Internal Customers at the Workplace - Assignment Example

BSB50407 Diploma of Business Administration Unit BSBCUS501C Unit Manage Quality Service Due 10/10/14 Assessment Name Business Portfolio Student No. 149318 Student Name Hou Hon Wong Student Phone 0466284349 Student Email wwilliam-07101@hotmail.com Student Declaration I declare that this assessment is my own work and where my work is supported by documents from my workplace placement/employer permission has been granted. Note: This assessment will not be accepted unless all sections have been completed and the front cover has been signed and dated. Student Signature ______________________________________________________________ Office Use Only Date/s Received: __4/11/14 ___/___/___ ___/___/___ Date/s Assessed: _14/11/14 ___/___/___ ___/___/___ Result of Assessment: ___________ ___________ ___________ Entered on Training Plan Moderation Signature Course Code and Name: BSB50407 Diploma of Business Administration Unit Code: BSBCUS501C Unit Title: Manage Quality Customer Service For this assessment you are required to answer all of the questions. You are permitted to research the answers by reading your text book, theory notes and accessing the internet. If more room is needed label each task with the question number and use headings or dot points to make your work clear for your trainer and assessor. Please follow the Referencing Guide contained on your Course handbook. Please attach a student assessment cover sheet to each unit submission. You must complete the cover sheet in full detail. Research the following TERMS and PHRASES these are linked with your assessment. Attach your definition or explanation to each point. Please remember to Reference. QUESTION 1 a. Customer Loyalty This is refers to a situation where a particular customer has a strong attachment and preference for a particular firms’ brand and would be retained. Such a customer will promote the company’s product by influencing friends and relatives to buy for such particular firm.√ b. Customer Complaints These refers to the feedback of a particular customer to a given product in terms of quality and quantity based on post-purchase evaluation.√ c. Internal Customer This a member of an organisation that depends on another person’s help to achieve this or her task as may be seen by a sales person seeking help from the customer service desk to put an order.√ d. Total Quality Management This refers to a mechanism used by a particular firm to establish long-term success based on the customers satisfaction by installing necessary facilities to achieve product and service quality. e. External Customer An external consumer is an outsider who purchases a particular firm’s product or services.√ f. Customer-Driven Organisations These are organizations that are customer focussed and the interest of the customer is put first. Such strategies increase customer loyalty and hence increased customer retention and sales volume.√ g. Resolution This refers to the decision made following a particular problem that needs to be amicably dealt with.√ h. Acknowledge Acknowledge means to recognized and appreciate the existing of a particular issue or situation based on its reality.√ i. Observations This refers to particular service provision benchmarks upon which a customer satisfaction is measured following the rendered service j. Service Standards This refers to particular service provision benchmarks upon which a customer satisfaction is measured following the rendered service.√ k. Conducting Research This refers to carrying a probe in order to determine facts that are of interest to solve a particular problem. It may be done to determine particular niche or segment taste and preference to gauge the competitor’s strategies.√ l. Primary Data Primary data refers to firsthand information collected by going out to the field and observing or asking question through interviews or via sending questionnaire to target group. QUESTION 2 i. Who are your internal customers at your workplace? These refers to the employees and other stakeholders of a particular firm that are beneficial to organization. Examples of internal customers in our organization are but limited to salesperson and secretary that deals with issues of computers within the information. Technology department.√ ii. What do these customers expect and need from you? The internal customers expect higher levels of welfare and conducive environment for working. They need to be paid well and feel part of the company by being recognized, motivated and rewarded for the achievements. The internal customers also proper guidelines based on properly outlined policies and objectives set by me in order to help them have a common objective to meet. Besides, they require me to avail every facility (resources) needed to perform their duties without breakdowns. iii. How well do you provide your services to meet their needs? The firm recognizes and motivate the internal customers as they are the driving force for the external customers. The firm ensures that their working conditions and improves and conducive working environment availed. In addition the firm ensure that vocational and experience training are done to empower the internal customers. Further the organization creates teamwork and incorporate every internal customer in the decisions making process and accept their contributions during deliberations to design a company policy (Appleby, 1994p.145). The company ensure good pay package and allowances given to internal customers. The company also uses job swaps where necessary to improve the conditions of internal customers. Service standards have also been designed and communicated to employees which help each employee set his expectations. Besides, the firm employs management of performance amongst the employees through performance review.√ iv. How do you know you have provided good service to meet their needs? The continuous evaluation of the feedback and the incorporation of the complaints made has enabled the firm to gauge whether the internal customers are satisfied. Positive feedback would be used as the basis to gauge their satisfaction.√ QUESTION 3 Give a brief overview of the following legislation (what is the purpose of the law and how does it apply in relation to customer service) Anti-discrimination legislation- The purpose of this legislation is to enhance and ensure equality in treatment of people with regard to customer service, it ensures the each is give particular attention and hence not exploited by the organization.√ Australian consumer law- The purpose of this law is to ensure that all firms provide quality services and products to consumers, fair contracts, upholding consumer rights during transactions, providing product safety law. With respect to consumers, it has ensured that consumers achieve quality product and services and hence increased satisfaction and non-exploitation.√ Ethical principles- The Ethical Principles refers to those rules and regulation the defines what particular behaviour and code of conduct business and individual should adhere to in order to ensure customers are protected from exploitation by unscrupulous traders and firms.√ Codes of practice- These are the prescribed required moral practise, conduct and behaviours an employee is required to uphold as outlined in the particular firms policy statements and values and core principles.√ Financial legislation - The purpose of the financial legislation is to ensure integrity of the financial institutions. This is done through supervision and regulation of the financial institutions to such guidelines, requirements and restrictions (Appleby, 1994, P.105). Consumers have thus benefited in a manner that have are not being charged unfair interest rates on loans borrowed as well as non-discrimination during loan applications.√ Privacy laws – The purpose of this law was to outline clear guidelines on the how firms collect sensitive consumer and employees data. The FTC, Federal Trade Commission controls and supervise privacy laws as well as impactful policies to the consumers. The laws restrict individual consumers’ information gathered, used or shared online and hence protects consumers form exploitations and defamations.√ “KEEPING THE CUSTOMERS SATISFIED” Students – please read the case study below and answer the 3 questions listed. Shelly Sanders has just been promoted to supervise the home furnishings department of a large department store where she works. The store manager made it clear to her that her first challenge was to turn around the poor showing of the department, particularly in sales, which were below budget, and in customer satisfaction. The department receives more complaints than any other in the store (although it rates about average in the chain). Reasoning that dissatisfied customers contribute to a poor reputation in the community, which translates into poor sales, Shelly decides she needs to learn about the department’s current customers and find out how they feel about purchasing from it. Her first move is to check the department’s information on repeat business. There isn’t any. Next, she hunts out the department’s customer suggestions and complaints records to analyse and finds a notebook of scrawled customer comments and queries – all negative. Wondering how valid the information is, but realising she probably won’t find anything better, she draws up a check sheet to break down complaints and suggestions by frequency and type. Then she transfers the data onto Pareto charts and finds that the most common cause of customer dissatisfaction is problems with the delivery of furniture customers have ordered. On investigation, she finds that, when furniture is ordered, the manufacturer quotes a lead time, which sales staff pass on to their customers. The manufacturer is often late with delivery. In turn, manufacturers often blame their suppliers for late delivery of raw materials. However, because the store has no tracking system, the first the staff in the furnishings department hear of a problem is when customers ring up to complain that their order is overdue and to ask when they can expect delivery. The staff then have to search through back orders, check with the supplier to find out the new delivery date and ring the customer back. This is time-consuming and creates ill will between customers and the store. It’s also difficult for the staff to find the time to track down late orde4rs, since their priority is meant to be serving customers and ensuring the display area is well presented. Shelly realises that the problem is too big for her to fix on her own. She gathers her team together to brainstorm all the problems they experience. They then prioritise the problems and plan to resolve each of them in turn. They decide to assign some problems to “working parties” so that they can work on more than one problem at a time. They’re keen to get the ball rolling and see some results. As it happens, the problem that the team decides to work on first is the customer delivery problem. Question 1 How will the team investigate, identify and assess the customer delivery problem? The team will use interview within the manufacturing department to gauge their main problem. In addition to this, the suppliers of raw material must be interviewed either orally or through the questionnaires to gauge the reasons behind late delivery of raw materials. In addition, the already available feedback and inputs from the store team or staff form valuable sources to investigate and assess customers’ delivery problem.√ Question 2 i. How can the team improve the delivery of products and service to the customer, what types of systems could they put in place to track the delivery of product that customers have ordered? The tam will ensure that the only work with suppliers that can deliver raw materials term for the effective production. Besides, the manufacturing department must ensure that production is on time based on the orders placed. A proper recording of the undelivered orders must be kept and tracked using a tracking software. This software will ensure that delivery is tracked and inform the team on how further improve their customer’s satisfaction. √ ii. Should the staff involve their suppliers (manufacturer) at any stage? What strategies and recording system would you put in place to ensure the suppliers (manufacturer) meet the organisations quality and service standards? The manufactures must be contacted as it is main point of failure. Team must ensure that manufacturing department does produce in time and as per the orders placed driven by the ISO set standards. The department need to proactively outline to the manufacturing the teams Total Quality management strategy. The team can employ the use of inventory management software such as bright pearl that have led to SKU data better packing and shipping. √ Question 3 List four (4) strategies Shelley could employ to ensure staff motivation remains high as they improve their customers’ satisfaction with the furnishings department? Shelly need to empower the staff by allocation of autonomy, trust, encouragement to finish duty and making one feel to have authority on his role. Hence Shelly will employ intra- preneurship strategy to promote new ideas and create authority. Employing Effective Reward System. This involves both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Rewarding employees reinforce their conduct and behaviour and hence employees become determinant to their accomplishments. Redesigning jobs by job enrichment, enlargement and rotation. This strategy improves the working conditions hence discouraging employees ‘boredom and creates motivations. Ensuring flexibility through the provision of personal time. Flexibility motivates employs as they get time to plan and control their own work hours. √ Question 4 a) Describe two (2) monitoring systems can the team implement to ensure that customer and supplier standards are maintained within the organisation The manager can design a framework whereby customer’s complaints are retrieved and analysed while being cross-checked by what is outline in the policy. With respect to customer standards, the production department should be closely checked in order evaluate whether the right raw material are delivered on time for the production.√ b) What two (2) strategies could you use to monitor progress in achieving product and/or service targets and standards The team needs to undertake the post-purchase evaluation in order to ascertain whether the customers are satisfied. Another strategy would involve evaluating the incoming complaints and feedbacks resulting from the new changes in the service delivery. This can be carried to external customers to get their views and implement the outcome. This will be embedded on incorporation of initial goal setting such as on percentages of orders fulfilled on time and subsequently determining the performance against them. You are required to prepare a quality service plan and produce a report that meets the requirement of the brief. The assessment must cover all aspects of the consulting brief and be professionally presented. Remember that your creativity is encouraged and you have the freedom to explore the topic with the aim of creating a plan for quality customer service. You are to select the following organisation and create your hypothetical dream business then research and produce the report based on that business. A large tourist information centre Consulting brief: 1. Full details of the organisation. As an introduction, please describe your chosen business in full so that the board will be able to see your vision What type of business is it? What will our product be? Who will be our customers? Where will the business be located? What are the customer’s primary needs? How will we deliver the service? The type of business is a tourist information centre. The business intends to offer every tourism attached information, ranging from available tourist attraction sites, accommodations, tour guides to tourist transportation companies. Our main external customers will be both domestic and foreign tourist and the employees will form our internal staff. Our customer’s primary needs to involve giving quality tour guide information as well as available sceneries as well as restaurant and accommodations available. Our business will be embedded on both offline and online framework. We will operate a Website that providers every information about tourism. √ 2. Quality management process for customer service. The quality management process is a critical element in the successful delivery of Quality Customer Service. A clear understanding of this process is necessary to ensure successful completion of this project. Use the following titles as headings for your assessment. a) Roles and Responsibilities Outline the role and responsibilities of management in the introduction of quality customer service to the organisation Describe 4 key tasks managers are responsible for to help drive quality of service delivery Task How will this task be delivered What are the benefits for the organisation and customers Formulation of policies The manger discusses with the stakeholders in order to design better policies that can bring permanent success in achieving product quality. Satisfaction based on quality service and products enhance customer attraction and retention and hence increased sales volume. Building teamwork Responsible for ensuring that the employees work as a team. He does this by outlining sound policies such as values and codes of conduct to regulate behaviours. Beneficial to an organization based on the increased productivity. Besides customer will meet their services and product deliveries in time based on continuous production. Motivating the staff It is responsible of the manager to design motivational policies. This is done through such strategies as, rewarding and job enrichment. A motivated worker feels part of organization. Such a worker is success driven and would want to achieve his task in time and produce a quality outcome. This leads to customer’s satisfaction and hence increased revenue. Ensuring necessary facilities The manger is responsible to ensure necessary facilities are in place for every department tasks. Availing such facilities may be done through purchasing or leasing. Provision of necessary facilities leads to continuous production and service delivery and hence customers are able to get their service every time which translates into sales. b) Gathering Information Methods Identify two (2) methods used within your establishment that assists management in gathering information on what customers need, expect and how satisfied they are with the service Post- purchase evaluation which is done through analysis of the calls made and recorded at call centres and complaints by customers. Also email retrievals as well as social sites from customer’s aid in getting information necessary based on the customers feedback. √ c) Service Standards I. Identify three (3) service standards that you would implement to ensure a high level of quality customer service is occurring at all times. On tine delivery of accurate service to the respective customers, for example ensuring that calls are answered appropriately and delay time communicated within 7 hours of reception of complaints. Ensuring that the business premises and service are accessible at all time. For example, every weekdays from 7am to 9 pm and weekends form 8am to 7 pm weekly for the external customers and provide every information needed by the customers based on their choice of communication channel. Being considerate, cooperative and helpful to every employee in the organization with each customer complaints answered within 6 hours. II. Explain how these standards of service will be implemented - for each one With respect to accurate service delivery, the firm will ensure that only qualified staff are employed and frequent vocational training done to further empower them to be much-customer focused. With respect to business accessibility, call centres will be established and only those with high effective communication skills attached to talk to customer and receive their complaints as well as enquiries and direct them where appropriate within the mentioned timeframe. Besides we will ensure that our premises are opened within the stipulated time duration and encourage our customers to feel free to visit us and this information will be conveyed to them through our call centres. This will also be dealt with through our call centres besides ensuring that our sales persons are trained to meet the customer requirement. Besides we will empower our public relation department to ensure they satisfy our customer needs based on the inquiries and complaints. d) Motivation Describe two initiatives that you will introduce to motivate staff, to ensure that quality customer service is being provided. Designing proper rewarding systems. This will include both intrinsic and extrinsic reward to the employees for their achievement and success. For example, an employee that convinces many tourist to use our services will be rewarded higher as compared to those who are less productive. This will results into increased completion amongst our internal customers and hence increased quality and productivity. Empowering the employees through delegation of duties and giving full authorities to perform a particular task. For instance, where an employee in the call centre is given full mandate to answer calls and respond to complaints of the customers without frequently getting guidance from the main public relation department officer. This will make such an employee feel motivated and offer his best as he feels part of the organization. e) Monitoring Explain how, as a manager, you will monitor these service standards to ensure that they are occurring? How will this monitoring rely on well managed records and reports and, be used in making recommendations to improve the organisations systems and processes? As a manager I will ensure that the standard of service of achieved based on the continuous evaluation of the feedback and complaints from both the external and internal customer. I will ensure that the staff is taken into a lot of consideration and cooperated with in every call for change of policy. To the external customers, I will ensure that our public relations and call centre departments are up to their tasks by ensuring accessibility to necessary information and informed on delays where necessary. The monitoring rely on well managed records both from recording of calls and back-up from the customers as these give firsthand information and hence better communicate the feeling of the customers that second-hand information due to lack of records Provide four (4) activities you will be involved in as a manager Retrieving information from the call centres and emails to get firsthand information about complaints. The manager will ensure that the staff is motivated and hence carry out their task with morale to ensure achievement of the service standards. Undertake the evaluation of the complaints and recommend the necessary policy changes and oversee their implementations. I will further ensure that the resolution for policy changes is communicated to our customers at all time and ensure the incorporation of their feedbacks. f) Quality Customer Service Programs Identify and explain an industry relevant scheme or accreditation program that you could introduce into your business to ensure quality customer service What accreditation schemes can your organisation sign up with? – Customer service Institute of Australia? ATAP (Australian Tourism Accreditation Programme are examples. Our company will sign up for ATAP and Customer Service Institute since it is a Service Industry. This sign-up will help us legally conduct our business in a professional manner which will instil faith and trust amongst our customers. This framework will ensure that our operations have a base and regulated in order to ensure provisions of quality service.√ g) Conclusion Outline the benefits of a Quality Customer Service Plan in your establishment. What are the benefits to the following stakeholders? Customers Quality customer service engages employees to enhance quality production hence necessary steps are taken to solve noted problems. This culminates to increase customer’s satisfaction and hence become loyal to the firm. Employees Employees become engaged thus use their efforts to provide the best. At the same time, being internal customers, they benefit based on the improved customers quality services as the firm become considerate and cooperative with them. Owners Owners benefit from increased firm reputation which leads to customers’ loyalty and hence increased revenue for the expansion of the business and profits. Suppliers Suppliers are assured of their money based on the increased customer satisfaction with culminated into sales and hence continuous supple chain.√ Read More