in regional office of the organisation where they will be absorbed customer service in a local level. These training usually involve presenting how to deal with different situations, to learn it there are usually used role plays with different scenarios to know how to deal with problems, complains and different types of customers. When a potential employee finishes his induction, the training still continues in place of work and done with a local staff to make sure that customer service standards are keeping up. In the Barclays bank, all of the staff has an induction which involves whole training program in a training centre which is placed in Manchester and afterwards it is continued in a branch. This induction process takes minimum 6 to 8 weeks. In the first day of the work, new employee has to go through security procedures, do other trainings like health and safety and get to know other employees. Other trainings which are necessary are people plus which is about customer service and trainings like computer skills and accountant trainings need to be taken. There is no mentor, but all of the employees are monitored by the managers, but besides this, everyone helps. Other courses which are vital to work in the bank are complains, money, fraud protection and fire procedures. Departmental trainings take place, lots of the trainings are done individually on the computer but there are regular courses to attend. External trainings also are present; they are taken in the Manchester in head of branch, where employees improve their skills knowledge about fire procedures are also improved. Meeting performance indicators The businesses monitor the performance indicators which were set to check whether target was met or not, this is also needed to check why the target was not meet and take direct action to improve it. For example, to find out what is wrong, they can set questions like, is a product provided in good quality? Is timing on serving product appropriate, etc. The Barclays bank targets are settled daily for cashiers and monthly for private bankers, also it depends on position what targets do a person has. For example, cashiers daily target is to make three lending appointments, five lending cards, three basic appointments, three walk overs, approach all ABC, credit’s and mark accordingly. Private bankers target are; deal with six loans, two insurances, six Barclay’s cards, and one hundred fifty solutions, six upgrades of an account and for new paid accounts. In measuring qualitative indicators is mastery shopper and for quantitative appointments, solutions, and number of products sold are measured and counted. I do not think that any improvements are needed in work what they do, as when I worked there for a week all the time targets were met. Measuring and monitoring performance There is wide range of ways how performance can be measured, like sales level; conducting surveys of customers; postage-paid questionnaires/comment cards/forms; make special facilities where customer can give an feedback, for example on the website ‘Contact us’ buttons; occasional telephone calls to customers; personal or telephone interviews; complains about staff/products/services; email customers, for example with surveys; etc. Customer service performance is monitored all the time, to know that customers get what they want and when they want it. This monitoring also has many ways, such as inspection by unknown company staff to witness customer service at first hand; regular staff meeting; mystery shoppers; monitoring telephone conversations; staff appraisals. Performance in the Barclays bank is measured and monitored by making overall report of previous day and showing it in the next day morning meeting. Also, on this meetings there are given sheets to complete out in which employees are able to put feedback of other employees and any other performances. Other ways are contact by a website, mystery shoppers and feedbacks on sheets from temporary employees. Reviewing performance and taking action Businesses always want to know which customers are satisfied with service provided and which are not. If they know it, they can make steps to improve themselves if a customer is unhappy. Staffs know when they are praised. Suggestions for improvements are deliberated and putted into practice when necessary. Ways how performance is reviewed can be done by – making action plan to improve areas which are criticised, investigating negative feedback, making changes in procedures, let customer know of any action taken by putting these information on the website, making regular meetings where performance can be discussed, etc. In the Barclays bank action is taken in complains. Firstly, one of the staff try to calm down a customer, try resolve problem by himself, if he is not able, he apologised for it and call a manager to speak with complaining customer. Manager tries do it by himself if he is not able, information is putted on the log system and on the next meeting everyone try to resolve it, if this do not work, it is sent to head of branch when they will consider any changes on which a person is complaining. Procedures for handling customer complains All of the businesses need to deal with complains. Most of businesses have special procedures how to deal with them with points to follow. When customer’s problem is resolved it is more likely that he will return. Complains are good way of getting rid of competitors, as when a company handle it successfully, company makes a step forward in customer service. Complains should be handled quickly and sympathy. In the Barclays bank complains are posted into the log system and afterwards if cannot be resolved in a branch, complains are sent out to branch office. Customer information and helplines There are many methods of informing customers, like putting information on the website, notices on displays, making and giving out leaflets and information sheets, frequently asked questions on the website, newsletters, and customer service advice helplines. In the Barclays bank, information is provided by leaflets, on the website, helpline, newsletters, posters, adverts and notices. The Barclays is a huge brand which is recognisable in whole country, so they use wide range methods of providing information and for marketing. Everything is easy to find in a branch as there are signs and staff is wearing identification cards where is also placed on what position they work. Impact on resources All of the companies want their employees to have the best customer service; also they want any issue easy to be resolved. If in some cases poor customer service was identified, like poor knowledge of product provided then more training is needed. It will need additional costs to arrange training and to transport staff in the place where training is provided, also, another cost is to replace the members of staff for the time when they are on training. Other costly thing is investigating complains, as it is time and consuming. Some of the staff members must be involved in resolving problem and records of it need to be completed. When a customer complains about member of a staff, the staff member can get a verbal warning, if it is first time, if not; warning can be written or can be dismissal. Improving communication is also costly, telephones, internet, computers are costly but vey useful. Besides these methods are costly for the first time, a person who has a meeting abroad can do a conference by the computer, not traveling, what saves time. The last one costly thing is improvement in physical structure of the building, for example, making things more accessible for disabled people, making lifts, automatic doors, etc. In the Barclays bank in recruiting new staff, the potential employees need to show that they are confident, punctual and have outstanding potentials. Involving new staff involves assessments which are afterwards scored. Firstly, when somebody is interesting in a position in Barclays bank, he needs to apply online, when his application form is successful he needs to get through telephone assessment, when he pass it, he is invited to the branch for an interview. Training is really costly and time consuming, but this is worth it, as people there are working for the long time and they are picked from lots of the applicants, as they are the best for these positions for which they applied. Costs involved in revamping are training cost, uniform cost, and staff time. In the Barclays, they do not really take part of making new layout of the bank.