Client Care Flashcards
What are some of the key aspects of client care?
- Understanding client needs
- Transparency and communication
- Confidentiality
- Professional Integrity
- Conflict of interest management
- Competency
- Complaint handling
- Quality assurance
- Feedback and Improvement
What is a client?
A person who purchases professional services from a business.
Includes any stakeholders in a project with who the business must engage with.
Usually repeated business or long term /whereas a customer usually refers to someone making a one-off purchase of goods.
What is client care?
Providing an appropriate level of service that satisfies the client’s needs and achieves Value for Money.
Client care can be provided through:
– Professionalism.
– Competence.
– Punctuality.
– Trust.
– Reliability.
– Presentation.
– Regular communication.
– Review of services provided and standard.
– KPIs to monitor client satisfaction.
– Client Performance Feedback.
Why is Client Care important for surveying firms?
– Repeat business.
– Reduces the potential for negligence claims to arise.
– Acting in accordance with Rule 3 (to provide a good quality and diligent service).
Dissatisfied Clients can be damaging as negative feedback and experiences can spread quickly.
What is ISO 9001 accreditation?
ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for quality management systems.
This is a management tool used for:
– Planning ahead – ensuring we have resources and knowledge.
– Identify client needs and future requirements.
– Measure client satisfaction.
How does your firm ensure quality is maintained?
By operating a quality assurance procedure before any documents are issued to the client.
Obtaining regular client feedback.
What’s included within a Terms of appointment?
– Scope of service
– Payment terms
– Disbursements
– Complaints Handling Procedure
– Insurances and limit on liability
– Dispute resolution – ombudsmen.
– Limitations
What are the main elements included within a fee proposal?
– Terms and conditions.
– Scope of services.
– Exclusions.
– Assumptions.
How would you calculate a fee proposal?
– Scope of service
– Level of surveyor /anticipated hours to undertake the service under their charge outrate.
– Additional charges (travel /roof boom).
– Statutory approvals.
Any other ways to calculate fees?
– Framework agreement (pre-agree rates)
– Project value (12%)
What is CPF?
Client Performance Feedback - the process of gathering and acting on feedback from the client. This comprises:
– Gathering feedback during and after project completion.
– This is usually carried out by an independent person.
– The feedback sets the standards for the company and identifies areas for improvement.
– It encourages open discussions with the client to ensure satisfactory service is delivered and that goals are achieved.
– It also provides an opportunity to gain future work for the company.
– CPF is usually carried out at regular intervals (3-6 months) to ensure any problems can be identified and rectified as early as possible.
How would you identify the needs of a client?
Holding discussions regarding project key deliverables & the scope of services required.
Reviewing past Client Performance Feedback & identifying key areas for improvement.
What is a Client Brief?
The purpose of the client brief is to provide a firm foundation for the initiation of the project.
It is a formal statement of the objectives and functional and operational requirements of the finished project.
It should be in sufficient detail to enable the integrated project team to execute the specification and detailed design of the work and is therefore an essential reference for the team.
Please provide an example of your client care & empathy skills?
Through organisation I complete work to the agreed deadlines.
I always sure to deliver work to a high standard.
I keep regular communication with my clients.
When should you decline an instruction of new work from a client?
– If the work was unlawful.
– Conflict of Interest.
– If the project was outside of my level of competence.
– Internal resource isn’t available to achieve client deadlines.
How would you limit the risk of working with a client who may be financially unstable?
I would use a screening process to check the client’s finances, this could include:
– A company search using the Companies House website to obtain their account information.
– A Dun & Bradstreet or credit safe credit check.
– An Internet search using their website for additional information and to make a judgement on their reliability.
If your client asked you to lower your fees because of their limited funding, what would you do?
The client would have to pay the required price for the level of service required or reduce the scope of works involved.
What is your company’s procedure for client’s feed-back?
– We undertake formal project reviews with the client every month.
– I obtain regular informal feed-back throughout the project from verbal and email communication.
– We undertake a satisfaction survey questionnaire at the end of each project.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction.
What’s included in your firms complaints handling procedure?
– Information about the appointed person in the firm who deals with complaints.
– A request that complaints are made in writing.
– The stages of the Complaints Handling Procedure.
What stages are in your complaints handling procedure?
- Stage 1: The complaint in the first instance is reported to the designated complaints handler who will acknowledge receipt of the complaint (within 7 days) then investigate the complaint and advise of any action taken within 21 days.
- Stage 2: If the complaint cannot be resolved this is referred to an RICS approved independent redress mechanism.
The firm keeps a log to track complaints. This assists the firm in its management of complaints and in improving procedures based on the complaints pattern identified.
What are the key points of the RICS guidance note on Complaints?
– CHP must be approved by RICS.
– Notify PII insurers if there is a complaint that could give rise to a claim.
– CHP should be issued at the same time as Terms of Business.
Firm must include an RICS Alternative Dispute mechanism e.g. Property Ombudsman
Explain in more detail Stage 1 of the complaints handling procedure?
- Issue details of the CHP
- Procedure must be quick, clear, transparent and impartially implements
- Details of the nominated person who will handle the complaint. SW – finance director
- Procedures and timescales to be followed for the investigation off the complaint should be recorded.
- Complaint should be acknowledged within 7 days and investigated within 28 days.
Explain in more detail Stage 2 of the complaints handling procedure?
- If the complainant is not happy with the review, then second stage of the CHP involves the independent redress scheme
- The name of the relevant redress mechanism must be provided to the complainant – property ombudsman
- The RICS is NOT involved with complaints e.g. a surveyor’s opinion and can only get involved when it is an issue relating to service or professionalism.
How do you identify your client’s needs and expectations?
I ask questions and listen to the client in relation to and challenges and issues they are facing.
I also use client’s briefing checklists where applicable.
Have you ever not received an adequate client brief?
Yes, this in some instances the information /full brief is not known or available to the client.
In these instances, I ask for further clarification on their specific requirements.
How do you establish trust with clients?
– I am always transparent and honest about my actions.
– I learn about my client and their long-term objectives in addition to key challenges they are facing.
– I only act inside the parameters of my level of expertise and competence.
– I always act in a professional manner.
– I always provide a high level of service.
How do you encourage repeat business?
– I provide high levels of service and customer care during projects.
– I regularly obtain feedback and act on it.
– Through keeping in touch with clients even when we have no live projects with them.
What are the advantages / disadvantages of working from a client’s office?
The advantages are quicker and clearer lines of communication.
A better understanding of the client’s culture, needs and expectations can be determined.
The disadvantages are the loss of technical support from colleagues and a possible isolation from my own organisation’s culture.
What would you include in a letter to your client to confirm an instruction?
– Details of the project/property
– Scope of the service
– Fee for undertaking the work
– Terms and conditions
– Limitations on liability
– Complaints handling policy.
Why do we need a standard form of agreement/contract?
– Avoid misunderstandings & disputes.
– Define fees and provisions for payment.
– Establish a fair and reasonable allocation of risks.
– Provide clarity, comfort and protection to both parties.
What should an Appointment Agreement do?
– Identify parties to the appointment
– Allocate & define (i.e. limit) responsibilities and liabilities
– Define the scope of work
– Confirm the fee, method of calculation and payment
– Set out methods of dispute resolution
How did you present information to your client when you carried out the options appraisals at (case study)?
PowerPoint presentation with a slide per option with supporting drawings.
What T&Cs do you send out to clients?
– Standard T&C’s of Business (payment terms, complaints, data protection)
– Survey specific terms (scope of survey, limitations of the inspection)
How would you deal with a client who would be financial unstable?
– Dun and brad street credit check
– Company search on companies house
– Paying less over a longer period of time
– Payment upfront
If a client calls you up and asks you to undertake a survey on his behalf what would you do?
– Obtain details of the instruction.
– Conflict of Interest check.
– Check that I am competent to take on the work.
– Confirm that we had sufficient insurance cover.
– Prepare a formal letter of instruction.
Can you list the typical conditions you would stipulate when appointing a consultant?
Sub consultant agreement.
To include:
- Introduction to letter and job
- Scope of service
- Responsibility for services
- Fees
- Terms and conditions
- Complaints procedure
- Agreement to contract
A new client calls you up and says they are considering taking out a 10 year lease on a building what surveys would you recommend they have?
– Dilapidation Liability Assessment
– Schedule of condition to append to the lease to limit their repairing liability.
What is the purpose of a complaints handling procedure?
To provide a formal structure to demonstrate that complaints are
- taken seriously
- fully investigated
- suitable methods for review are available.
What was included within your options appraisal at Wynhill Court?
The client required a sensory room and I prepared various designs to incorporate this:
Option 1: Partition off the large lounge area to provide a separate sensory room.
Option 2: Turn the second bedroom into a sensory room and relocate the staff office within the large utility room.
The client chose to retain the size of the lounge and convert the second bedroom as the staff were not sleeping at the property and the utility room provided enough space to house a small desk and securely lock away medicines.
How did you prepare Budget Costs for this scheme? (Wynhill Court)
I used a combination of previously tendered schemes of a similar nature and BCIS (Building Cost Information Services).
What is a deliverable outcome?
The delivered service required to meet the clients needs.
What are stakeholders?
Stakeholders can be anyone who has an interest or is affected by the projects. This can be:
- The client or property owner who initiated the instruction.
- End users who may be affected by any changes.
- Any shareholders or investors in the property.
How did you record site notes?
I always bring a firm clipboard with me for sketching down floor plans together with a laser measure and tape measure.
Depending on the inspection, I either dictate site notes via an app on my phone or take a series of brief notes on my iPad if dictation wasn’t possible for confidential purposes.
This has been the case during a survey where the current tenants wasn’t to know the intention of the survey so I did not see it appropriate to dictate my notes.
