Question

Scenario

You are a manager at a retail pharmacy outlet called One Pharmacy. Your store is in a very socially and culturally diverse suburb. Sometimes your staff members complain that the customers they serve are rude, unreasonable or difficult to understand. You realise your customer service systems may need to be reviewed and updated to best support your staff in serving the needs of your customers

1.1)   Customer service standards should ensure all customers are treated with respect, and staff members need to have the skills and understanding to provide excellent customer service in all situations. List 2 examples of customers with different backgrounds and needs (30 -40 words

1.2)   You are reviewing your customer service system. Identify three 3 areas of business and / or processes to improve customer service.

1.3)   Your customer service system incorporates a customer service strategy, a customer service model and customer service standards. Explain in 100 words the difference between a customer service strategy and a customer service model.

1.4)   Discuss the RATER customer service model. What does RATER stand for, and what are its 2 primary features?

1.5)   There are 5 key elements in the RATER model. Explain each of the elements in this model(50 words-100 words each )

1.6)   Briefly define what customer service standards are in 25 words, and broadly list the 3 different types of standards relevant to One Pharmacy.

1.7)   According to Australian Consumer law, what are 2 rights and responsibilities of customers?(100-150 words)

Answer 1

1.1 Two examples are:

• A patient had a health belief that was different from their own. Health beliefs did not align with the culture of pharmacy, they should not dispel the patients’ choice or belief, but rather work with the patient to determine a plan that satisfied both the patient and pharmacist
• A patient with a foreign language enters the pharmacy and is unable to communicate his needs

1.2 Things that could improve:

• The pharmacy could employ 1 full-time bilingual technician and 1 part-time interpreter to facilitate conversations with Native-speaking patients.
• Pharmacists also spent significant time interacting with indigent patients, whose health care options may have been different from what many pharmacists had experienced.
• The clinic could visit with HIV/AIDS and homeless patients allowing pharmacists to learn about programs most never knew existed.

1.3 A customer service strategy is a thorough plan to handle customer interactions. It lets you provide a consistent customer experience throughout the customer journey. Improved customer experience results in a more loyal customer base. Loyal customers buy more often, spend more, and refer their friends and family to you.

A customer service model is a plan that should be put in place to determine how your business will deal with unsatisfied customers and complaints. It should outline the strategies that cover what to do in certain situations. The model should also include how you will get customer feedback and what you will do with it, how your business will retain unhappy customers, and how you will ensure that your customer service policies are kept up to date, and how these will meet the customers’ needs. Essentially, it’s a strategy that’s in place to ensure your business maintains outstanding customer service.

So we say that the customer service model is more concerned about the economic benefits of your services whereas the customer service strategy is more related to improving customer experience.

1.4 The RATER Model is a tool for evaluating the quality of your company's services. It is an acronym that stands for Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, and Responsiveness, each of which is a different dimension against which the quality of your service provision is assessed.

1.5

Reliability

Is the organization able to deliver the agreed-upon services consistently, accurately, and on time? This concerns the quality of the reliability and the way in which the customer can rely on it. If it turns out that a provider is not able to deliver Internet services without issues, the organization’s reliability will decline.

Assurance

Are employees able to convincingly communicate their knowledge to the customers? Does the customer trust what the employees have to say and do they feel the employees can give them helpful advice? When the information about an interest tax deduction for an expensive mortgage turns out to be inaccurate, both the bank’s and its employee’s credibility will diminish rapidly. The customer might even go to a different bank for his mortgage.

Tangibles

Are the physical aspects of the service appealing? Think for instance of the office, website, equipment, and employees looking reliable. If a customer is selecting a health insurance plan but ends up on a website that looks unprofessional, that customer will probably opt for a different insurance company.

Empathy

Are employees able to empathize well with the customers and give them individual attention? How is the relationship between employees and their customers? If a customer has a complaint about a considerable delay at an airline, he wants to feel heard by the employee. If there is not even a shred of empathy in the employee’s response, the customer will be disappointed and decide never to fly the airline in question again.

Responsiveness

To what extent can the organization offer quick service and to what extent is the company willing to help customers? Quality service is paramount. If a commercial training institute does not pay enough attention to a customer who requested more information about a specific study program, chances are the customer will look for a different school. After all, the customer wants to start the program within a month. If it takes a month just to get a response, he is likely to have found another study program.

1.6 Customer service standards are a set of policies and expectations that have been created and adopted by a company. The standards cover all the points of contact the business may have with the customer. In a sense, they are the expectations or rules for conduct in any customer transaction and how you want customers to feel about their experience with your company.

Standards that can be adopted:

• Adopting formal customer service standards and communicating those standards to all employees who have any contact with customers is essential for the company’s workers, especially those filling roles that are explicitly devoted to the customer and technical service functions.
• Employees need to know exactly when responses and resolutions are expected, and what to do each step along the way. Specify when responses are considered untimely or unacceptably delayed, as well.
• It’s advisable to conduct interviews and surveys with existing customers before adopting formal standards. When customer service representatives operate under standards that reflect precisely how customers experience the company’s products and services, they’re better able to improve that experience.

1.7

If the problem is major or cannot be fixed, the consumer can choose to:

• terminate the contract for services and obtain a full refund, or
• seek compensation for the difference between the value of the services provided compared to the price paid.

If a customer complains to you about a purchased good and demands a remedy, your business is legally obliged to provide the appropriate remedy under the consumer guarantees provisions of the ACL.

If you do not comply, the customer can:

• report the problem to the ACCC or their local consumer protection agency, or
• have the matter heard in their local small claims tribunal or magistrates court. The Magistrate or tribunal member’s decision is legally binding.