Customer Service 
 
 
 
 

American University of Culture & Education 

Prepared by: Bassem El Ahmar 

   
 1. Introduction
A customer relation is a business term that refers to the interaction between a company and
its customers. All companies have customer relations, even those that choose to ignore how
the company relates to its customers. A customer relation is one of the only areas where a
small business can have an advantage over a large corporation, since many customers like the
intimacy of dealing with a small group of people.

a. Significance
It is easy for a company to place the task of pleasing its customers solely on the shoulders of
its customer service department. This approach can miss many opportunities to please
customers, and it can cause issues for customer. Customer relations cover more than just
helping customers with issues. Every employee within the company should keep the
customer in mind as she goes about her job. When a marketing manager designs an ad
campaign, or when a logistics manager develops an internal process, they need to seriously
consider how their customers will be affected. Different divisions of a company will affect
customers in different ways, but if everyone keeps the customer in mind, there will be fewer
issues that have to be dealt with by customer service.

b. Sales
The sales process is often the first time a company will interact with a customer, and just like
in personal relationships, first impressions mean a lot. A sales staff needs to make the
customer feel welcomed and happy about doing business with them. Aggressive sales tactics
might close more deals in the short term, but if you make customers feel uneasy about the
process, they are less likely to make future purchases from the company. The sales and
marketing staff also have to be up-front about issues or limitations with the product or
service, to prevent future issues for the customer service department.

c. Customer Service
While the entire company should care about customer relations, the customer service
department has the largest effect on it. The customer service staff needs to be adequately
trained, since these are the people who customers go to when they need answers. Poorly
trained or poorly skilled customer service representatives can leave a customer angry and
bewildered. In the same vein, the company has to give the customer service staff enough
power to resolve issues for the customers. The failure to provide decision making power to
the customer service reps makes them ineffective at helping customers.

d. Benefits
The two main benefits of good customer relations are the repeat business of a customer, and
the additional sales that are referred by that customer. Good customer relations has a few
more benefits that might not be as apparent. When everyone in the company keeps the
customer in mind, it produces less work for the customer service department, meaning that
the company needs to hire fewer people to handle complaints. Companies with good
customer service also will tend to have happier employees, especially in the customer service
department, since they will spend less time fighting against internal processes and policies
when trying to help the customer. Having good customer relations also will free up the
directors and executives to keep their thoughts on sales generation instead of constantly
handling customer service issues.

e. Misconceptions
Despite the old saying about the customer always being right, customer relations is a
balancing act between giving your customers what they want and making the company
money. All companies have customers who are willfully ignorant of the limitations of a
product or service, but then purchase it anyway and demand that they be satisfied by the
company. There also will be customers who make outrageous demands after having to
contact customer service over a minor error on the company's part. A strong company with
good customer relations always will attempt to please every customer, but also will know
where to draw the line. No matter what business you are in, there will be a small percentage
of customers who are always unhappy.

2. Maximizing value
he benefits of Customer Dynamics optimization include managing the risks associated with
compliance and fraud, streamlining operations to run efficiently and effectively, providing a
customer experience that sets you apart from your competition, and expanding value beyond
the contact center into sales and marketing organizations, the back office, and ultimately, the
entire enterprise.

a. Ensure Compliance and Manage Risk

At a fundamental level, Customer Dynamics optimization helps your organization comply
with regulations and policies, reduce business risk, manage disputes and recognize fraudulent
intent, both internal and external. Capturing cross-channel interactions, intelligent archiving
and quick retrieval are key capabilities needed to achieve these benefits.

b. Streamline Operations
When you’re able to look closely at all the ways your company interacts with customers, it’s
easy to see where efficiency can be improved, without compromising service. Insights into
reducing handle time, resolving issues on first contact, improving staff utilization and
maximizing contact channel usage are fundamental to Customer Dynamics optimization. You
can make sure that the routine contacts are handled super efficiently freeing resources to
focus on the more critical ones.
 c. Differentiate the Customer Experience
A better understanding of your customers’ intend their wants, needs and desires reveals
insights into innovative ways you can deliver an experience above and beyond the
competition. Begin turning customer satisfaction into loyalty, creating customers for life.
Differentiation based on the customer experience is difficult for competitors to counter.

d. Expand Enterprise Value

When your organization is fully attuned to Customer Dynamics, it becomes easy to spot new
marketing opportunities, capitalize on sales opportunities and drive business growth.
Ultimately, Customer Dynamics optimization creates customers who are not just loyal in
their relationship with your business, they want to expand it.
 3. The elements of customer service
a. Consider this scenario

You have been staying at a five star resort on holidays at a destination you had to fly eight
hours to reach followed by an hour in a taxi. Your check-in experience was delightful. A
welcoming band, a glass of sparkling wine, personal service you did not have to wait for and
you were shown to your room by a smiling, informed and informative attendant who did not
expect a tip for their services.

The room was delightful with a balcony overlooking the sea. The amenities at the resort were
truly first class. They included a championship golf course, spa, gym, indoor and outdoor
swimming pools, tennis courts, four restaurants, a child minding service and a wide range of
activities and tour options. You were paying top dollar but the facilities were worth it.

There were a few glitches though; probably no-one's fault. Your first night at your choice of
restaurant, you were turned away as they were full. Apparently, you should have been told at
check-in to book early as that restaurant was always popular. Your second night when you
had booked early, you were put into a small alcove off the kitchen, almost as if you were an
afterthought. You had trouble getting the waiter's attention from your position and went
without drinks for most of the night. The food was good though.

Golf was much more expensive than you thought, but you were really surprised how much
they charged for the hire of the clubs and shoes. What is more, it rained very heavily from the
fourth hole and by the ninth you were soaked. You asked if you could stop playing and get a
refund as the course was almost unplayable and you did not come all this way to get a
drenching. You were informed that under club rules the course was not unplayable, so you
could not get a refund.

Aside from these irritations and the cancellation of a tour you had wanted to go on because
there were insufficient numbers the stay was enjoyable with many highlights, such as the
really friendly and helpful spa staff who made your time so relaxing you wanted to go again
and again.

• Did you get good customer service?

• Would you come back to this resort?
• Was it value for money when you considered the travel and cost?

Only you will know because customer service is judged by customers. It depends on what
they value and perceive and their mood.
 4. Why is customer service important?
Because of what customers do if they perceive they have received poor customer service:

• 80% of people who do not receive good service do not complain

• 73% complain when things go badly wrong
• A person who does complain tells nine people
• 12-16% leave without registering a complaint after receiving poor service
• 10-30% of customers leave after one complaint
• >80% leave if they have experienced three or more mistakes
• 5% increase in retention increases profits by 25-125%
• Acquiring new customers can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining
current customers

5. What are the elements of customer service?

a. Information / Advice

• When customers become aware of a need to buy, they seek information and advice. A
customer buying a bed needs information and advice on what different kinds of beds
are available and the different benefits they bring. They need to know where they can
buy beds, what prices are available, what terms are available, what delivery options
are available, what warranties there are amongst a few.
• Giving good information and advice is our first opportunity to deliver customer
service and encourage a customer to continue their buying journey with us.
• Having good information easily available where the customers we would like to have
tended to look for information ensures that we get our fair share of prospects.

b. Price

• Getting a price that seems fair is important to customers. Getting a price that fits their
budget is also important. Pushing customers to buy more than they can afford destroys
customer loyalty and is not good customer service.
• Achieving a perceived price reduction is important to some customers. Understanding
against what bench mark the price reduction must be perceived, e.g. list price,
competitor price, first offered price, allows us to build into our pricing strategy
opportunities for customers to receive this perceived element of customer service. An
example is a price guarantee.

c. Quality

Quality is measured in five ways.

• Performance
o Did the product perform the way the advertising said it would?
 o Did the product perform the way I expected it would?
• Conformance to standards
o Does the product or service conform to a known standard? e.g. AS/NZ
Standards, ISO Standards, Government Standards
• Product/Service features
o Are the features of this service or product what I thought they would be?
• Reliability
o Does this product or service operate the way it is supposed to all the time?
• Durability (for a product)
o Does this product have a life time which matches my expectation?

d. Personal approach

A customer's perception of service depends on their mood and, in order, these three
categories of personal approach:

• Concern
o When interacting with a customer we must show concern for the customer
rather than our policy or meal break or other such internal issue

• Congeniality
o Matching the environment of surroundings and staff appearance and posture
helps customers perceive that service is good. Having staff with gravity
defying hairstyles and playing grunge music in the foyer of an hotel seeking to
attract business customers is unlikely to engender a sense of good service

• Civility
o Using rude language and aggressive body language are obvious destroyers of
the perception of service. However, so are over friendly terms, slang and over
officious terms

6. Perceived cost
• Absolute price
• Relative price
o To budget
o To competition
o To like purchases
• Inconvenience
o Distance
o Time taken
o Time of day
o Difficulty in completing purchase
 a. Convenience

Travelling a long way, having to fill out forms in triplicate, being passed through several
hands or just being put on hold for five minutes are all perceived as elements of poor
customer service. The converse is true.

b. Follow up

Experiencing buyer's remorse can make the best service appear to be poor service.
Following up buyers by means of a telephone call, an email, a web survey or using
loyalty schemes ensures either the customer's belief that they have made a good purchase
or that you will able to rectify a fault immediately.

7. What is Fair Value?

Customers evaluate perceived price and perceived benefit to determine whether they have
received fair value.

Perceived benefit

• Features
• Advantages
• Benefits
• Sense of belonging (fashionableness)

When the perceived benefit equals the perceived cost, customers perceive they receive fair
value. For instance, a clean room with a working air conditioner, in a reasonably quiet
location with friendly staff and a food outlet nearby is seen as fair value for, say, $90 per
night at a country hotel and is seen as fair value as a five star resort with all the amenities for
$350 per night.

Receiving elements of five star services at a country hotel for $90 per night is seen as
exceptional value, whilst receiving "only" country hotel style service at a five star resort is
seen as poor value.

Customer service must match the expectations of customers based on the value they expect