Customer Service

Question 1

Customers do not want you to admit when a mistake has been made. They simply want the mistake corrected.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Providing quality service is one of the keys to attracting and retaining customers.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Most of the customers who stop doing business with you do so because of price.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Providing quality service for your internal customers is as important as providing it for your external customers.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

Selling creates an opportunity to provide service.

Answer 5

True

Question 6

The first step in implementing a customer service orientation in an organization is to

Answer 6

Survey customers about service expectations

Question 7

When handling a customer complaint, the first thing to do is

Answer 7

listen and acknowledge the customer’s problem

Question 8

Which of the following methods of obtaining customer feedback allows customers to meet and share their concerns in an informal, unscripted way?

Answer 8

Focus groups

Question 9

Which of the following strategies is least effective when saying no to a customer?

Answer 9

citing company policy

Question 10

Which of the following steps in a problem resolution process should occur after you select a strategy?

Answer 10

document and follow up

Question 11

Follow through.

Answer 11

If you tell a client that you will do something by a certain time, do it.

Question 12

Go the extra mile.

Answer 12

If you can throw in something extra, it will cement customer loyalty.

Question 13

Treat client contact as the most important part of your job, instead of an interruption.

Answer 13

Never forget who is really responsible for your check. And always keep in mind that customers don’t care that you’re busy.

Question 14

Tune out the negative.

Answer 14

If you have a negative impression of a customer, try to focus solely on what that person needs and how to provide it.

Question 15

Know how to say no.

Answer 15

When you have to turn down a request, don’t give a hard “no.” Suggest an alternative option.

Question 16

Be a role model.

Answer 16

If you’re an agency owner who’s asking employees to be friendly with customers, you should be this way yourself.

Question 17

Treat co-workers with respect.

Answer 17

If you have an abrasive conversation with a co-worker, it is likely to spill over into a conversation with a customer.

Question 18

Is upselling sales or service?

Answer 18

It is both when the client’s satisfaction is a shared goal.

Question 19

Characteristics of a successful salesperson and a successful service provider.

Answer 19

To succeed in either, you need to be polite, informative, friendly, professional, enthusiastic, concerned about customer needs, respectful, responsible, a good listener, positive, and knowledgeable.

Question 20

Why do customers take their business elsewhere?

Answer 20

Company unavailable by phone or email (58 percent)
Company slow to resolve issues (56 percent)
Company has no social media presence (16 percent)
Company not knowledgeable (57 percent)
Customer treated like a number (51 percent)
Company didn’t remember customer (34 percent)

Question 21

People you already do business with, almost always are your best prospects for additional business.

Answer 21

In a May 2011 press release, American Express reported that Americans will tell nine people about good service experiences they have, but they will tell nearly twice that many (16 people) about poor ones. Thus, word-of-mouth advertising is very effective.

Question 22

It costs ____ times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep the one you already have.

Answer 22

Five

Question 23

What do customers want?

Answer 23

(73 percent) friendly employees or customer service representatives

(55 percent) ability to easily find the information or help they needed

(36 percent) personalized experiences

(33 percent) brands with a good reputation

Question 24

What qualities would make someone successful in delivering high-quality service?

Answer 24

you need to be polite, informative, friendly, professional, enthusiastic, concerned about customer needs, respectful, responsible, a good listener, positive, and knowledgeable

Question 25

Core Service

Answer 25

The products or services that you offer your customers. Core service is your reason for being in business.

Question 26

External Customer

Answer 26

The person from outside the business who comes to the business to buy the products or services offered.

Question 27

Internal Customer

Answer 27

Anyone inside the organization who depends on you in order to get their job done.

Question 28

Focus Group

Answer 28

A small group of customers gathered together with a trained moderator to discuss a particular issue.

Question 29

Moments of Truth

Answer 29

Brief opportunities that occur during a customer encounter when you have a chance to leave a lasting impression with that customer.

Question 30

Upselling

Answer 30

Upgrading or converting the client to a more expensive or inclusive version of a product or service, for example, an outside rather than an inside cruise stateroom.

Question 31

Value-added Service

Answer 31

Service that exceeds the expectations of your customer and enhances the perceived value of doing business with you or the company you represent.

Question 32

My internal customers

Answer 32

• Associates
• Suppliers
• HQ

Question 33

My core service

Answer 33

Vacation packages including one or more elements of the following:

Airline tickets
Cruises
Hotels
Resorts
Tours
Car rentals

Question 34

How I demonstrate quality to my customers

Answer 34

• Careful selection of vendor products
• Reliable information about travel regulations and processes
• Travel advice
• Packaging of various services into one
• Getting good pricing initially and then tracking price drops (cruise fare watch)

Question 35

Caring, friendly, personalized service.

Answer 35

Customers want to be treated fairly, intelligently, and individually — in other words, with respect. To meet this requirement, you should use the customer’s name whenever possible. Treat the clients as individuals by handling inexperienced and seasoned travelers differently. Listen to your clients’ words, tone of voice, and feelings and then demonstrate concern for their needs by tailoring your advice and recommendations.

Question 36

Prompt, efficient, and knowledgeable service

Answer 36

No one likes to be kept waiting. Everyone has deadlines to meet, appointments to keep, or other responsibilities requiring attention. And the world operates at a faster pace than it did years before. Luckily, electronic communication and technology can help you keep up. You can send messages, texts, and emails instantly instead of playing phone tag. You also can set your social media accounts to notify you immediately when a message comes in, allowing you to return it within minutes.

Question 37

Flexibility.

Answer 37

Customers want to be treated as individuals. They want to believe that their needs are important to you and that your only purpose is to meet those needs. Ask them what their best vacation experience was and why. Listen for the feelings behind those responses. If you can make them happy, you will establish an emotional connection that builds loyalty and trust. The more you make an effort to get to know your clients, the more skilled you become at anticipating and meeting their needs for future trips.

Question 38

Problem-solving.

Answer 38

When customers encounter a problem, they want that problem resolved, preferably by the first person they encounter — you, not your supervisor or the agency owner. If a mistake has been made, take responsibility for fixing it. Deal with problems as soon as possible and be honest about what went wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. How you correct them can set you above everyone else.

Question 39

What do customers expect?

Answer 39

Caring, friendly, personalized service.
Prompt, efficient, and knowledgeable service
Flexibility. 
Problem-solving.
Professionalism

Question 40

Professionalism.

Answer 40

In general, they expect the place of business to be clean and well-organized, websites to be accessible and easy to navigate, and telephone conversations to be pleasant and satisfying. They want competent, businesslike performance from agents, combined with an appearance that projects an image of quality through all their business communications. They count on salespeople to be punctual, patient, attentive, honest, and ethical. They want promises to be kept and things to be done right the first time.

Question 41

Value

Answer 41

The customer’s perception of the degree to which the benefits exceed the costs.

Question 42

Value-added services

Answer 42

sending a destination video or guidebook to your clients in advance of their trip

mailing small gifts, like sunblock, puzzles, earphones, or personalized luggage tags

emailing tips of things to do and see at their destination

delivering a what-to-pack list along with travel documents

providing international documentation requirements, e.g., information about visas, passport validity, international driving licenses, multi-country currency exchange rates, etc.

Question 43

the three criteria customers use to evaluate the core services of your company

Answer 43

The quality of the product or service itself,
The product/services’ price
The reliability and effectiveness of the product/services’ delivery

Question 44

Why seek out customer feedback?

Answer 44

It can give you information about what customers want and expect.

It can tell you how customers perceive what you are doing.

It can make your customers feel that they are important to you.

Question 45

Ways to solicit customer feedback

Answer 45

• Casual Conversations
• Focus Groups
• Social Media
• Surveys

Question 46

Steps to implementing a Customer Service Focus

Answer 46

• Understand customer expectations
• Set standards for service
• Monitor performance to set standards
• Address service problems

Question 47

Steps to problem resolution

Answer 47

1. Acknowledge the problem
2. Collect the facts
3. Accept responsibility
4. Select a strategy
5. Test
6. Resolution
7. Document and Follow-up

Question 48

Resolution strategies

Answer 48

In broad terms, there are three basic strategies — simple solution, alternative solution, or redefinition of goal.

In simple solution, you are able to do what the customer wants.

When there is no simple solution, you look for alternative ways to satisfy the customer’s goal.

Sometimes a problem cannot be resolved because of actions taken by the customer or the circumstances.

Question 49

Strategies when you are unable to help

Answer 49

1. Use the facts
2. Be firm but polite
3. Remain calm
4. Provide reasons, not excuses
5. Offer alternatives
6. End politely

Question 50

10 principles of catering to customers that will help make sure you keep your clients for the long haul

Answer 50

1. Ask clients what level of service they expect.
2. Devise a way to quantify quality.
3. Even if the customer isn’t always right, treat him as if he is.
4. Don’t rely solely on your smile.
5. Be easy to reach.
6. Never sell a supplier whose level of service falls short of yours.
7. Follow up clients’ special trips with a phone call.
8. Remember clients year-round, not just during their vacation.
9. If you make a mistake or don’t have an immediate answer to a client’s question, admit it.
10. Always back words with action.

Question 51

Ask clients what level of service they expect.

Answer 51

Don’t settle for treating others the way you want to be treated. “Good service is in the eye of the customer,” says Leonard Schlesinger of Harvard Business School. “And not every customer views it in the same way.” One client may merely want you to remember his seat preference; another might expect personal ticket delivery. “The minute you think you know what the customer wants, you’re dead,” Schlesinger says. “You have to keep asking.”

Question 52

Devise a way to quantify quality.

Answer 52

“Come up with standards of service that are measurable so that you can check how you’re doing,” says William B. Martin, author of Managing Quality Customer Service (Crisp Publications Inc.). “Quality service begins and ends with defining it.” Keep a weekly logbook of your clients’ complaints, for example, and every Friday calculate them as a percentage of your total booking.

Question 53

Even if the customer isn’t always right, treat him as if he is.

Answer 53

After all, it’s your job to delight your clients, not debate them. Let them have their say, then fix things after they’ve left the office or hung up. If their requests are unreasonable or unethical, politely suggest that they try another agency.

Question 54

Don’t rely solely on your smile.

Answer 54

“It’s not so much the ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’ that are important,” says Paul B. Brown, coauthor of Customers for Life(Pocket Books). “It’s doing the job right the first time, every time.”

Question 55

Be easy to reach.

Answer 55

Your globetrotters often crave a reassuring, helpful voice on the line. Return calls promptly, and make sure clients take along your agency’s 800-number. (One good idea: print it on every itinerary.)

Question 56

Never sell a supplier whose level of service falls short of yours.

Answer 56

Otherwise, if the client has a bad vacation experience, he’ll forget your good work and blame you for the hassles. “Always sell products that in turn service you,” says Susan Gibson Breda, a Bellevue, Washing­ton, travel industry consultant.

Question 57

Follow up clients’ special trips with a phone call.

Answer 57

In a fast-paced industry, you need immediate feedback—both good and bad.

Question 58

Remember clients year-round, not just during their vacation.

Answer 58

Send them clippings from magazines and postcards from fam trips. Offer to help arrange in-town business meetings and social functions. Volunteer to attend Career Day at their kids’ schools.

Question 59

If you make a mistake or don’t have an immediate answer to a client’s question, admit it.

Answer 59

You’re much better off being honest and learning from the faux pas rather than blaming something else or covering it up. Then promise to remedy your error and to research the question pronto—and do so.

Question 60

Always back words with action.

Answer 60

“If you make a statement, follow through,” says Gibson Breda. “Underpromise and over deliver. Most people do the opposite.”