Customer Service Provider Interview - Essay Example

Topic: Service Provider Interview Service Provider Interview PART A: Interview Questions: 1. Organization’s Name: Telus 2. Interviewee Name: George Wayne 3. Date and time of interview: 4. Describe a typical customer: The typical Telus customer is one that is willing to pay more to use high-end smartphones in order to get the best services. 5. Describe an ideal customer: The company wishes to provide quality services to all the categories of customers regardless of how they use wireless services and make its services available to as wide a customer base as possible. 6. How do you handle a difficult customer? In most cases, most of the difficult customers are referred to the loyalty and retention department which is tasked with dealing with most of the issues that customers raise including explaining the contracts among others. The loyalty and retention department tries to deal with the issues that are raised by the customers including the difficult one in a manner that will leave the customer satisfied so that he or she does not cancel their contract with the company. 7. What is the best experience you have had providing customer service? The best experience that I have had in providing customer service to the clients of the company is definitely getting referrals from the customers that were served satisfactorily and enjoyed the services and products that are provided by the company. Such situations allow my colleagues and I to take ownership of each customer experience while cooperating to work as a team in order to make the delivery of the promises of the company while remaining friendly and helpful as well as thoughtful. 8. What is the worst experience you have had providing customer service? The worst experience I have had so far in dealing with dealing with the customers involve cases were the customers do not understand the terms of their contracts and end up thinking they are being ripped off or decide to withdraw their contracts altogether. In situations such as these, I try my best to explain the terms to the customer in a manner they can understand and regardless of their decisions after this, I assure them that the company will continue to keep their best interests at heart. 9. Have you been trained to deal with customers? If yes, how long was the training and what type of training did you receive? Yes, I have been trained to deal with customers so that I can provide better services that will make sure the customers are retained in the company. I was trained to be familiar with most of the assistive devices such as wheelchairs and listening devices among others which may be used by the clients with variable capabilities in order to make it easier for them to access the company’s goods and services. 10. If you have not been trained to deal with customers, do you feel that this type of training would help you to provide better customer service? Why or why not? Training in how to deal with customers is important as far as providing better services to the customer is concerned as it inspires and results in better results. The training usually includes teaching the employees on how they can greet the customers, understand the needs of the customers, respond to them in a positive manner and how to deal with the angry customers among others. 11. Are you empowered to make decisions? Since training in the customer service provides employees with a sense of value while improving their morale, the result with be a situation where the employees will value their customers. Consequently, the employees will feel more empowered to make decisions regarding how to deal with customers as they can predict the possible outcomes of their choices. PART B Essay Report: 1. What specifically is this customer service provider doing that indicates that quality customer service is being provided? The provision of superior and consistent quality of services to customers is important to the success of any business since it leads to customer satisfaction that has a direct connection to the revenues of the company (Fogli, 2006). Even though advertising plays a significant role in attracting and winning new customers for the company, the provision of quality services is what will ensure that the customers are retained at the company. It is clear that the customer service provider who was interviewed has some level of awareness that the customers are important to the success of the business. The customer service provider also understands that attracting new customers in a more costly endeavor compared to retaining the existing ones. Through making sure the customers are always satisfied, the provider ensures that they do not terminate their contracts with the company and in the process continue to strengthen their relationship. From the responses given by the provider, it also emerges that he understands that customer services incurs real costs, which are associated with the creation of customer value. Through trying to ensure that, he has interpersonal communication and service with the customers, the provider will thus provide better services that will ensure the customers continue to be satisfied. The training that the provider and his colleagues have received has also enabled them to appreciate the needs of the customers and meet them though listening to the voices of the customer and taking the appropriate actions. Training also ensured that the provider gives the customers consistent service that is always dependable in terms of how they feel and look regardless of where and when they contact the company. The interviewed provider also considers training as an aspect that has empowered him and this has allowed him to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. Dealing with issues raised by customers promptly is important in making sure that the perception of the customers towards the company is enhanced. Additionally, giving feedback enables the company as well as the customer service providers to instigate corrective action that will eliminate errors and other negative occurrences taking place. Customers also expect to be accorded good customer service everywhere they go and they become frustrated when these expectations are not met while increasingly seeking better services in various aspects of their lives. Therefore, the provider should be aware that providing superior customer service is important to the success of the company. 2. As a customer service expert, what specific recommendations would you make to the CEO of this organization that would improve the level of customer service that is currently being provided? In order to improve the level of customer services that is Telus is currently providing to its clients, it is important that the company employees are given proper training in order to enable them to demonstrate professional skills in customer service (Voortman, 2004). This will improve the level of satisfaction in the customers as well as their loyalty to the company while making sure they are retained to improve profitability. It is less costly to retain customers than attracting and acquiring new ones since the satisfied customers are more likely to refer others to the company. The company should ensure that the customer service providers it employs possess exceptional listening and questioning skills, which are important when they need to shorten the interaction time with the customers. This will enable the Telus to serve more customers in a shorter time without dedicating numerous people to the task. Nonetheless, customers are intelligent and do like to feel like they are being rushed when they present their queries and issues to the customer service department. Therefore, the employees of the company should be proactive and ensure that all the customers feel like they are being listened to and heard. The ability to clearly explain various steps in a process and ensuring the clients are satisfied will assist in decreasing the number callbacks as enhancing how fast customer issues are resolved is one of the key aspects that increase customer satisfaction (Voortman, 2004). Therefore, Telus should train all the workers through giving them consistent customer service skills that will enable them attain common processes and language while assisting the clients. Consequently, the company will be able to brand its interaction with its clients in a way that will add value to its entire operations. The employees will also have an ability to develop a sense of value that will improve their morale, which will result in the customers being valued. This may be achieved through efficient training in customer service skills that will be beneficial to the workers while enhancing the relationships with the clients. 3. As a customer service expert, what specific recommendations would you make to the CEO of this same firm that would help develop and promote high quality relationships between the organization and the customers? In order for Telus to develop high quality relationships with its clients, it should be able to manage people in order to gain competitive advantage through putting emphasis on internal processes and structures that will assist in meeting the requirements of the customers. The company should also create competencies that will lead to a competitive advantage as a result of their uniqueness and ensure that the workers’ skills and efforts are focused on achieving organizational objectives and strategies (Gordon, 2013). Through quality management, Telus will have an ability to ensure that its services are consistent, as it will focus on the quality of these services in order to enhance the relationship with its customers. As the company is dependent on its customers, it should be able to understand the present and future requirements of the clients so that it can exceed these expectations (Gordon, 2013). Telus can achieve customer focus when all its workers are aware of the internal and external customers along with their customers’ requirements in order to make sure they remain satisfied. References Fogli, L. (2006). Customer service delivery. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Gordon, I. (2013). Managing the new customer relationship. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Voortman, C. (2004). Global logistics. Lansdowne [South Africa]: Juta. Read More