Customer service is part of everyone's job regardless of whether the business is in the private or public sector, a sole trader or a large organisation. Satisfied customers are more likely to continue taking their business back to the same company or individual, whether they are buying a meal, a drink, a mobile phone contract, clothing or a holiday etc.

Which person in the picture represents good customer services?

Which person represents bad customer services?

All businesses will have many policies covering a wide range of areas in relation to their operations, some will be formal (written documentation) and others informal (verbal). They must also have legal requirements, for example following legal guidelines when disposing of toxic waste or clearly explaining terms and conditions to customers.

Without proper procedures in place, employees would be unclear about their roles and some jobs would be duplicated while others may be overlooked. Sometimes there are legal requirements, for example paying taxes forms the basis for accounts procedures to ensure that the correct amounts are deducted from salaries or when completing a self-assessment tax return.

Some people find it hard to comply with rules, but they are there for a reason, very often to provide protection. Everyone needs rules, not only to protect them but also to bring some order to how they behave. Although you may not agree with erevy rule, rules are needed so as to know your limits and boundaries.

Of course, there are exceptions, for example when rules are not properly thought through, they are wrongly conveyed or misinterpreted, or there are simply too many.

Policy
A customer service policy is a written code of conduct for employees to usewhen  serving customers. It could include how to respond to questions or deal with disgruntled customers who want refunds. A policy can be short or it can be detailed with more than a page. The policy may state what is expected when a certain situation occurs or appropriate steps to take action. Typically, managers determine the policy and include it within the employee handbook.

Procedure
A customer service procedure is a way of doing a routine practice. In customer service there is certain protocol that must be taken in order to remain competitive. Finding a better or faster way of doing something can be considered a customer service procedure. Managers are given the responsibility of completing job performance evaluations to see where weak links can be rectified. This leads to increased efficiency and better customer service.

What Companies Should Do
Companies should look for new opportunities to improve customer service policies and procedures. Employees and managers alike should look for new methods to help and serve customers. Write new customer service policies and procedures every year there is a meaningful change to the objective of the job. Gain input from external and internal customers. The external customers are the people who buy the product, while internal customers are employees of the company. Feedback and surveys are fundamental to transferring policies and procedures. Once, these are reviewed, proper steps can be taken to enhance customer service policies and procedures.

What Companies Can Do
Companies can create better strategies in business with ever-improving customer service policies and procedures. For instance, policies can allow for leadership to flourish among employees. Management can encourage this behavior with training and employee motivation perks. The best way is by stating what is required as an employee with steps, and rewarding the employees who meet the standards. An example of customer service policies and procedures can be found in the reference section.

What Companies Must Do
Every company must be confident in its customer service policies and procedures. These rules must be effective, clear and precise according to the company product. Establishing feedback mechanisms, polite manners and positive appearance will make any company better when properly implemented. Managers must take time to determine priorities for customer service policies and procedures.

Different types of business will interact with their customers in different ways asn so customer service can look very different across different businesses.

Retail Shops

These tend to sell physical items/ tangible goods and so the sales assistants require  specialist knowledge, good communication skills and effective selling skills. Businesses want to sell products in order to make profit and often customers will require help or extra information before committing to a purchase. Again depending on the type of shop different business will have different specialist knowledge with some being more technical than others. The amount of money the customer is spending will also affect the amount of information they may need about the product.

Staff must be trained on product knowledge and their knowledge must be updated when they work in fast-moving industries such as technology. In some stores, staff are trained to be specialists in a niche range of products.

The ultimate goal of a sales assistant is to sell a given product. The following interpersonal skills are required by sales assistants in order to be effective.

• Listening Skills

• Good Manners

• Avoiding Jargon

• Engaging

• Confidence

• Questioning skills

• Credibility 

• Integrity

• Listening Skills

Customers need to have confidence in the information they are given therefore credibility and integrity are important skills as well as being persuasive. The following skills are also important.

• The ability to understand the customer's needs and wants

• Patience- Customers may change their mind

• The ability to articulate clearly

• Non-Verbal Communication- Watch  for body language and unspoken signals

• Politeness and good manners- These are commonly highly valued by customers

• Smiling- Avoid being over pushy

• Mindfulness of language barriers and cultural differences

• Communicating responses and information clearly and accurately

• Resisting making promises that cannot be kept

• Good time management, which includes punctuality and ability to work to tight deadlines

Offices for businesses selling non-tangible services

Some businesses never meet the customer face-to-face, for example those providing information about utilities such as gas or electricity will generally be over the phone or online, perhaps through a comparsion website. There are many types of businesses where sales personnel are selling something that is non tangible., Such as advice from a solicitor or services of a bank. The different methods of communication used in offices include:

• Face-to-face customer contact- For example, solicitors often meet with customers personally and are less likely to communicate by email due to the sensitive nature of enquiries.

• Online- For example, banks such as Natwest now have a strong online presence as well as high street branches, but there are also  purely online banks such as First Direct; banks also make online customer contact through web chats 

• Written- Solicitors, for example mostly rely on sending letters, producing legal documentation as hard copy, however, as with most professions, specialist language is used internally which can be difficult for customers to interpret.

• Telephone-Apple provide customers with a case number which they can refer to in the future to help resolve outstanding queries; the travel industry continues to use telephone sales, in particular, tailor-made travel such as that provided by the businesslike Trailfinders and other tour operators.

Banks are a good example of how customer service has changed for a non-tangible product. Traditionally, banks were run by a bank manager who met with customers and had responsibility for their accounts. Bank tellers managed over-the-counter transactions. Cash machines (ATMs) were then introduced in 1967 by Barclays, cutting down on human contact. Online banking was the next step, introduced in the 1980's.

Contact Centres

Contact centres employ staff who make telephone contact with customers. These staff require a number of specific skills, many of which we have discussed previously. Staff often follow a script but should still ensure that they use listening skills to fully understand each customer's needs.

Businesses have to operate within time limitations, Staff working in contact centres will be expected to respond to a call within a given time, just as they will b expected to respond to the customer's enquiry within a certain time. Consider the impact this on both the customer and the call centre operative in situations such as:

• Reporting a gas leak or power outage

• Seeking software and technological support

• Calling emergency services

Hospitality Industry

Employees in the hospitality industry often work long hours and are also governed by deadlines. For example, people serving in fast food restaurants are expected to identify and make up the customer order, take payment and be courteous at all times and being well organised, regardless of whether toy are working in a fast food restaurant or a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Additional skills will be required in more upmarket restaurants which often operate silver service, where specially trained staff follow specific codes of etiquette.