For C3 you thinking of doing something about a questionnaire which can be left on seats at a performance. Go ahead with this as it is a PROCEDURE. You are considering the procedure of gaining customer feedback on customer service and it is a justifiable improvement.
Plan the layout of the questionnaire. Think about the sorts of things the Rep would require feedback on - e.g. booking procedure, effectiveness of website, how they heard about performances etc (look at the customer feedback sheet sent by post)
You must state how this improvement will benefit the REP
Try to complete this before Weds lesson
Mrs N
Thursday 19 March 2009
Customer Service strand C update
c strand
This is concerned with the benefits of effective customer service and, in the case of stronger candidates, may well overlap with strand a.
c1 – The description must make reference to the organisation for marks to be awarded.
c2 – Follow the Assessment Evidence grid not the exemplification for c2 (page 75)Make sure that you are referring to customer service procedures rather than to the services the organisation provides for its customers.
c3 – In recommending improvements you need to clarify the benefits that these would bring to the organisation. Again, ensure that you are referring to customer service procedures rather than to the services the organisation provides for its customers.
I've also updated the earlier entry for C2
Hope this clarifies the requirements
Mrs N:)
This is concerned with the benefits of effective customer service and, in the case of stronger candidates, may well overlap with strand a.
c1 – The description must make reference to the organisation for marks to be awarded.
c2 – Follow the Assessment Evidence grid not the exemplification for c2 (page 75)Make sure that you are referring to customer service procedures rather than to the services the organisation provides for its customers.
c3 – In recommending improvements you need to clarify the benefits that these would bring to the organisation. Again, ensure that you are referring to customer service procedures rather than to the services the organisation provides for its customers.
I've also updated the earlier entry for C2
Hope this clarifies the requirements
Mrs N:)
Sunday 15 March 2009
F3
Evaluate your performance in the customer service situations undertaken, including the handling of complaints made by customers.
To achieve f3, you will have shown that when handling a complaint, you showed mature
reflection on your strengths and weaknesses and were able to identify areas where your
performance could have been improved with further training or more knowledge of the
organisation.
To achieve f3, you will have shown that when handling a complaint, you showed mature
reflection on your strengths and weaknesses and were able to identify areas where your
performance could have been improved with further training or more knowledge of the
organisation.
F2
Effectively handle a customer complaint, following the procedures of the organisation.
To achieve f2, you should have demonstrated that a customer complaint has been handled
effectively and that you followed the procedures and policies of the organisation, whether
this involved referral to a more senior member of staff or the ability to offer some form of
recompense.
To achieve f2, you should have demonstrated that a customer complaint has been handled
effectively and that you followed the procedures and policies of the organisation, whether
this involved referral to a more senior member of staff or the ability to offer some form of
recompense.
F1
Describe simply how they have handled a customer complaint.
You will need to understand that it is important to listen to customers and to keep calm. You
will need to know when to refer a customer to a more senior member of staff if you are not able
to deal with an enquiry.
Customer complaints could be in writing, over the telephone or face-to-face.
It is important that you know how to deal with these situations and when and whom to ask for help.
When dealing with complaints you should always:
• listen carefully to the customer;
• apologise in general terms for any inconvenience caused;
• let the customer know that the matter will be fully investigated and, if possible, put right;
• try to see the problem from the customer.s point of view;
• keep calm and not argue with the customer;
• find a solution to the problem;
• agree the solution with the customer;
• make sure that what you promised to do gets done
To achieve marks for this section you need to:
- write a description showing how well you handled a complaint describing:
- the complaint itself
- the way the customer communicated the complaint
- the way you dealt with the complaint
- any follow up action taken
- obtain a witness statement, confirming what you did when dealing with the complaint, with an assessment of your level of skill in handling the complaint.
To achieve f1, a simple description would be sufficient. If you did not actually handle a
complaint, a simple description of the action that you would have taken would be sufficient
You will need to understand that it is important to listen to customers and to keep calm. You
will need to know when to refer a customer to a more senior member of staff if you are not able
to deal with an enquiry.
Customer complaints could be in writing, over the telephone or face-to-face.
It is important that you know how to deal with these situations and when and whom to ask for help.
When dealing with complaints you should always:
• listen carefully to the customer;
• apologise in general terms for any inconvenience caused;
• let the customer know that the matter will be fully investigated and, if possible, put right;
• try to see the problem from the customer.s point of view;
• keep calm and not argue with the customer;
• find a solution to the problem;
• agree the solution with the customer;
• make sure that what you promised to do gets done
To achieve marks for this section you need to:
- write a description showing how well you handled a complaint describing:
- the complaint itself
- the way the customer communicated the complaint
- the way you dealt with the complaint
- any follow up action taken
- obtain a witness statement, confirming what you did when dealing with the complaint, with an assessment of your level of skill in handling the complaint.
To achieve f1, a simple description would be sufficient. If you did not actually handle a
complaint, a simple description of the action that you would have taken would be sufficient
E3
Communicate successfully and confidently with customers, listening carefully and providing a full and effective response.
To achieve the highest grades possible in e3, your description and witness statement will
show that you used successful communication skills, demonstrating competence and
confidence whilst dealing with all the different types of customers, and that you gave
appropriate full responses to enquiries to meet the needs of the organisation and the
customer.
To achieve the highest grades possible in e3, your description and witness statement will
show that you used successful communication skills, demonstrating competence and
confidence whilst dealing with all the different types of customers, and that you gave
appropriate full responses to enquiries to meet the needs of the organisation and the
customer.
E2
Deal confidently with a variety of customers, demonstrating good presentation and communication skills.
To achieve e2, your description and witness statement must show that you demonstrated
good presentation and communication skills and dealt with a variety of customers and
situations.
To achieve e2, your description and witness statement must show that you demonstrated
good presentation and communication skills and dealt with a variety of customers and
situations.
E1
Communicate clearly with a variety of customers, listening carefully and responding appropriately.
The evidence used to meet this criterion must show how well you communicated with a variety of customers, including listening to the customer and responding appropriately, if briefly, to the situation.
individuals
groups
people of different ages
people from different cultures
non-English speakers
people with specific needs such as those whose hearing is impaired or those requiring
facilities for young children
business people.
By choosing a variety of customers you will demonstrate how different customers have
different needs. The description of your response will show how you appreciated their
needs and responded appropriately to the situation and the customer.
The details should involve a description of what happened with each customer, or the scenario for the role play. You should demonstrate the following customer service skills:
Demonstrate how different customers have different needs and their responses should be appropriate to the situation and the customer.
Communication with customers may be face to face, over the telephone or in writing. All
customers will expect to receive a very high standard of communication.
Your tasks:
1. Write a description showing how well you communicated with a variety of customers,
which includes listening to the customers and responding appropriately.
2. Show that you can respond to customers over the telephone and in writing as well as face to face - you will need to devise role play situations for a telephone complaint and record your conversation using Audacity so it can be saved as a wmv file on a disc.
3. Include your witness statements from the Carol Concert, work experience or year 8 disco confirming your skills in communicating with the customers, as well as describing what you did and their views on how well you handled the situation. This must be signed and dated.
You will need to use appropriate:
Language
Pitch and tone of voice
Pauses and silences
Body language
You will need to be able to:
Work accurately
Listen and respond to customers
Ask appropriate questions (using open and closed questions)
Depending on whether you need to communicate with customers face to face, over the
telephone or in writing, some or all of the following points are important:
- dress
- personal hygiene
- personality
- attitude
- behaviour.
Mention these in your description. For example, when dealing face to face, dress and
personal hygiene are extremely important.
The evidence used to meet this criterion must show how well you communicated with a variety of customers, including listening to the customer and responding appropriately, if briefly, to the situation.
individuals
groups
people of different ages
people from different cultures
non-English speakers
people with specific needs such as those whose hearing is impaired or those requiring
facilities for young children
business people.
By choosing a variety of customers you will demonstrate how different customers have
different needs. The description of your response will show how you appreciated their
needs and responded appropriately to the situation and the customer.
The details should involve a description of what happened with each customer, or the scenario for the role play. You should demonstrate the following customer service skills:
- listen carefully to the customer;
• apologise in general terms for any inconvenience caused;
• let the customer know that the matter will be fully investigated and, if possible, put right;
• try to see the problem from the customer.s point of view;
• keep calm and not argue with the customer;
• find a solution to the problem;
• agree the solution with the customer;
• make sure that what you promised to do gets done.
Demonstrate how different customers have different needs and their responses should be appropriate to the situation and the customer.
Communication with customers may be face to face, over the telephone or in writing. All
customers will expect to receive a very high standard of communication.
Your tasks:
1. Write a description showing how well you communicated with a variety of customers,
which includes listening to the customers and responding appropriately.
2. Show that you can respond to customers over the telephone and in writing as well as face to face - you will need to devise role play situations for a telephone complaint and record your conversation using Audacity so it can be saved as a wmv file on a disc.
3. Include your witness statements from the Carol Concert, work experience or year 8 disco confirming your skills in communicating with the customers, as well as describing what you did and their views on how well you handled the situation. This must be signed and dated.
You will need to use appropriate:
Language
Pitch and tone of voice
Pauses and silences
Body language
You will need to be able to:
Work accurately
Listen and respond to customers
Ask appropriate questions (using open and closed questions)
Depending on whether you need to communicate with customers face to face, over the
telephone or in writing, some or all of the following points are important:
- dress
- personal hygiene
- personality
- attitude
- behaviour.
Mention these in your description. For example, when dealing face to face, dress and
personal hygiene are extremely important.
D3 Suggest alternative ways the organisation could use its existing records to improve customer service provision in the organisation
In order to complete everything required for d3, you need to look at existing customer records and suggest amendments to them or alternative ways that the records could be used to develop customer service.
Existing customer records you could consider are the
Existing customer records you could consider are the
- complaints record
- booking record
- accident record
- customer questionnaire record
For example, a suggestion/comment box in the foyer area may help dissatisfied customers highlight weaknesses rather than just walking away feeling disappointed never to return. Comment cards could be left on tables in the bar area or on seats prior to a performance.
The REP sends out customer surveys to REP club members - but how do they cater for the members of the audience who might have a complaint.
Would it be possible to have a posting box and postcards available in the foyer for customers to record their comments?
How could this be effectively managed?
Is there a public notice board where customer concerns are highlighted and the action being taken and a deadline for this to be completed is shown? This is seen in David Lloyd Health Club
The state of toilets is very important particularly for organisations where food is served. Are records kept at the Rep?
What about staff that leave an organisation? Are staff reasons for leaving logged? Internal customers are extremely important, and time and money invested in training them is wasted if there is a high staff turnover, especially if they are leaving because of conditions in their working environment,
D2
d2 requires you to explain fully how these records are used to develop, in other words
improve customer service.
examples of records you could refer to include:
how might records improve customer service?
For example, accidents are bound to damage an organisation’s reputation and be an unpleasant experience for the customer involved.
By keeping an up-todate book or database of accident record forms, frequently occurring accidents can be spotted and steps taken to avoid them happening again.
The talk we had stated that besides general data kept on REP club members, they also recorded details of which performances have previously been booked. This enables them to send leaflets out relating to future performances which might be of interest to the customer - increased sales.
improve customer service.
examples of records you could refer to include:
- customer complaints
- accident report forms
- booking records
how might records improve customer service?
- more efficient
- improve safety and security
- lead to repeat business
- increased sales
- give edge over competition
- satisfied customers
- better public image
For example, accidents are bound to damage an organisation’s reputation and be an unpleasant experience for the customer involved.
By keeping an up-todate book or database of accident record forms, frequently occurring accidents can be spotted and steps taken to avoid them happening again.
The talk we had stated that besides general data kept on REP club members, they also recorded details of which performances have previously been booked. This enables them to send leaflets out relating to future performances which might be of interest to the customer - increased sales.
D1
Simply include two examples of customer service records used by the organisation
in your portfolio. Examples include:
Or you could use any other record used covering internal or external customers.
in your portfolio. Examples include:
- telephone message slips
- blank customer enrolment forms
- membership records
- booking record
- blank accident record forms
- complaints record
- questionnaire record
Or you could use any other record used covering internal or external customers.
Saturday 10 January 2009
C3 Recommend improvements in customer service procedures to increase the benefits to the organisation
Suggest improvements to customer service.
It could be in terms of an alternative procedure or new documentation
All customers should be included
How would recommendations affect
external sales
increased sales
satisfied customers through repeated business and recommendation
a better public image
an edge over the competition
more pleasant place to work in
happier and more efficient workforce
improved job satisfaction
improved chances of promotion within the organisation
Katie came up with a brilliant idea for improving booking procedures - she suggest that the online booking procedure has the option for customers to pay using a Paypal account. This is a secure method of payment and allows younger customers 15 - 19 to pay for tickets. Often this age group do not have either a debit or credit card. The Paypal account could be linked to a savings account. This would further support the Rep encouraging young adults to visit the theatre with the Friday night scheme.
It could be in terms of an alternative procedure or new documentation
All customers should be included
How would recommendations affect
external sales
increased sales
satisfied customers through repeated business and recommendation
a better public image
an edge over the competition
more pleasant place to work in
happier and more efficient workforce
improved job satisfaction
improved chances of promotion within the organisation
Katie came up with a brilliant idea for improving booking procedures - she suggest that the online booking procedure has the option for customers to pay using a Paypal account. This is a secure method of payment and allows younger customers 15 - 19 to pay for tickets. Often this age group do not have either a debit or credit card. The Paypal account could be linked to a savings account. This would further support the Rep encouraging young adults to visit the theatre with the Friday night scheme.
C2 explain fully the benefits of effective customer service procedures to the organisation
You need to explain the benefits of customer service procedures.
‘Procedures’ means the way organisations do things and the rules that staff must follow.
Procedures you could consider include:
‘Procedures’ means the way organisations do things and the rules that staff must follow.
Procedures you could consider include:
- booking procedure
- complaints procedure
- health and safety procedure - including risk assessments
- evacuation procedure
How will these procedures benefit Birmingham Rep?
What procedures are in place with regards to booking tickets? How does this benefit the Rep? Think about how they record what seats are available still, how do they know if customers have booked before? is a database kept of customers - why? how does this benefit the Rep?
What procedures are in place for customer complaints? How does this procedure benefit the Rep theatre. Think about how they record complaints, follow up on complaints, who deals with complaints. why keep records?
By keeping a record of a customer’s requests, comments or customer service questionaire results the Rep can be pro-active when devising a new programme of events or plays for the forthcoming season. It enables the customer's point of view to be considered when discussing how to improve its provision for all customer groups.
How does the Rep know about customer needs? what procedures are in place to help people with special needs? How does this benefit the Rep
For the recommendations you made in b3, explain the benefits the changes in procedure or documentation would bring.
C1 Describe at a basic level the benefits of effective customer service to the organisation
c1 is quite basic and requires you to explain why organisations are concerned about the
levels of customer service they offer and the benefits the organisation can gain from effective
customer service, such as repeat business, increased sales and customer satisfaction. You
could include a few examples and highlight good or bad aspects of customer service at your
organisation
Why is Birmingham REP concerned about the level of service?
How will the REP benefit from:
Repeat business
increased sales
customer satisfaction
How will the REP benefit from good internal customer service?
less staff turnover
less absentees
better teamwork
happy working environment
greater staff motivation
improved chance of ‘getting on’ (promotion)
levels of customer service they offer and the benefits the organisation can gain from effective
customer service, such as repeat business, increased sales and customer satisfaction. You
could include a few examples and highlight good or bad aspects of customer service at your
organisation
Why is Birmingham REP concerned about the level of service?
How will the REP benefit from:
Repeat business
increased sales
customer satisfaction
How will the REP benefit from good internal customer service?
less staff turnover
less absentees
better teamwork
happy working environment
greater staff motivation
improved chance of ‘getting on’ (promotion)
B3 Evaluate the way the organisation meets the needs of all its customers and analyse the complaints procedure
- Use the questionnaire to give a FULL evaluation of how the needs of all the different types of customers are met. You should produce a mini SWOT analysis for each customer group
- Analyse the customer complaints procedure - you could produce a full SWOT analysis of the current complaints procedure.
- Recommend alternative procedures or documentation (word document for people to complete or new style of spreadsheet) which could be used to improve the handling and processing of complaints
B2 Describe with examples how the organisation meets the needs of its external and internal customers and explain the customer complaints procedure
This needs to be a detailed explanation and show a full understanding.
Show how the needs of internal and external customers are met.
1. This could be done either in paragraph form or as a table but you must include detail and give examples. You must ensure you have covered all the different customer groups.
. Give your opinion on the delivery of customer service to the different user groups?
Give the views of staff. Give views of customers. Refer back to your questionnaire
Individuals give information on different prices. What do you think of the prices?
Internal customers is there a handbook for staff explaining procedures they they have to follow what perks are there: meals, competitive wages, bonus schemes are staff given paid holiday, opportunity for training, flexible hours is there a newsletter or are regular meetings held? staff appraisal, training courses, opportunities for promotion or training for staff such as induction scheme and shadowing of new staff by experienced staff is there a staff suggestion books or employee of the month scheme.
Groups How do they cater for schools, families, etc
People of different ages
People from different cultures Non English speakers People with specific needs wheelchair access hearing loops
Business groups Conference facilities? After each type of customer, write an evaluation of how well you believe they are provided for. If customers could be better provided for then describe how. Refer to questionnaires and staff interviews.
3. Review the complaints procedure and the reason for its development - why is it important to have it? how does it benefit the orgnaisation? give examples.....
Refer to the sheet with examples of customer complaints. Give a list of the different complaints received. What action is taken and what system is in place to handle complaints (you could use the sheet that you were given - stick it onto an A3 sheet and annotate it to show how is the complaint is recorded which members of staff are involved?)
Show how the needs of internal and external customers are met.
1. This could be done either in paragraph form or as a table but you must include detail and give examples. You must ensure you have covered all the different customer groups.
. Give your opinion on the delivery of customer service to the different user groups?
Give the views of staff. Give views of customers. Refer back to your questionnaire
Individuals give information on different prices. What do you think of the prices?
Internal customers is there a handbook for staff explaining procedures they they have to follow what perks are there: meals, competitive wages, bonus schemes are staff given paid holiday, opportunity for training, flexible hours is there a newsletter or are regular meetings held? staff appraisal, training courses, opportunities for promotion or training for staff such as induction scheme and shadowing of new staff by experienced staff is there a staff suggestion books or employee of the month scheme.
Groups How do they cater for schools, families, etc
People of different ages
People from different cultures Non English speakers People with specific needs wheelchair access hearing loops
Business groups Conference facilities? After each type of customer, write an evaluation of how well you believe they are provided for. If customers could be better provided for then describe how. Refer to questionnaires and staff interviews.
3. Review the complaints procedure and the reason for its development - why is it important to have it? how does it benefit the orgnaisation? give examples.....
Refer to the sheet with examples of customer complaints. Give a list of the different complaints received. What action is taken and what system is in place to handle complaints (you could use the sheet that you were given - stick it onto an A3 sheet and annotate it to show how is the complaint is recorded which members of staff are involved?)
B1 Describe at a basic level how the organisation meets the needs of a variety of customers and deals with complaints
What is the difference between internal and external customers?
You need to describe how Birmingham Rep tries to meet the needs of a variety of customers.
This is to be a basic description. You could produce a simple table stating the different internal customers and give examples of services provided.
Do the same for external customers - remember to include
You need to describe how Birmingham Rep tries to meet the needs of a variety of customers.
This is to be a basic description. You could produce a simple table stating the different internal customers and give examples of services provided.
Do the same for external customers - remember to include
- individuals
- groups
- people of different ages
- people of different cultures
- non-English speakers
- people with a variety of specific needs (wheelchair access, hearing and visual impairment etc)
- businessmen and women
3. Give a basic description of how customer complaints are dealt with. Give some information about the system used for handling complaints and which members of staff are involved.
A3 Produce a thorough and knowledgeable analyis of customer service in their chosen organisation
Referring back to the different situations in which customer service is provided as stated in A2.....
You need to state how effective the customer service is delivered in your opinion.
Relate it to views of the staff (base this on the talk given - Q and A session)
Relate it to views of customers - need to analyse questionnaire data
Task
Devise and carry out a questionnaire that will enable you to satisfy the requirements of A3. Try to ask between 5 - 10 people who have visited the Rep for their opinions on how effective the different aspects of customer service are.
Based on your evaluations and analysis, make recommendations for improvements to customer service
You could produce a basic SWOT analysis
You need to state how effective the customer service is delivered in your opinion.
Relate it to views of the staff (base this on the talk given - Q and A session)
Relate it to views of customers - need to analyse questionnaire data
Task
Devise and carry out a questionnaire that will enable you to satisfy the requirements of A3. Try to ask between 5 - 10 people who have visited the Rep for their opinions on how effective the different aspects of customer service are.
Based on your evaluations and analysis, make recommendations for improvements to customer service
You could produce a basic SWOT analysis
A2 Explain why customer service is important to chosen organisation with examples
Good customer service is important to an organisation as it:
1. Introduction - why is customer service important to Birmingham Rep?
you need to expand on these points:
- maintains the reputation of the organisation
- encourages customers to return - repeat business
- increases sales
- encourages new business, attract new customers through recommendations
- gives edge over competitors
- other organisations will want to be associated with the organisation
- builds up a good reputation, good public image
2. You need to give examples of the different situations where customer services is provided by the Rep and state the importance of good customer service in each case to Birmingham Rep.
Explain when and how these are provided by Birmingham Rep
Internal customers
All members of staff should give a high level of service to each other.
- Benefits to the staff and organisation include:
- a more pleasant place to work
- a happier and more efficient workforce
- improved job satisfaction
- improved chances of promotion within the organisation
Customer service includes any contact with the customer whether it is face to face, over the telephone, through correspondence etc.
External customers
Providing information:
Staff should know about organisations and procedures within the organisation in order to create a good image both of themselves and the organisation.
- include telephone number
- fax
- website
- address
- adverts in yellow pages
- newspaper reports and reviews
- staff walking round talking to customers
- posters
- PA system
- leaflets
- staff on hand
- direct marketing to existing customers - letters, leaflets, brochures
Giving advice - advice may be answering specific questions, perhaps relating to the suitability of a play for a particular audience.
Receiving and passing on messages
communicate via email
key staff carry radio or mobile
procedure they follow when taking messages
Keeping records
feedback comments
data base of customers
financial records such as money
staff wages
secure records accessed only by staff with authorisation
complaints record
Providing assistance
Staff circulate around facility helping where necessary
Dealing with problems
Describe the procedure for dealing with problems
try to resolve problems quickly and efficiently
If one member of staff cannot help then refer to another
Dealing with dissatisfied customers
Stay calm
listen
use positive body language
be sympathetic
sit down in a neutral area
Offering extra services
Important to exceed customer expectations to beat the competition
clean environment
first aid
restaurant
booking online
leaflets in foyer
open days
after show talks
Rep club events
How does Birmingham Repertory Theatre provide customer service:
- booking tickets
- giving information about events: times, suitability of performance, seating
- giving educational talks and tours
A1 Describe at a basic level what is meant by customer service
What is customer service?
All leisure and tourism facilities need to make sure their customers are happy with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organisation.
Customer service is about looking after customers - putting them first. It is about caring for and about the customer. It is putting yourself in their position - how would you wish to be treated.
Remember that customers are both internal (staff) and external (those buying or experiencing products and services)
Good customer service should be the main aim of everyone working within the organisation.
Customer service includes all contact with the customer:
Now consider Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Where is it?
What does it provide?
What is its mission statement
What is its customer care policy? - look on the website
Marks are awarded for a basic description including a basic definition and how this is applied to the organisation.
All leisure and tourism facilities need to make sure their customers are happy with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organisation.
Customer service is about looking after customers - putting them first. It is about caring for and about the customer. It is putting yourself in their position - how would you wish to be treated.
Remember that customers are both internal (staff) and external (those buying or experiencing products and services)
Good customer service should be the main aim of everyone working within the organisation.
Customer service includes all contact with the customer:
- face to face
- over the telephone
- via letter or email
Now consider Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Where is it?
What does it provide?
What is its mission statement
What is its customer care policy? - look on the website
Marks are awarded for a basic description including a basic definition and how this is applied to the organisation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
