Learning objective for Unit 4

Question 1

Outline the types of difficult customers and reasons for them being difficult.

Answer 1

Types of difficult customers:

a. Angry customers

They are rude and abusive and readily complain, often loudly yelling, crying or angry. They feel that their needs should be prioritised over others. They do not respond well to excuses or reasons why the product or service was unsatisfactory.

b. Dissatisfied customers

They feel that the business did not provide a product or service as expected. They may be annoyed or frustrated, but they are not quite
angry. Instead, these customers feel betrayed by the company, believing the company violated the norms or ethics of a customer-company relationship.

c. Indecisive customers

They cannot seem to make a decision, despite how many questions they ask. Sometimes such customers are afraid that they will choose incorrectly.

d. Demanding customers

They know what they want. They feel entitled and may demand for things that we are unable to deliver. Often domineering behaviour is part of their personality style.

e. Talkative customers

They appear to be friendly and spend excessive amounts of time discussing irrelevant matters such as personal experiences, family, friends, schooling, accomplishments, other customer service situations, or the weather. They may just be looking for human interaction.

f. High-roller customers

They expect the absolute best and are willing to pay for it. While no customer is fond of excuses, they disdain to hear them. They are likely to complain in a reasonable manner and are interested in how you are going to get the results.

g. Rip-off customers

They are never happy. They are not looking for a satisfactory response; they are trying to get something they do not deserve. Nothing is good enough unless they are getting a handout.

Question 2

Describe service breakdown using a Five GAP Model of Service Quality Analysis.

Answer 2

Service breakdown occurs whenever the product or service delivered fails to meet customer needs, wants and expectations.

Five GAP model of service quality:

1. Knowledge gap
2. Policy gap
3. Delivery gap
4. Communication gap
5. Customer gap

Question 3

Describe the causes of service breakdown.

Answer 3

Any of the following:

1. Faulty product
2. Poor service attitude
3. Broken promise
4. Inefficient systems
5. Breach of confidentiality

Question 4

Describe the techniques used to handle a service breakdown

Answer 4

1. Apologise
2. Listen for facts
3. Show empathy
4. Offer options or alternatives
5. Perform service recovery
6. Follow through

Question 5

Describe the scenarios and procedures required to escalate issues to higher authority

Answer 5

1. Upon request from customer
2. When needs of customers cannot be met
3. When solutions exceed abilities
4. When threats or violence is involved
5. Organisational policy/timeline

Question 6

Describe the ways to prevent a service breakdown

Answer 6

1. Think like the customer
2. Pamper the customer
3. Respect the customer
4. Focus on the customer

Question 7

Outline the consequences of unresolved/wrongly resolved customer issues

Answer 7

1. Customer:
   - Losing returning customers
   - Negative feedback on social media
   - Negative impact on customer
2. Organisation
   - Damaged Reputation
   - Negative impact on customer conversions
   - High employee turnover rate
   - Negative impact on profits