STUDENTS' CORNER - 98

A good customer service has certain qualities of supreme significance. Promptness leads them. To a customer who has sought the service, the fulfillment of the need must not be delayed and of course never to be denied in the sense that suggesting a substitute. Prompt service inspires confidence in the customer as it gives the feeling of respect to him. It may not be loudly expressed but it never fails to be experienced. Politeness, that is, pleasing good manners, goes a very long way to keep the customer with the company.  Politeness crosses the interest of money and touches upon the human feelings of care and attention.  Politeness gets an edge of refinement when it is coupled with professionalism.  In a way, professionalism comprises all these endearing qualities. And professionalism delivered with care and attention becomes sweetened with the quality of personalization.

All these attributes are fused into one another and this categorization only facilitates study.

Customer is a customer to the company ultimately, and this must not be forgotten.  It is the company that employs you and people like you. It only underscores a point that a customer is a customer to all the employees of the company; it is not that just the salesman remains friendly and the rest of the employees turn an inconsiderate support to the customer. This only points to the fact that the employees under one division, just for an example, remain a cohesive team reflecting the spirit of the customer service through.

Listening to the customer when he comes with some problem or complaints is an earnest expression of care and it gives the feeling to the customer that he is cared for and the supporting staff is trying to understand his problem.  The experience of being considerately listened to will not allow the customer to leave you at the earliest instance of discomfort.  After all, a customer retained is an assured source of revenue to the company.

A customer prefers a friendly employee since friendliness in dealing with the people pleases the customer. He will feel encourages asking for clarification of some doubts which have been troubling him for some time. And in the interaction with the customers, an employee or the support staff must be honest in whatever he says to the customer.  There is nothing wrong if an employee does not know some fact asked for by the customer and saying it out to the customer that he does not know it; however, he will find out and tell him later.

This leads us to another very important aspect in customer service scheme.  There is a possibility that the feedback the customer gives may have some really very significant point.  The employee must be open to new ideas and responses from any quarter.  Every customer may prove a source of some kind of learning about the customer behavior or a market detail. Therefore,  a marketing person must always have an open mind  and he must be able to derive some point of significance in every interaction he has with the customer.

The customer service, simple as it might sound, is a complex field.  It requires therefore constant training and development of the staff to be able to discharge efficient customer service on which depends the very edifice of business.

We have spent adequate time on the components of logistics and let us proceed to the next level of understanding of the logistics.