Manage and Develop Team - Innovative Widgets - Assignment Example

I ask relevant questions to get a better understanding of the problem and I paraphrase or summarise the problem of the customer in my own words to ensure quality service delivery. I use verbal prompts and maintain good eye contact with the customers to show my sincere interest in their problems. I know that customers always want their problems to be reported easily, acknowledged dealt with fairly, sensitively, and quickly. I know that it is necessary to minimize the possibility of making calls to customers to inquire about the complaint again and escalate their problems, not to be resolved in my capacity, to higher authorities in the organization instantly to avoid customer dissatisfaction. I record the problem of the customer and keep the customer updated about the necessary action taken for resolving the problem and ensure the recurring of such problems. I ensure the three important steps of handling customer complaints which include taking minute details of the customer complaint, dealing with the customer and complaint fairly and sincerely, and following up after the problem (George, Graham, and Lennard, 2005).

Being a team leader of customer service of Innovative Widgets I ensure the application of techniques and strategies for resolving routine and non-routine complaints and continuous improvement in the ability of my team members. I monitor the team's performance minutely to recognize areas for improvement to improve the team member’s ability to provide quality customer service to customer specifications and organizational policy and procedures on behalf of the simulated business. I also assist my team members in handling customer complaints. I noticed that my one team member, Mary, was not talking politely to customers on several occasions and she often let the phone ring or place the customers on hold. One day, she misunderstood the problem of a regular customer and argued with the customer.

She accused the customer of being unreasonable as Innovative Widgets is an industry leader in guaranteeing three-day delivery. After the misunderstanding was clear, Mary was unsure about tracking the order or reordering the products and narrated the inability of Innovative Widgets’ procedures in resolving the issue. This incident alarmed me and I immediately decided to start a training session for my team members to improve their performance as only improved complaint management can influence customers positively. There are various training methods, but I prefer the GROW model (or process) for setting goals and solving problems. ‘G’ of the GROW model refers to the Goal of customer satisfaction, ‘R’ refers to the Reality of the issues and challenges associated with achieving the goal, ‘O’ refers to Obstacles and Options available while ‘W’ refers to the Way Forward (Alexander, 2010). Read More