Client Care Flashcards
What do you understand by Client Care?
Continuous process of understanding clients requirements, suggestions, complaints etc.
- Understanding Client needs / requirements
- Complaint handling procedures
- Quality assurance procedures
- Key performance indicators
- Looking out for clients best interests
- Defining the client brief
What is a stakeholder?
Person or organisation who has interest in the project
Why is client care important?
1) To retain clients and secure repeat business
2) Reduce the likelihood of conflict
3) Maintain strong reputation within the industry
How do you conduct yourself with a new client?
- well mannered
- well presented
- respectful
- Friendly and enthusiastic
How do you build trust with the client?
- Learn about your client and their objectives
- Only act within your level of competence
- Always act in professional manner
- always provide high level of service
- be transparent
- being open and honest
What is the difference between a client and a customer?
Customer - someone who purchases a commodity or service
client - ongoing business relationship - not necessarily a customer
What does the term ‘ soft landings’ refer to?
Strategy to ensure the transition from construction to occupation is ‘bump free’ and operational performance is optimised
Please detail some of the quality management systems you have implemented on your projects?
Contractor payment schedules
Reporting templates
Following company policy and procedures
Following industry guidance and advisory
What is a lesson learnt workshop?
Review a recent failing or success on a project
- put procedure in place to prevent again if fail
- review the success and share with others
How do you act upon feedback received from a client?
should be formally recorded
share the positives and discuss how negatives can be improved
if negative - verify and course of action taken to correct going forward
ensure feedback is fed back into company through lessons learned process
review in suitable timeframe
What are KPIs?
Key performance indicators
- used to measure supply chain performance
- used to measure benchmark business performance against others
Can you provide examples a KPI?
- Number of defects / snags
- profitability
- H&S score
- Construction Cost overrun
Why is it important to maintain existing client relationships rather than just building new ones?
- A large % of commissions won through repeat work
- maintaining and building existing relationships will promote a positive image for individual and company
How do you maintain your clients expectations?
- Agreeing on strategy, goals and timelines
- being open and honest
- Offering advice and direction within scope of service
- being good listener and understanding expectations
- Regularly communicating and addressing problems
What is a complaint?
Expression of dissatisfaction
complaints generally arise when expectations have not been met
Does the RICS have any rules associated with complaints?
Rule 5 of new rules of conduct - Members and Firms must act in public interest and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in profession
- Must respond to complaints promptly and cooperate with investigations into complaints
as well as obligations under firms to maintain a Complaints Handling Procedure
You receive formal complaint from a client in writing, at what point should your firm notify the insurance company ?
ASAP
How do you deal with a complaint from a client?
1) Acknowledge complaint
2) Notify appropriate person in business (CHM)
3) Appoint person to carry out investigation
4) Identify outcome and course of action to rectify
5) Formally respond - communicate outcomes & action
if client is unhappy with outcome - right to review / mediation
If client still unhappy - refer to Independent Dispute Resolution
6) Communicate lessons learned
7) Review at predetermined future date
8) inform PI insurers of complaint at each stage of process
Has RICS published any info on handling clients money?
Client money handling - professional statement - Effective from Jan 2020
What are the objectives of the client money handling professional statement?
The overall objective of this professional statement is that RICS members and RICS firms understand their obligations to ensure;
1) Client money is kept safe
2) Client money accounts are used for correct purpose
3) RICS firms have appropriate controls and procedures to safeguard client money
What is meant by client money?
Money of any currency that;
1) An RICS regulated firm holds for or receives on behalf of another person, including money held by a regulated firm as a stakeholder and,
2) is not immediately due and payable on demand to the RICS regulated firm for its own account
What information would you expect to see in a clients brief?
- Services required
- Insurances required
- Terms of appointment
- Duration of appointment
- Client procedures and policies
- Key drivers for success
What might be excluded from a consultant fee proposal?
- VAT
- Disbursements
- Dealing with claims
- Services which are not required
What might be included in a consultant fee proposal?
- Scope of service
- Terms of appointment
- Basis of pricing
- Info on team - CV’s and qualifications
- Project details
- Timescales
- Insurances
- Exclusions
- Assumptions
How would you go about calculating a professional fee for new commission?
- Understand client requirements - including project details, budget and scope of service
- identify seniority of resource and number of people required to deliver service
- Assess duration required to complete activities identified in scope of service
- Apply daily or hourly rate against activities
- Review total fee as % against project budget (sense check)
Assuming you put together a fee proposal, a couple months into the project, you realise you have underestimated the resources to deliver - would you go back to the client and ask for more money?
If project requirements (Services, scope, value) had increased the it would be reasonable for fees to increase
If scope remained the same, likely to be a mistake. I would deal with situation and get it right next time. I would not reduce level of service originally offered,
Could there be issues (from client perspective) with having all professional services delivered by one consultancy practice?
- Harder to be critical of colleagues from same company
- Perceived conflict of interest
However there are advantages;
- Team usually more efficient as work under same policies, procedures, core values
You have submitted a fee bid to a client. The client contacts you and explains another practice has quoted a lower, but they would like you to do the work. They ask you to reduce your fee to match other practice. What should you do?
- Explain to client how fee was calculated and necessary resources to meet their requirements
- I would avoid entering a Dutch auction with another practice
- if the client were looking for an overall lower fee, i would be happy to review scope of service to understand where services may be reduced in order to provide a reduced fee.
Once you and your client verbally agree the services to be provided, what would you do next?
Follow up in writing to confirm T&C’s, fee and scope of service
What is a consultant appointment document?
Appointment documents are terms and conditions for services being provided by a consultant to the Client
RICS have a standard form of consultant appointment if the business does not have their own
On what grounds might you ask the client for additional fees?
Events such as;
- Dealing with insolvency of a contractor (usually excluded from a consultants standard scope of services
- Delay to programme due to contractor default
- Increased scope of service
Give examples when you should decline an instruction of new work from a client?
1) There is a conflict or potential conflict of interest
2) The instruction could require an illegal or unethical action
3) There is conflict with RICS rules or standards
