AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES OF PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER Essay

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES OF PROVIDING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE - Essay Example This essay will explicate customer service and its recent trends, its good and negative practices, the disadvantages of bad customer service, its difficulties and how to improve this as a profession. Customer Service: The Basic Customer service relates to marketing and sale of product to a customer from manufacturer to targeted end-user (La Londe and Zinser, 1976). In this service, there is so much need about worker’s availability, reliability, quality delivery of services, responsiveness, organizational ability, communication skill and flexibility. While valuing customer, the customer service representative (CSR) should integrate quality service to develop customer retention and to inculcate competitive advantage in the marketing arena. As such, this means that the CSR is able to contribute improve the profitability of the company. Positive Customer service It is perceived that positive customer service is characterized with sensitivity to buy and sell transactional relations , sufficient knowledge on the crossing-points in the supply chain viz-a-viz marketing orientation, organization in performing tasks and good cognizance of the factors relating to buying-and-sell situation. The customer must therefore be knowledgeable on standard product or service delivery system; immediately recognize critical service problems; develop customer communication system; and have ability to build relations with clients. Kano, Seraku, Takahasi,& Tsuji (1984) explained that positive service is obtain whenever customer satisfaction and marketing strategies are achieved through quality management. Kano et.al (1984). This refers to the ability of the customer representative to meet the six quality attributes. These factors are basic entry threshold toward customer fulfillment, excitement factor, and performance ability (Kano et.al, 1984). Other factors are the indifferent, questionable and reverse attributes. The latter are not much regarded by customers though (Kano et.al., 1984). It is essential however that the customer service representative is able to articulate to customer the basic features of the product or service sold and relate with flexibility, simplicity, adjustability and cost (Kano et.al,1984). As workers, they must be able to balance the financial, customer, business processes and learning perspectives while tending to clients. Financial factor refers to an attribute of being knowledgeable on company’s financial data, including automation of financial processing, to keep them abreast on market risks and to ascertain cost-benefit of investment (Kano et.al,1984). On customer sensitivity, performance management CSR must be able to meet reasonably the customers’ needs and satisfaction (Kano et.al,1984). On the business side, CSR should know how to contribute in strategic management because his task is ultimately linked with the overall goal of the company he or she represents (Kano et.al,1984). He is part of the support process es. Balancing views on these factors can help bolster the performance of the company. It assists in integrating quality and customer service programs for profit, reliability, influence, customer empathy and to ensure quality assurance (Kano et.al,1984).