Article Review on Customer Service - Essay Example

Article Summary: As consumers, we frequently encounter situations in which we have been given poor service by the vendor. When we con not control ouremotions, we burst with anger and resolve to find a new vendor for getting the service in the future. In order to identify the exact causes of the agitation of consumers, authors of the article conducted a small research in which they collected the information from 1500 consumers. The consumers generally came up with three causes of agitation with the service of a vendor, which are as follows: 1.

Having to talk to several representatives of the vendor regarding the same issue and every time, narrating full story 2. Having to deal with service technicians or inexperienced or ill-mannered staff of the vendor 3. Having to hold on for long before someone from the vendor’s side picks up the call or being unable to make successful use of various options of self-service Vendors can not afford to disappoint the customers in the present age of economic uncertainty. Therefore, the authors have talked about three tips in this article which can help vendors avoid agitating the consumers.

The first tip to satisfy the consumers is delivery of a service that is consistent in all channels of service. The worst thing that can happen to a consumer is when he/she is bounced around and is given the same information again and again, and when he/she gets different service levels from different channels. This problem can be easily dealt with by tracing the attitude of the customer across different channels. By doing so, vendors are able to locate the point where the service actually retrograded in quality.

This is the location that needs to be the subject of change. The second way to satisfy the customers is by aligning the resources and service channels with the requirements of the customer. To achieve this, vendors need to realize and understand the actions of their customers. The vendors should also determine the appropriate service mix for the individualistic needs of the customers. In this way, the interactions between consumers and the agents for live assistance can be actually directed to a technician.

Besides, the vendors must improve the quality of their mentorship, training and coaching programs so that they satisfy the concerns of the consumers as well as vendors’ own agents. The third way vendors can regulate the agitation of consumers is by promoting self-service. A vast majority of customers like to have increased control over the options of self-service available to them either online or automated interactive systems of voice response. Future usage and adoption gets deterred by the self-service that is poorly designed.

Vendors need to perceive those transactions which are most suitable for the self-service. The need to shape and manipulate customers’ behavior follows. A lot of customers’ time can be saved with the implementation of self-service. Vendors can make their customers satisfied and happy by incorporating all of these three ways in their strategic planning. All three options need to be adopted in order to retain the sincerity and loyalty of customers. References: Parcelli, M. (2011). Know What Makes Your Customers Angry.

Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/08/know_what_makes_your_customers_angry.html.