A2 Customer Expectations

A2 Customer expectations and satisfaction

• Different types of customer, including:

o internal and external customers and the differences between them

o customer personalities, such as aggressive, quiet, demanding

o customers with special requirements, e.g. different language or culture, age, gender, families, special needs such as visual, hearing or mobility.

• Customer complaints: o understanding the risk to the business of not dealing with complaints.

• Customer expectations and satisfaction, including:

o anticipation of good service, reliable information or service, offering different options, impact of advertisements, reputation, word of mouth, recommendations from others

o importance of responding to customer needs, exceeding customer expectations through providing additional help and assistance, dealing promptly with problems, offering discounts, offering additional products or services, providing exceptional help and assistance for customers with special requirements

o balancing customer satisfaction with business goals, aims and objectives.

Different Types of Customer

There are two types of customer that a business has to deal with- internal and external. You are an external customer whjen you inquire about or purchase a product of service and you are an internal customer if you work for the company.

Internal Customers

This includes employees in different departments including sales, hr, marketimng and customer service. All of these employees are also considered customers. Each department cannot work successfully without the others. People who work very closely with a business but are employed by another business are also considered customers.

External Customers

These are what we typically think of as customers, people who but something from the business.

Both internal and external customers make up the team and rely on each other to ensure business success.

Numbered Heads Together

You will be put in groups with a member of the class who has experience of working in customer service.

Discuss the following questions.

What are the different types of customers you have experienced?

How did you deal with them?

Do you have a strategy to best deal with them?

Does the business you work for have a set way of dealing with awkward customers?

Customer Personalities

We all have different personalities and experiences. Some people are much easier to relate to than others but, in business, you have to make the effort to get along with everyone.

Whatever your role in a business, you will encounter customers, whether internal or external, with different personality types including those who act defensively, arrogantly, in a menacing fashion or in a passive-aggressive fashion. Demanding customers are the most challenging and need to be handled with care. Aggressiveness is unhelpful and disruptive and can cost businesses money and lose them customers. Other customers may be very quiet. This may be because they are thinking about what they need or because they are shy or may even have a learning difficulty. Whatever the reason it is important that you show respect.

Customers with Special Requirements

Some customers that you encounter may have special requirements that you should be aware of and respect .

Language- It can be challenging to understand someone whose first language is not the same as your own and it can be equally challenging for them to understand you. Different accents and dialects can also lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
Culture- Different cultures have their own etiquette. It is important to respect this without falling into the trap of stereotyping people from other cultures.
Ageism -The 2009 Equality Bill was passed in the UK to tackle ageism. Care needs to be taken when asking someone's age in a delicate situation. For example, a cinema ticket seller requesting evidence for a ticket concession.
Gender- Existing legislation aims to stop discrimination on the basis of gender. regardless of the sector that you work in customers should always be treated with respect.
Family friendly- While many businesses promote their family-friendly policies (such as Travelodge, McDonalds and Pizza Hut), some businesses are not so welcoming. Furniture and Electrical shops may be less suitable for families with young children.
Customers with particular needs, for example visual, hearing or mobility conditions, may require assistance, for example with:

-reading small print

-hearing in a noisy environment

-avoiding obstacles

-carrying purchases to a vehicle

-packing at the check out

Customer Expectations and Satisfaction

We know that customer expectations and satisfaction are not always matched by the service or products they receive. However, there are many examples where customers are satisfied and their expectations are met or even exceeded.

Anticipation of good service- Customers anticipate and generally receive good service from retailers such as Waitrose, John Lewis and M&S which are renowned for exchanging or replacing goods that do not meet expectations. It could be fair to assume that a business which survives is meeting its customers' expectations.

Reliable Information or Service- Customers expect to receive reliable information about products and services. However, Ronseal, which has traded on their promise of "Does exactly what it says on the tin" for more tha 20 years, is rethinking its strapline with the introduction of different containers. Claims such as these can leave a bsuiness open tocomplaints if they do not live up to the promise.

Offering Different Options- A customer may not always know what they want or need, A retail sales assistant's job can be to give them advice in a tactful way aiming to meet the customer's needs.

Impact of advertisements- Customers expect products to fulfill the promises made in their adverts. Adverts should only contain features included in the products they sell.

Reputation- The most effective way of keeping existing customers and gaining new ones is through a good reputation. Business reputation can be spread rapidly and widely by posting online comments, for example on websites such as TripAdvisor. By mid 2015 more than 250 million reviews had been posted on TripAdvisor about more than 5.2 million businesses adn properties.

Word of mouth/recommendations from others- This is a longstanding means of spreading a business's reputation and means that people are more likely to rely on the word of others, especially personal recommendations, when deciding which business to use. This might be a tradesman, for example an electrician, or a restaurant, hotel, beauty salon or garage.

Importance of responding to customer needs- You should always try to respond to customers' needs appropriately- try to be polite, respectful and keep calm. Unfortunately, many businesses promise a great product but do not always supply it. Customer's will tell others when a business meets their needs and when they do not. This can have an effect on the businesses reputation and affect sales.

Exceeding customer expectations through providing additional help and assistance- Some supermarkets provide exceptional customer service and exceed expectations, leaving a positive and lasting impression. If there is a lengthy delay and customers have to repeat the same information to different people in order to resolve a problem they are more likely to share their negative experiences.

Offering Discounts- Most customers enjoy a bargain and discounts are a good way for businesses to gain extra business. Customers may expect the discount to be calculated prior to purchase by an employee and rely on them to have accurate numeracy skills. If these are done inaccurately or not applied at the point of sale, customers can be dissatisfied. BOGOF offers are also used where the customer receives two for the price of one.

Offering Additional Products or Services- Some businesses promote additional products or services as a means of enticing customers to spend more or buy from their business. Sometimes accessories are offered at a discounted rate or even for free to help make a sale. Additional services or products to help ease dissatisfied customers.

Providing Exceptional Help and Assistance for Customers with Special Needs- Local authorities provide mobility scooters and some supermarkets also make them available for a small charge, or provide specially adapted shopping trolleys to accommodate wheelchair users. Some supermarkets often have staff available to escort shoppers whatever their specific needs or disabilities. Sainbury's introduced braille signage in late 2011 but other supermarkets have not yet adopted this practice.

Balancing Customer Satisfaction with Business Goals, Aims and Objectives- It can be difficult to balance the needs and wants of customers with business expectations. For example, customers may expect discounts or sale offers on certain products, such as sofas or cars, but this expectation, and the desire to ensure customer satisfaction, must be balanced against a business's goal of making a profit. Another example could be a contact centre staff member trying to reach a set target of resolved calls while also ensuring that customers feel that their problem has been dealt with appropriately and to their satisfaction.

Customer Complaints

The Ombudsman reported that, in the first ten months of 2015, there were more than 15500 complaints about communications providers alone made by the British public.

The way in which customer complaints are managed can defuse a situation and prevent the complaint from getting out of hand. Simple approaches can lead to a satisfactory and speedy resolution. This resolution can often be reached by talking to the person and listening to them. It is important to keep the customer informed about what is happening.

Below are two examples of situations where businesses did not meet customer expectations, leading to complaints.

In the summer of 2015 many households in the North West of England had to boil water for drinking after parasites were found to be contaminating water supplies.

In the Summer of 2012 RBS Natwest experienced problems with their online services for several days, leaving 12 million customers unable to withdraw money or make transactions.

Ofcom often publish reports and statistics about complaints in communication in the communications industry. Can you identify any trends.

The Risks of Not Dealing With Complaints

While it might be tempting to avoid complaints, they should be seen as an opportunity for the business or employee to improve. In the next section we will see how asking the right question is key when dealing with unhappy customers.

A complaining customer needs time to get the problem off their chest. Don't interrupt them- it will not speed up the solution. By listening, you are also showing empathy with the customer.

Businesses need to listen and respond to their customers. In the 1980s, Coca Cola announced it was changing the famous formula of their beverage, leading to numerous complaints and a rapid reinstatement of the original formula.

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