The Principles of Customer Service

Question 1

What is excellent customer service?

Answer 1

Consistently exceeding expectations of customer rather than just meeting them

Question 2

State 3-4points on what does customer service usually involved.

Answer 2

i) Providing information
ii) Giving advice
iii) Receiving and passing on messages
iv) Keeping records
v) Providing assistance
vi) Dealing with problems
vii) Dealing with dissatisfied customers
viii) Offering extra services

Question 3

State 4 key dimension of customers wants and expectations and its definitions

Answer 3

1) Reliability -The ability to perform the promise services dependably and accurately
2) Responsiveness- The willingness to help customer and provide prompt service
3) Assurance- The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence in dealing with a request.
4) Empathy- The carrying individualize attention provided to the customer

Question 4

What is customer service policy?

Answer 4

The aim of the policy is to make an organisation’s customers feel satisfied and valued so that they will want to return again

Question 5

What is the “Moment of Truth” ?

Answer 5

Refers to every time a customer interacts with a travel and tourism organization and experiences any of its operational procedures

Question 6

What are the 3 factors that combine the

effect to determine the quality of customers experience?

Answer 6

The nature of service task being performed and what it involves

ii) The service standards expected, both by the customers and the providers 
iii) The service delivery system for the task at hand.

Question 7

Define customer satisfaction.

Answer 7

Affected by customer expectation about the service they will receive.

Question 8

What is customer service procedure?

Answer 8

Routines and detailed steps an organisation uses to deliver its customer service

Question 9

______________ specify what is to be done or said in producing excellent customer service

Answer 9

Operational standards

Question 10

______________ designed to describe the action an individual employee needs to follow to perform a task competently. It specifies the _________ a particular service should be done or said

Answer 10

Competence standard, ‘how’

Question 11

Define external customer

Answer 11

The ‘paying’ customers who actually buy or use an organisation’s products and services

Question 12

List down the different types of external customers

Answer 12

Leisure customer

ii) Business customer 
iii) Customer with specific needs   •	Pregnant women  •	Visual impairment  •	Hearing impairment  •	Customer with mobility problem •	Customer with cultural and language difference  •	Customer with dietary needs/religious   •	People with different ages  •	Groups

Question 13

list down 3 ways which the waiter has met the needs of the groups?

Answer 13

i) Group seated together
ii) Table has been reserved
iii) Food services- ordering and delivering food
iv) Beverage services – ordering and delivering beverages
v) Groups placed at a window table

Question 14

what are the need of business customers?

Answer 14

i) 24hours availability accommodation and food
ii) Facilities which allow them to continue working
iii) Airport lounges – which offer a place to work and relax
iv) Wi-Fi – to enable business people to their work
v) Cabin environment – offers comfort and privacy to work and relax
vi) Priority boarding/fast track – allows business customers to board quickly and avoid unnecessary queuing.

Question 15

What are the needs of these customers with specific needs:  
	Pregnant women 
	People with children 
	Dietary restrictions 
	Disabilities

Answer 15

 Pregnant women - help with carrying luggage
 People with children - priority check-in, storage of bulky items
 Dietary restrictions:
 Diabetes
 coeliac disease (gluten-free foods)
 allergies (nuts,shellfish or dairy products)
 religious restrictions (Halal or Kosher foods only) and vegetarianism
 Disabilities:
 Wheelchair users (ramps and toilets)
 People who are deaf (interpreter / sign language)
 People with visual impairment (offer a guide/ companion)

Question 16

What are the needs of people with language differences?

Answer 16

 Using gestures- when pointing out directions
 Using diagrams and pictures
 Keeping various dictionaries available to translate key phrases and words.
 Staff should learn a few simple phrases in some common language.

Question 17

Define internal customers.

Answer 17

Members of staff within an organisation or outside suppliers who contribute towards to the service that is provided to external customers.

Question 18

List down the different types of internal customers.

Answer 18

1) Colleagues
2) Management ad supervisors
3) Staff teams
4) Employees
5) Staff and other functional departments or organisation
6) Outside organisation

Question 19

what are the 3 advantage to provide effective customer services and what does it lead to?

Answer 19

1) Lead to good working relationships between employees and supervisors – employee are more motivated to work efficiently.
2) High quality service to external customers – satisfied customers or repeat customers lead to increase sales and more revenues or income.
3) Better communication between different departments – work efficiently means no time and money wasted.
4) Better operational efficiency – leads to satisfied customers, positive feedback thus increase sales.
5) Happy and efficient workforce – loyal employees means low staff turnover.
6) Loyal employees - employees stay with the organisation and does not have to find workers to replace the workers (cut cost or more sales)

Question 20

what are the needs of internal customers:

Answer 20

1) Clear communication between management and employees
2) Good communications between department
3) Training and development
4) Employees terms and conditions
5) Job prospects

Question 21

what are the benefits for internal customers in providing good customer services? Give examples.

Answer 21

1) Discounts such as free meals or accommodation
2) Incentives such as ‘employee of the month’ awards or monetary awards
3) Profit sharing such as direct or indirect payment from the profitability of the company.
4) Bonus such as giving additional payment to their salary at the end of the year.
5) Free travel (for employee who works in airlines) such as free travel for employees and their families.
6) Incentive travel such as rewarded with a trip and the program is designed to recognize earners for their achievements

Question 22

_____________________ such as _____________ and _______________ must have interpersonal skills as these are the skills that we used to interact or deal with others. They are the face of the organisation and first contact with the customers and responsible for first impression of the organisation.

Answer 22

1) Front line members of staff
2) Waiting staff
3) Receptionist

Question 23

What are the customer service skills needed for receptionist or front desk agent to perform their tasks?

Answer 23

• Foreign language skills to deal with a wide range of international customers.
• Communication skills to inform guests of the organisation’s services and make recommendation
• Good administrative skills e,g, to handle reservations/check-in and check-out
• Numeracy skills to deal with cash and bills
• Health and safety skills to be able to deal with accidents and situations where guests are involved
• Technological skills in order to use hotel’s computer systems for bookings
• Selling skills eg. Promoting new products, packages, promotion and new items on the menu.

Question 24

How to improve the delivery of customer service?

Answer 24

1) Staff training
2) Teamwork
3) Product knowledge
4) Monitoring and evaluation

Question 25

It is very important for workers who have any type of contact with customers to have customer service training. What does a typical customer service training involves?

Answer 25

1) Communication skills eg. Face-to-face, non-verbal, telephone and written communication.
2) In-depth knowledge of the organisations product, services and policies.
3) Knowledge about the organisations mission, vision and values.
4) Skills in giving advice by making appropriate recommendation and suggestions.
5) Maintaining a professional appearance and positive attitude
6) How to deal with customer complaints effectively.

Question 26

what are the different types of training for staff?

Answer 26

1) Induction
2) Shadowing/ Buddy System/ Mentor Program
3) Performance appraisal or review
4) Professional development
5) Health and safety training
6) Disability awareness training

Question 27

Define induction training

Answer 27

A period of training during which a new employee learns about the company they are working for and the job they will be doing.

Question 28

_________________ is the training of improving and increasing capabilities of staff through access to education and training opportunities in the workplace, through inviting outside organisations to conduct courses or through watching other employees perform on the job.

Answer 28

Professional Developments

Question 29

why is health and safety training are important?

Answer 29

1) Ensure staff are not injured or made by the work they do
2) Provide a safe workplace
3) Meet the organisation’s legal duty to protect the health and safety of their employees.

Question 30

What are the advantages of providing training for staff?

Answer 30

1) Better served customers leads to their needs being met and therefore, these customers are likely to become repeat customers.
2) Set standards – allows for benchmarking and a basis for staff monitoring and evaluation.
3) Staff skills increased may lead to increased loyalty and higher employee satisfaction
4) Organisation will meet aims and objectives when its value and attitudes are demonstrated by staff. Staff will be aware of ways dealing with customers who have specific needs.

Question 31

________ is the process of working together with a group of people to achieve a goal.

Answer 31

Teamwork.

Question 32

What are the importance of teamwork?

Answer 32

1) Operational efficiency
2) Improved morale
3) High quality of customer service
4) Improved communication

Question 33

why do organisation need to monitoring and evaluation?

Answer 33

1) To achieve quality customer service

2) To ensure customer service levels are maintained and continually improved

Question 34

what is Benchmarking?

Answer 34

The process of identifying best practice in relation to customer service delivery and setting standards.

Question 35

what are the 3 objectives of benchmarking?

Answer 35

1) Understand and evaluate the current position of a business or organisation in relation to best practice.
2) To identify areas and means of performance improvement.
3) Facilitate improved performances in critical function within a organisation or in key areas of the business environment.

Question 36

Define informal feedback.

Answer 36

refers to asking customer questions in a non-threatening, informal manner

Question 37

what the different types of informal feedback?

Answer 37

1) Simple questioning of customers

2) Informal feedback from staff

Question 38

List down the 2 advantages and disadvantages of simple questioning of customers?

Answer 38

ADVANTAGE
• No cost to the organisation.
• Can produce significant benefits as it can highlight trends or issues at an early stage before they can develop into serious operational problems.

DISADVANTAGE
• Requires staff to ask questions about specific issues.
• Answer may not be specific enough.

Question 39

what are the different types of formal feedback?

Answer 39

1) Surveys or questionnaires
2) Observation
3) Suggestion boxes
4) Mystery shopper
5) Focus groups
6) Guest comment card

Question 40

what is the definition of survey or questionnaires and what are the different types of surveys?

Answer 40

Definition – a set of questions on a form which include a series of open-ended, closed or multiple-choice questions.
Types of survey:
1) Survey (paper-based)
2) Telephone surveys (contacting participants and asking questions according to the survey)
3) Internet surveys (through e-mail or websites)

Question 41

___________________ is a qualitative method of collecting and analysing information obtained through directly or indirectly watching and observing others in natural or planned environments.

Answer 41

Observation

Question 42

what are the aspects of customer service which are performed by employees performing their job roles that is observed by supervisors or manager?

Answer 42

1) Body language
2) Facial expression
3) The quality and accuracy of information presented
4) The attitude of the employee
5) Their performance in routine functions

Question 43

What does suggestion boxes means?

Answer 43

a container in which people can leave comments on the service they have received, suggestions for improvement etc.

Question 44

________________ perform specific tasks such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way, and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experience.

Answer 44

Mystery shopper.

Question 45

________________ is a form of qualitative research in which a group are asked about their perception, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea or packaging.

Answer 45

A focus group.

Question 46

What is meant by guest comment group?

Answer 46

A card on which customers write their opinion of an organisation or its product and services.