CUSTUMER SERVICE Vidalia Reyes 09/03/2014 KEY #18
Costco and the Power of High-Quality Relationships Retailing giant Costco has enjoyed substantial success at building customer loyalty. the warehouse outlets spend almost nothing on traditional advertising but have grown dramatically largely by word of mouth. in short, enthusiastic Costco customers tell other people. Costco, the wholesale club company, is a real-life example of how great customer relationships generate economic benefits. More than 80 percent of customers report a willingness to recommend Costco to their friends and associates. The company has grown to almost 50 million members despite spending next to nothing on advertising or marketing. While a typical discounter carries 40,000 (SKUs) (stock keeping units— essentially the number of products sold), Costco stores have only 4,500— only those items where it can provide outstanding value. sales per store are almost twice those at Sam`s Club, its closest competitor. Costco`s success funds a generous compensation package for its employees. New hires start at $10 an hour—high for the retail industry—and progress to $40,000 a year after three years. They receive a benefits package virtually unequalled in the industry. Low turnover and long tenure reduce hiring and training costs and boost productivity; they also contribute to Costco`s remarkably low inventory-shrinkage rate, which is only 13 percent of the industry average. The company eliminates bad profits through a generous return policy—there is no time limit on return e3xcept for a limit of one year on computer technology items. Costco`s earnings have grown at about 12 to 17 percent a year, over the past decade, even in a difficult economic environment.
WORD
MEANING
SENTENCE PICTURE
Internal Customer
All those who work inside the company.
My mother works at IGSS’s hospital. She’s a internal customer.
External Customer
All those who are outside the company and with whom we do business.
When I go to Mc’Donalds, I’m an external customer.
Word of Mouth
Personal opinion or recommendation given orally.
To have a good word of mouth is really important to have a business.
E- commerce
Purchasing and selling online.
I can buy all the cloth I want in my own house.
Reliability
Capable of being relied on; dependable.
Reliable things are the ones that make you feel safe.
Durability
A manufactured product, such as an automobile or a household appliance that can be used over a relatively long period without being depleted or consumed.
The best companies guarantee the durability of the products they offer.
Advertising
The activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media. Degree or grade of excellence.
There were a lot of ads in internet about their products.
Personnel
The persons that work in a company.
The personnel of the company is very kind.
Loyalty
The state or quality She has good of being loyal. loyalty.
Goodwill
The positive reputation of a business viewed as an asset, equal to the excess cost required to acquire the business over the fair market value of all other assets.
Quality
The quality of the products are excellent for the customers.
The company has a good will with the customers.
Globalization
Customer Service
The worldwide movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration The way that an organization deals with customers before, during and after a sale, and the activities involved in dealing with customers.
That company’s product is all around the world.
My father’s company has an excellent customer service.
Los Cebollines Restaurant
Slogan: ÂĄLa meritita comida mexicana!
Reason why we chose that resurant We chose this restaurant because it is one of the most famous restaurant in Guatemala, but sometimes it gives a poor and bad customer service, either in the cleaning or in the waiting time, it also gives different amount of food every time you go there.
Improvement Analysis Los Cebollines needs it to improve their portion's size quality because once, one of us went to that place and took the same order with her mother and her food was bigger than her mother's. Los Cebollines needs to improve a lot in their cleaning service, sometimes the bathrooms are not clean, the odor is terrible and sometimes they don´t have paper.
Customer Service Reading Name: ______________________________ Grade: _____ Key: ____ Date: _____ You are going to read an article about customer service in banks. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap. Write the letter in the space provided to complete the sentences. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A Although people do not expect much from the internet these days, this will change in the future. B The managers recognise that customers find them impersonal and unnatural. C First National is also preparing to adopt this personal approach to its internet banking. D They have the attitude that some skills, such as keyboard skills and so on, can be taught, but a member of staff can’t be taught to be a nice person. E Telephones are very personal because staff are speaking to people on their own territory. F And if customers try to contact the bank by telephone, they are put through to a call centre in another country where they have to speak slowly in order to be understood. G Not everyone wants a chatty, friendly service.
Customer Service in Banks The banking profession doesn’t have a very good reputation for customer service at the moment, and it’s not just due to loss of savings. High street branches are shutting down and where banks are available, their opening hours are inconvenient. Staff at the desks are surly, increasingly under-qualified and often unable to answer questions. E. Astonishingly, however, 86% of the customers at one bank are either ‘extremely satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service they receive. And what is even more surprising is that the bank in question has no High Street outlets at all.
First National bank is run entirely through the telephone and the internet. And its success shows that customer service is just about face-to-face contact with clients. The primary concern of the bank is recruiting the right people. D. So they only recruit people who already exhibit good communication skills. And unlike other services that operate primarily over the telephone, the staff at First National do not use scripts. B What this bank asks for is that staff be themselves and establish a rapport with their customers. Part of this is recognizing people’s needs. G. Some want the process to be swift and efficient. The member of staff has to pick up on the caller’s mood and react accordingly.
C. The idea that customer service can be improved on a medium where there is no actual contact with a member of staff may seem strange at first. However, the website designers at First National spend a great deal of time understanding their customers and offering services which meet their needs. A First National is already taking steps to fill this demand. They already offer a service in which customers receive a text when funds are received or when their account falls below a certain level. In the future, online systems may pre-empt customers’ needs in even more sophisticated ways.