ls

www.tienganhedu.com

lntroduction
to customer care

Peoplehavestrongopinionsaboutcustomercare.What is importantfor you as a customer?

Workwith a partnerto makea list of the kind of servicesyou erpect.

7 Readaboutthe importanceof customercarein the articteand find four word partnerships

wilhcustomer.

customer

Canyou addany otherwordsto makemorepartnerships?

the most successfulshopping We demand customer-friendlynavigation

fhink about
I sites on the Internet.What do they have in and the best sites provideit,continually
common? Whetheryou are booking a raisingtheir levelsof service. Convenientand
holiday,buying books and music or simply efficient payment systems are also essential.
doing the weekly shop, the best sites provide
the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Sometimes,of course,things go wrong but
How do they do it? Why is customer care this is when the sites are even better at
such a priority? dealingwith customers.You can call a
helplineand talk to an agent,email your
For most shoppers, customer convenience is problem and get a replywithin twenty-four
the most important factor.Up-to-date hours or even get assistancevia an instant
technology means that when you return to a messagingconversation. The people in
site you have visited before, they will charge of customer relationsknow that we
remember your name, your profile,and what want to shop, maybe purchase,and then
you bought last time. They also track where leave with a very positive impression of the
you browsed and what you thought about site.A satisfiedcustomer is a good customer.
buying.They can also make some Good customersremainloyaland
recommendationsabout other places,titles, recommend you to others.
or oroducts.
e I ururr1 Introduction
to customer
care www.tienganhedu.com

Accordingto the articte,what makesan online shoppingsite successful?

Completethis list.

2 Finda word in the text that meansthe sameas:

r profitable q necessary
absolutely
z something of the highestimportance 6 hetp
3 easy or helpful
to use faithfut
4 fastand organized suggest

l{ow usewordsfrom aboveto completethe sentences.

d Ourcustomers'satisfaction
is ourtoo
b lf you need , pleasecontactour callcentre.
c Goodcommunication
skillsare carejob.
in anycustomer
0 Andyou canpayby creditcard,whichis very whenshopping
online.
e Wecanoffera quickerand more levelof servicewith our newcallcentre.
t lf youarehappywithour products,
please usto a friend.

3 Youare in a meetingwith a possiblenew customer.Answertheir questions.

Q tJffhatmakesyour companydifferent?
4 Weareveryproudof our
We'reespecially
knownfor our

0 Howdo youmakeit easyandconvenient

forthecustomer?
A Weofferconvenience
to thecustomers
with
. ,'a' .. . ' . 3
0 Howdo I get after-sales
service?
A Wegiveefficientcustomerserviceby
Whatis the mostimportantfocusfor your
customers?
4 Ourtop priorityis to
 UNIT
1 Introduction .tt. I z
tocustomer
www.tienganhedu.com

4 Completethe spidergramon customerservice-centredbusinessesand iobs with wordsfrom

the list.

cashier. concierggit,'hotel . orderentryclerk . receptionist.

. restaurant. sales . shopassistant. teller
representative

,r1'.i}\ \:--l
' calrcentre6m)
@9
\-
: \:#Jruracturin;;
\------'----- 5

lervice t"riol-, retail

cashi er
cashier
manager
r 1C
\\----_;7
-ffi;>
z waiterlwaitreD oanKrng
cterk

8
6
bellhop
officer
-/' manager
9 7
receptionist

lf not,addit. Canyouaddanothercustomer
ls youriobor businessareaonthespidergram?
careposition?

5 ilowfind peopleIn thespidergramthat complete

thestatements below.illorethanoneanswer
is possiblein eachcase.Compareyouranswerswith a partner.

7 in person.
deatswithcustomers
2 is responsible choosethe rightproduct.
for helpingcustomers

3 handles questions
customer overthe phone.
or probtems

4 takescareof after-sales
service.

5 productordersfor customers.
processes
6 oftenhasto writeto customers.
A I Ufrf
ff 1 Introduction
to customer
care
www.tienganhedu.com

6 look at the newsflash and the extractsfrom five job advertisements.What kind of 'people'skills
do the advertsmention?Completethe notes.

Customercareis becomingmoreand more

focusedon lT training.lt's true that nowadays
technicalskillsareessentialfor workingwith
customerservicesystems.However,this
high-techtrainingis not enoughfor good
customercare.Employeesalso needpeople
skillsso that they can dealwith peoplein all
kindsof customersituations.

You must be fluent in German and English

with a very good telephonemanner and
Customer careandc0mmunication
skills
areessential.
good customer service skills. FC skills and
toperform
Ability eltectively pressure
under andto
good communication skills are required. wo* aspartofateam.

41i ;;;,;;;;;;*
Your role is to orovide customers with first-
ability to communicateclearly
class customer care. Duties:handling
with customersand work
telephoneenquiriesand complaints;
effectivelywith both internal
making calls to customers;dealing with
and externalteams.
correspondence by email and letter. Computer
skillsand good writing skills required.

) \b, will nccdcxpcrienccol communicarins

laceto Iacc
with customers,using tact and diplomacy

What kind of skills do you needfor your iob?Write a iob advertfor your position.

7 Herearesomecommentstaken from customerserviceguestionnaires.

tlark them positive[] ornegative[].

1 'Yoursalesstaffareimpatient.
Theyneverwaitfor peopleto finishspeaking
andarealwaysin a hurry.' I
z 'Thepeopleworkingat yourcatlcentrearealwaysso politeand hetpful.
Andtheyalwaystakethetimeto answeratl my questions.' I
3 'l wishyouremployeeswouldbe moreattentive. Theydon'tseemto listen
to whatI sayanddon'tcareaboutme at alt.' T
4 'Thebankofficertookcareof my requestsstraightaway.I didn'thaveto waitat all.' n
 UNIT1 to customer.uruI S
Introduction
www.tienganhedu.com

'WhenI arrivedat yourhotel,I wastotallyignoredby boththe betthop

andthe receptionist.' T
6 'Theclerkwas reallyrudeand pretendednot to seeme.' l
7 'Thewaiterwaswellinformed aboutthethe menuandwaspromptin bringingmy food.' n
8 'Yourservicewasmorethan I askedfor.Thatreallymademe feelspecial.' l

I the tablewith oppositesfromexercise7.

Gomplete

posltire nggsrE,,
lo ba attantive to ignoresomebody

j to takethe time

4 uninformed
,+
I s too slow

patient

unhelpful
I
1

L-_
l{ow use words from the table to completethese sentencesfrom a customercare handbook.
Sometimesmorethan one answer ls possible. Comparewlth a partner.

alwaysexpectyou to be
a Customers
b lf you are withyouagain.
theywill not do business
to customers,
Being alwaysmakesa bad impression or guests.
on customers
o Youshouldbe or products
aboutthe services you provide.
e A callcentreagentshouldneverbe on the phoneandshould
alwaysbe

9 Tellyourpartneraboutonepositiveandonenegativecustomercaresituationyouhaverecently
experlenced.illakea list of suggestionsto improvenegativeservice.Usephrasesfromthe
Language BoxbelowIn yourdiscussion.

Makingsuggestions Respondingto suggestions

Whydon'tyou ...? That'sright.iI agree.
Don'tANouldn't you agreethat...? I seeyourpoint.
lsn'tit a betterideato ...? I disagreebecause ...
It makesa goodibadimpressionif they/you... I don'tagree.I would...
10 | UNIT1 Introduction
to customer
care
www.tienganhedu.com

r Customers do nottelltheirfriendsandcolteaguesaboutbadcustomercareexperiences. n
z Theproductitsetfis moreimportant behindit.
thanthe service tr
3 Good, friendtyservicewit[keepcustomerscoming back. n
4 Afterthe sateis finished,
the customerdoesnot needanyattention. T
Irbrlffi

Surprising
FactsaboutCustomer
Care
Wemightbelieve thatourcustomer serviceis excellent,
but whatdoourcustomers
think?Afterall, it's theiropinionthat matters,notours!

Herearethehardfactswehaveto dealwith:
'| Onecustomer infourisdissatisfied
withsomeaspect of customer care.
'f Surveys showthatforeverycustomer whocomplains, thereare26 otherswho
neversayanything aboutcustomer service.
{ Theaverage 'wronged' customerwilltell8-16 morepeople abouttheir
negative experience.
{ Some907"of unhappy customerswill neverbuyfromyouagain.
-f 80 7oof lost
customers result
from thefeelingihat'they.iustdon'tcareabout
meor mybusiness'.
+ Withtheuseof theInternet nowadays, oneperson cantellhundreds, oreven
, thousands of otherpeople abouttheirexperiences!Assomeone oncesaid:the
+ competition isonlya mouse"clickawayl

Obviously weneedto focuson morcwaysto improvecustomercare.

It's notenough just togivecustomersexactlywhattheyaskfor.Weneedto 'go
beyondthecallof duty',in otherwords,taketheextrastepto makeour customers
feelspecial.Thisis theonlyrealdifferencewecanmake.
It's just tooeasythesedaysfor customersto changeto ourcompetitors!

a lf customer
careis so important,
whydo so manybusinesses not payenoughattention to it?
t Witttherebe moreof a demandfor good customer in the future?Why,or why not?
service
a Howdoesyourcompany knowif it is givinggoodor badservice?