Provide customer centric service
Overview
This standard is part of the customer service competence area related to Impression and Image. It covers providing customer-centric service. It includes area that covers the customer service behaviours and processes that have most impact on the way your customer sees you and your organisation. Remember that customers include everyone to whom you provide products and services. They may be external to your organisation or they may be internal customers.
You often deal with many customers who seem to be the same, but recognise that each customer is an individual. You make each customer feel that they have had your complete attention and have been dealt with personally to increase their sense of satisfaction. When your customer feels that you have taken special care to give them good service and have done something more than they expect, they are likely to enjoy a better customer service experience. Opportunities to add this extra value to your customer's experience depend on you spotting what they will particularly appreciate. Often you can offer this little extra when sorting out a difficulty or problem. Whatever special service you give when you "go the extra mile" must be within your own authority or with the authority of an senior colleague. You must also take account of the organisation's procedures and regulations. When you work with customers you make them feel that you care what happens to them and that you respect them as individuals.
This standard is for customer service professionals who provide customer centric service.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- identify when you can add a personal touch to your customer service within your organisation's systems or procedures
- observe and listen to your customers for signs that will help you personalise their service
- confirm that you understand customer needs and are there to help them
- identify opportunities to help or direct your customer outside of your routines and procedures
- identify customers with individual needs who would appreciate a more personalised service
- balance the time you take to give individual attention to one customer with the needs and expectations of other customers
- communicate with customers following organisational guidelines to show respect for them as individuals
- focus your attention on the customers you are dealing with
- follow your organisation's guidelines for giving your customer your own name and contact details
- build a 'one to one' relationship with your customer using organisational guidelines
- treat customers as individuals recognising that each customer is unique
- demonstrate respect to customers and colleagues at all times and avoid over-familiarity
- explain your organisation's products and services
- identify your customers' expectations and needs
- match products and services with customers' expectations and needs
- identify other actions that could give added value to your customer service and choose those that will impress your customers
- check that added value actions fit within your organisation's guidelines and external regulations
- explain your actions for added value service to a senior colleague for their authorisation when required
- implement agreed actions to add value in customer service
- communicate the added value of your actions with customers
- monitor the effects of your added value actions to check that other customers are unaffected
- monitor feedback from your customers about the impact of your actions
- follow the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role and the activities being carried out
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the principles of customer centric service and the activities relating to it
- when and how to use your customer's name, your name and contact details following organisational guidelines
- the different personalities that customers have and their receptiveness to personalised services
- the types of personal information about customers kept on record
- the types and features of customer service you can offer to customers with individual needs
- how to use open body language and approaches to communication that align with your organisation's culture, values and requirements
- your organisation's guidelines on actions that are permissible outside of the normal routines and procedures
- your own preferences and comfort levels relating to how you are willing and able to provide customer-centric service
- the boundaries beyond which customer service may perceived as inappropriate by your organisation
- how to identify the unique requirements that individual customers have
- the importance of adapting approaches to customer service delivery to show respect to customers and colleagues and the potential consequences of over-familiarity
- how to gain information about a customer's preferences, including through social media
- your organisation's services and products and how to match these to customer needs and expectations
- how to evaluate customers' expectations of the service they will receive
- that types of service actions that customers see as adding value to customer service
- your organisation's rules and procedures that determine your authority to 'go the extra mile'
- how your organisation receives customer service feedback about their customer experience
- your organisation's procedures for making changes in its services and products
- how to monitor feedback from customers and colleagues about actions taken to exceed customer expectations
- how to recognise when added value actions become routine and should be accommodated within the standard services and products
- the legal, organisational, codes of practice and policies relevant to your role and the activities being carried out