Fatimahshabir's blog

Tesco merit work

Customer questionnaires/comment cards

• Because the waiter may forget to relay your comments back to  the chef or the manager, many restaurants prefer to put a comment card on your table and ask you to complete it before you leave. Other businesses do this too. Cards are available in tesco stores for customers to complete if they have a comment or suggestion to make.
• many businesses want more information than would fit on a comment card so they issue questionnaires for customers to complete. you will often find these in hotel rooms and many travel companies issue them at the end of a package holiday. Questionnaires may be sent more widely - to existing customers and previous customers who have not made a purchase for some time to find out why. This is because, as well as feedback, they also provide useful information about the 'typical;' customer. However asking about salaries or ages must be done tactfully because many people object to answering these types of questions.
• many organisations send out regular online questionnaires to a representative customer group to check their views.
• For example: debenhams asks for feedback on a wide range of topics, from store layouts or advertising campaigns to its store cards and credit cards.

Comment card:

Questionnaires:

 

Complaints and compliment letters

• If a customer makes a complaint, either by telephone or letter, this indicates a possible problem area. If several complaints are received about the same thing, there is obviously a serious problem that needs immediate attention. this is why organisations record the complaints they receive and then check them to see if there are any common factors.
• Similarly, a card or a letter which thanks the staff for wonderful service or praises a product is to be treasured - which is why many organisations pin these on a notice board or make mention of them in their newsletters.
• Example: In school if a student wants to make a suggestion/complain about somthing in school they write a complaint letter to the headteacher.
• Example: If a family enjoyed there day at thorpe park, they could write a compliment letter to the owner of thorpe park.

Mystery customers?

• Some retailers employ mystery customers to visit their own stores to assess staff. they may also check competitors stores to compare service levels. They will be interested in factors such as the following ;
• Speed of service.
• The way in which the service was delivered
• the attitude of the sdtaff
• the quality of the finished result.

• It is not only retailers that use mystery customers. one health authority has also employed then to check if doctors and nurses are washing their hands.

• Examle:

Staff Feedback?

• Staff feedback is valuable for two reasons. first, many staff deal directly with external customers. They can therefore pass on comments made by customers - both positive and negative. Sales representatives, for example, are usually expected to chat to customers regularly and pass feedback to their manager.
• Second, staff are internal customers, so their views are also important. If many staff are unhappy and leaving to work elsewhere it is sensible to find out why. For that reason, most organisations regularly assess staff views by issuing questionnaires, by holding meetings with the staff association or group that represents their views and/or by inviting leavers to attend an exit interview.
• Example: the customers at thorpe park fill out a questionnaire about the park and the staff (there attitude towards the customer)  

• Informal Customer Feedback?

When you finish a meal and a waiter asks you if everything was fine, this is a cheap, easy and informal way of getting customer feedback. Other methods include watching customers as they enter and leave and chatting to them. many retailers do this - noting comments people make, how long they stop and look at certain displays and whether they have made a purchase or not. this technique can be adapted by other organisations - such as watching visitors in reception, checking that they have not been waiting too long and ensuring that receptionists pass important comments on to a manager.
Example: In restarunts they might start a general conversation with the customer, they ask the customer what they think of the resturant. 

Time taken from order to delivery.

Time to deliver the product to the customer. E.g. At argos when you order your product it takes 5 minutes to receive your product. If it takes longer to receive your product argos will apologise to you. if it takes even longer to receive your product you might receive a discount.

Volume of marketing material sent out and responses generated.

Sending leaflets out to customers and getting a good response is good customer service. E.g. Domino's pizza post leaflets straight to customers houses, and domino's get loads of response's.

Number of contacts with a customer each month.

Number of times the customer has been in contact with the business. A business should get it right the first time. E.g. Customers Phone HSBC bank at every month to check there account.