Customer Service Class 9 Notes

Customer Service Class 9 Notes provide a clear understanding of the importance of customer satisfaction in the retail industry. These notes explain key concepts such as customer needs, effective communication, handling complaints, and building customer relationships.

Customer Service Class 9 Notes

Session 1: Customer Needs and Service

Distinction between customer and consumer

A customer is someone who purchases a product or service, while a consumer is the one who uses or consumes it. Marketing helps convert customers into consumers. Satisfied consumers will not only become customers but also promote the marketer and their products and services.

Identifying customers’ needs and behaviour

The buying level of any customer depends on their needs. Customers’ demand can vary depending on the place and age group. The marketer should identify, emphasise, and satisfy customer needs.

Based on the type of products

The customers’ needs can be divided into two types: demand for tangible and non-tangible products.

• Tangible products: These products are those which can be touched and felt and are known as tangible products.
• Intangible products: These products are those which cannot be touched or felt and are known as intangible products.

Basic needs of customer

Following are the basic needs of the customer:

• Give a warm welcome to the customer.
• Understanding and appreciating the views, expressions, circumstances, and feelings of the customer.
• Every customer wants to be treated fairly.
• The customers need to be fulfilled at the earliest with a positive outcome.
• There should be options and alternatives available for the customer.

To identify the customer needs, the retailer must do these three things:

• Communicate effectively and satisfy their needs.
• Look for different ways to record customer feedback.
• Use feedback to take effective decisions regarding marketing, buying, merchandising and selling.

Role of customer services in retail

Successful customer service can increase the faith of the store. Good customer service should focus on:

• Building a relationship with the customer.
• Customer service can build customer loyalty.
• Building competitive advantage.

Elements of customer services

• The basic elements of customer services which make it good are as follows:
• Communication skills
• Effective ‘face-to-face’ interactions with customers
• The art of listening to customers
• Handling customers’s grievances smoothly
• Adopting a new, different perspective
• Monitoring and measuring effectiveness

Advantages of customer service

The advantages of providing customer services are as follows:

• Helps in serving customers better.
• Increases customer revenues.
• Helps in acquiring new customers.
• Aids in selling products more effectively.
• Helps sales staff to close deals.
• Helps in developing or enhancing the value proposition offered to customers.
• Enhances customer loyalty.
• Retains customers to increase profits.
• Helps in focused customer delivery and support based on the customer’s segment.

Session 2: Effective Customer Service

Effective customer service

Always remember that a satisfied customer contributes more in retail for years through purchases and recommends and refers to others as well.

Deal effectively with customers.

• In order to deal with your customer effectively, you need to:
• Be friendly with the customer.
• Ask the right questions to understand the needs of the customer.
• Recommend the items to the customer and clarify the features and benefits.
• Follow the customer policy and try to resolve the issues respectfully.
• Help customers to get items that are not currently in stock by placing a special order.
• Use all types of methods of payment.
• Handle complaints courteously and sympathetically.

Effective ways to build customer rapport

A retailer should know that building rapport with customers is important for providing good service or increasing sales. Here are some tips for building customer rapport.

• Be adaptable: A retailer should adjust their approach based on the situation or needs.
• Pace and lead: when the customer gets angry, then the salesperson must show concern and solve the problem.
• Allow them to get it all out: when an angry customer comes to a retail store, then all the customer wants is to get it all out; after that, the salesperson can solve their problems.
• Repeat again: once the customer speaks their issues, repeat the main points back to them.
• Get the customer name first: The salesperson should use the customer’s name while discussing the issue with the customer.
• Make the customer’s problem the retailer’s problem: The retailer should treat the customer’s problem as their own.
• See it from the customer’s point of view: try to imagine how the customer feels and what they’re going through.
• Share their priorities: The retailer makes the customer their priority and addresses their concerns on priority by taking care of them.
• Remember the value of an apology: every retailer should know the value of an apology.
• Retailers don’t have to have ‘things in common’: some retailers do not have anything in common with their customers and will therefore be unable to build a rapport.
• Don’t rush: sometimes the retailer can identify issues on a regular basis and then rush to rectify the problem quickly.
• Smile: The salesperson should always interact with the customer with a smile.
• Personal interest in customer benefits: The retailer can build a rapport with the customer by showing personal interest in the customer benefits.
• Display good listening skills: every retailer should show their listening skills by assuring the customer that you are listening by repeating what the customer says.
• Remain focused: stay fully focused on the customer and do not distract him/her.
• Avoid assumptions: Do not assume what the customer is saying — actively listen!
• End on a high: Always ask the customer if there is anything else you can do for them before they leave.
• Smile through the complaints: the salesperson needs to always smile, even when the customer is complaining.
• Beware of inappropriate jokes: everyone must be careful with humour. Sometimes there is a risk of a jokey comment.

Session 3: Organisation Standards

Standards of staff appearance in retail

Standards of dressing and appearance are perceived to offer a number of benefits to the organisation, such as alignment of employee’s appearance with the organisation’s brand, the professionalisation of job roles, the creation of a sense of organisational identity and health and safety concerns.

• Overall appearance: The retail staff should maintain their standard of appearance.
• Dress code: The employees’ dress code must be unique in all aspects, like age, gender, religion and culture.
• Hair: The hair should be well-tied and well-coloured.
• Identity cards with company logo: ID cards mainly include the name, photo, job title and designation of the employee.
• Body language: Understanding body language is a very important aspect of personal appearance.
• Cosmetics: The make-up should be sober, not obtrusive or excessive.
• Tattoos: Quarter, half and full sleeve tattoos must be covered at all times.

Precautions to be taken by male staff

The precautions for male staff are as given below:

• The prescribed uniform should be neat and clean and ironed.
• Hair must be short, clean and tidy.
• One is expected to have a clean-shaven look.
• Nails should be cut or trimmed neatly at regular intervals.
• Avoid earrings and bracelets during official hours.

Precautions to be taken by female staff

The precautions for female staff are as given below:

• Female staff with long hair should tie their hair at all times during official hours.
• No flowers hooked on the hair are desirable.
• Avoid dark-coloured nail paints and long nails.
• No heavy jewellery should be worn.
• Don’t wear dangling earrings, noisy anklets and bangles on the floor.
• Apply light make-up

Behaviour in the organisation

Various aspects of effective behaviour and dealing with customers, colleagues and superiors.

1. Dealing with customers

Some of the guidelines are as given below:

• Every salesman should encounter, meet or talk to the customer.
• Treat everyone with respect and dignity.
• The staff should be aware of the trends, changes taking place in the market, tastes and habits of the customers.
• The staff should listen carefully and intently to their customers and demonstrate respect.
• The salesperson should be comfortable discussing both small and big numbers of customers.

2. Dealing with colleagues

Dealing with colleagues is a very important aspect. It builds the relationship between the colleagues.

• A salesperson should behave decently and politely with colleagues.
• The competition among the colleagues should be avoided.
• Avoid misunderstandings with colleagues.
• Try praising the competitive co-worker for work well done.
• Take competition positively, not personally.

Session 4: Customer Expectation

Meaning of customer expectation

If the actual experience of the customer is less than the perceived value, the customer will be dissatisfied or disappointed.

Identifying customer expectation

If the retailer is unable to fulfil the customer expectations, their existence will not last for long and their reputation will be tarnished. Some of the modes of identifying customer expectations are as follows:

• Concept meets reality: every customer wants his/her expectations to meet with reality.
• Conversation with customers: Conversation with the customer is also a way of identifying the customer’s needs and customer expectations.
• Group feedback: Group feedback makes sense for a whole group of customers for feedback in parts.
• Gain insights from the community: Many people use social media, where they speak freely and openly. Retailers take the feedback from there and identify the customer expectations.

Customer expectations from retailer

Given below are some of the latest customer expectations which are met by retail stores:

• Personalisation of goods or services: Every customer likes when a product or advice matches their personal needs.
• More options: Every customer wants many options in a product, such as product variety, quality, etc.
• Listen closely, respond quickly: Every customer wants retailer information quickly and accurately.
• Give front-liners more control: Customers ’expecting from front-line service executives should understand the type of problem.

Confirm customer expectation.

After identifying the customer’s expectation, the retail organisation representative should confirm it in the most effective manner, which is as follows:

• By calling the customer
• By providing extra services

Responding to customers appropriately

Customer needs are very important; after identifying the customer needs, every salesperson has to respond accordingly.

• Find their real need.
• Fulfil the customer need.
• Meet our customer needs with appropriate products.
• Give an honest explanation.

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