Client Care Flashcards

1
Q

What do you understand by Client Care?

A

Continuous process of understanding clients requirements, suggestions, complaints etc.

  • Understanding Client needs / requirements
  • Complaint handling procedures
  • Quality assurance procedures
  • Key performance indicators
  • Looking out for clients best interests
  • Defining the client brief
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2
Q

What is a stakeholder?

A

Person or organisation who has interest in the project

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3
Q

Why is client care important?

A

1) To retain clients and secure repeat business
2) Reduce the likelihood of conflict
3) Maintain strong reputation within the industry

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4
Q

How do you conduct yourself with a new client?

A
  • well mannered
  • well presented
  • respectful
  • Friendly and enthusiastic
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5
Q

How do you build trust with the client?

A
  • Learn about your client and their objectives
  • Only act within your level of competence
  • Always act in professional manner
  • always provide high level of service
  • be transparent
  • being open and honest
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6
Q

What is the difference between a client and a customer?

A

Customer - someone who purchases a commodity or service
client - ongoing business relationship - not necessarily a customer

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7
Q

What does the term ‘ soft landings’ refer to?

A

Strategy to ensure the transition from construction to occupation is ‘bump free’ and operational performance is optimised

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8
Q

Please detail some of the quality management systems you have implemented on your projects?

A

Contractor payment schedules
Reporting templates
Following company policy and procedures
Following industry guidance and advisory

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9
Q

What is a lesson learnt workshop?

A

Review a recent failing or success on a project
- put procedure in place to prevent again if fail
- review the success and share with others

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10
Q

How do you act upon feedback received from a client?

A

should be formally recorded
share the positives and discuss how negatives can be improved
if negative - verify and course of action taken to correct going forward
ensure feedback is fed back into company through lessons learned process
review in suitable timeframe

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11
Q

What are KPIs?

A

Key performance indicators
- used to measure supply chain performance
- used to measure benchmark business performance against others

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12
Q

Can you provide examples a KPI?

A
  • Number of defects / snags
  • profitability
  • H&S score
  • Construction Cost overrun
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13
Q

Why is it important to maintain existing client relationships rather than just building new ones?

A
  • A large % of commissions won through repeat work
  • maintaining and building existing relationships will promote a positive image for individual and company
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14
Q

How do you maintain your clients expectations?

A
  • Agreeing on strategy, goals and timelines
  • being open and honest
  • Offering advice and direction within scope of service
  • being good listener and understanding expectations
  • Regularly communicating and addressing problems
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15
Q

What is a complaint?

A

Expression of dissatisfaction
complaints generally arise when expectations have not been met

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16
Q

Does the RICS have any rules associated with complaints?

A

Rule 5 of new rules of conduct - Members and Firms must act in public interest and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in profession
- Must respond to complaints promptly and cooperate with investigations into complaints

as well as obligations under firms to maintain a Complaints Handling Procedure

17
Q

You receive formal complaint from a client in writing, at what point should your firm notify the insurance company ?

A

ASAP

18
Q

How do you deal with a complaint from a client?

A

1) Acknowledge complaint
2) Notify appropriate person in business (CHM)
3) Appoint person to carry out investigation
4) Identify outcome and course of action to rectify
5) Formally respond - communicate outcomes & action

if client is unhappy with outcome - right to review / mediation

If client still unhappy - refer to Independent Dispute Resolution

6) Communicate lessons learned
7) Review at predetermined future date
8) inform PI insurers of complaint at each stage of process

19
Q

Has RICS published any info on handling clients money?

A

Client money handling - professional statement - Effective from Jan 2020

20
Q

What are the objectives of the client money handling professional statement?

A

The overall objective of this professional statement is that RICS members and RICS firms understand their obligations to ensure;
1) Client money is kept safe
2) Client money accounts are used for correct purpose
3) RICS firms have appropriate controls and procedures to safeguard client money

21
Q

What is meant by client money?

A

Money of any currency that;
1) An RICS regulated firm holds for or receives on behalf of another person, including money held by a regulated firm as a stakeholder and,
2) is not immediately due and payable on demand to the RICS regulated firm for its own account

22
Q

What information would you expect to see in a clients brief?

A
  • Services required
  • Insurances required
  • Terms of appointment
  • Duration of appointment
  • Client procedures and policies
  • Key drivers for success
23
Q

What might be excluded from a consultant fee proposal?

A
  • VAT
  • Disbursements
  • Dealing with claims
  • Services which are not required
24
Q

What might be included in a consultant fee proposal?

A
  • Scope of service
  • Terms of appointment
  • Basis of pricing
  • Info on team - CV’s and qualifications
  • Project details
  • Timescales
  • Insurances
  • Exclusions
  • Assumptions
25
Q

How would you go about calculating a professional fee for new commission?

A
  • Understand client requirements - including project details, budget and scope of service
  • identify seniority of resource and number of people required to deliver service
  • Assess duration required to complete activities identified in scope of service
  • Apply daily or hourly rate against activities
  • Review total fee as % against project budget (sense check)
26
Q

Assuming you put together a fee proposal, a couple months into the project, you realise you have underestimated the resources to deliver - would you go back to the client and ask for more money?

A

If project requirements (Services, scope, value) had increased the it would be reasonable for fees to increase

If scope remained the same, likely to be a mistake. I would deal with situation and get it right next time. I would not reduce level of service originally offered,

27
Q

Could there be issues (from client perspective) with having all professional services delivered by one consultancy practice?

A
  • Harder to be critical of colleagues from same company
  • Perceived conflict of interest

However there are advantages;
- Team usually more efficient as work under same policies, procedures, core values

28
Q

You have submitted a fee bid to a client. The client contacts you and explains another practice has quoted a lower, but they would like you to do the work. They ask you to reduce your fee to match other practice. What should you do?

A
  • Explain to client how fee was calculated and necessary resources to meet their requirements
  • I would avoid entering a Dutch auction with another practice
  • if the client were looking for an overall lower fee, i would be happy to review scope of service to understand where services may be reduced in order to provide a reduced fee.
29
Q

Once you and your client verbally agree the services to be provided, what would you do next?

A

Follow up in writing to confirm T&C’s, fee and scope of service

30
Q

What is a consultant appointment document?

A

Appointment documents are terms and conditions for services being provided by a consultant to the Client

RICS have a standard form of consultant appointment if the business does not have their own

31
Q

On what grounds might you ask the client for additional fees?

A

Events such as;
- Dealing with insolvency of a contractor (usually excluded from a consultants standard scope of services

  • Delay to programme due to contractor default
  • Increased scope of service
32
Q

Give examples when you should decline an instruction of new work from a client?

A

1) There is a conflict or potential conflict of interest
2) The instruction could require an illegal or unethical action
3) There is conflict with RICS rules or standards