[B HEAD] Mystery Shopper
To find out what the customers really experience, sometimes organisations will employ a mystery shopper. This is a person who pretends to shop and experiences the service and care ordinary shoppers get. They will record their experiences and then fed back to staff either to praise or to reinforce any concerns regarding poor standards. Sometimes staff are aware of the mystery shopper and don’t always co-operate and can even be hostile as they feel they are being spied on.
[C HEAD] Advantages of the mystery shopper
• This gives a really clear sample of what a potential customer might experience.
• It is good for identifying staff training needs.
[C HEAD] Disadvantages of the mystery shopper
• It only monitors and evaluates
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The most common loyalty cards can be found at Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury (Nectar) etc. When the customer buys goods or services they gain points on their card which they can put towards the purchase of more goods and services. Rewards such as these are aimed at retaining customers by showing that the organisations value and care for them. Furthermore organisations use these cards to gather very valuable information on the spending habits of their customers, allowing them to alter prices and extend special offers.
[B HEAD] Total Quality Management
[DF] TQM requires the commitment of all staff.
Total quality management (TQM) is a concept that acknowledges that ALL employees in an organisation have individual as well as collective responsibility for maintaining high quality standards. The fundamental principle of TQM is: Get it right, first time and every time. The relationship between improving quality and developing the business has been demonstrated again and again (especially by the Japanese electronics industry).
Quality management allows the setting and monitoring of standards, meeting targets and delivering what has been promised by a courteous and helpful staff. It also allows organisations to measure themselves against other organisations, sometimes known as benchmarking.
For TQM to be successful, quality has to be clearly defined and it must be measurable, and the commitment of all staff is very
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Explain what is meant by Total Quality Management.
4. Explain what is meant by an internal customer.
[ONLINE] Head to www.brightredbooks.net to complete some great activities on customer care.
[OT] Test yourself on this topic at www.brightredbooks.net
[TTDATA] Specimen SQA questions
1. Describe the areas that might be covered by a customer service strategy. 6 marks
2. Describe the importance of good customer service to an organisation. 6 marks
3. Describe the consequences, and their implications, of poor customer service. 6 marks
4. Compare the use of a mystery shopper with a customer focus group. 2 marks
5. Outline 4 reasons given by customers for not complaining. 4 marks
6. Justify the need for a complaints policy. 2 marks
7. Outline the qualities required of an Administrative Assistant when dealing with external customers. 4 marks
8. Describe the methods a company may use to gather information about customer satisfaction. 6 marks
9. Describe good practice an organisation could adopt to ensure that complaints are handled effectively. 6 marks
10. Justify the expense of training Administrative Assistants in customer care. 2 marks
11. Justify the importance of a mission statement to an organisation. 2