ATTITUDINAL RE-ORIENTATION: TOOL FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

CONTENTS

Introduction Objectives Conceptual Definitions Techniques for Developing Positive Attitude Benefits of keeping Positive Attitude Why Customer Satisfaction Signs of Bad Customer Service Do’s and Don'ts of Handling Complaints Practical Models for enhancing Customer

Satisfaction Conclusion

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INTRODUCTIONA convenient way to think of the strategy for success is to picture a three-leg stool. The stool represents the organization supported by three legs, which symbolize these key ingredients. Each leg has very separate and distinct attributes and each is critical to the survival of the organization. The legs of the stool are visionary leadership, internal data from employees and external data from the customers of the organization.

The first leg is visionary leadership. Every organization comes into existence because of a vision. Sometimes the vision lasts, remaining clear and compelling. Other times, the original vision fades, as does the relevance of the organization.

The next element, the second leg of the stool, is data from the employees of the organization. These are the internal data. This is information gathered from the people that make up the organization. It is the opinions, working knowledge, supervisory assessments, and observations that come from the people that do the work of the organization. This has to do with how capable employees feel the organization is. Do employees feels that the organization stresses and achieve quality? Is there cohesiveness among employees so that there is a team effort to get the work done?. Do employees feel a sense of commitment to the organization and feel that the organization support them? Etc

INTRODUCTION… CONT’D

The third element for continued organizational success is regular collection of data from the environment of the organization: customers ( Direct and indirect), suppliers, regulators and competitors. These are the external data. Such data provide comparisons between what the organization sees as its accomplishments and the perceptions of others that have interest or stake in the organization.

Achieving all these boils down to an important attribute, pre-requsite, which is..

ATTITUDE

INTRODUCTION… CONT’D

Attitude is everything. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big

difference.” ― Winston Churchill

Attitude to work, attitude to family, attitude to life.

In fact a lot of homes have broken because of attitude.

A lot of dreams have been shattered because of attitude.

A lot of organizations have failed because of this.

INTRODUCTION… CONT’D

In the same vein…

INTRODUCTION… CONT’D

Dreams, homes and organizations thrive because of Positive Attitude.

INTRODUCTION… CONT’D

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

IS YOUR ATTITUDE A WEAPON OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this presentation, participants are expected to:- Be able to identify the needs and essence of

positive attitude;- The implications of negative attitude; - See complaints as gift and know the best

way to handle parents complaints;- See customer satisfaction as potential tool

for the success of the school;- Be more committed and dedicated to work;

and- Uphold best practice and work place ethics.

CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS ATTITUDE: manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a

person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind This is the internal disposition of an individual that underlines his

external disposition( behaviour).

CUSTOMERS: These are consumers and recipient of an organization goods and services. We are both direct and indirect customers.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT: This is a business strategy to select and manage valuable customer relationship. CRM requires a customer-centric business philosophy and culture to support expecation, marketing, sales and service process.

CUSTOMERS SATISFACTION: This is a highly personal assessment that is greatly affected by customer expectation.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: this is the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently give its customers what they want and need.

CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS

RE-ORIENTATTION: This is the process of changing orientation of an individual or group of individual to a desired one.

STAKEHOLDERS: These are set of people that are either directly or indirectly affected by the operations and activities of an organization and vice versa.

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Positive Attitude brings optimism in our life, it helps us to reach our goals and attain success. Having and maintaining a positive attitude is the key for success in business and life.

But unfortunately it is not easy for most of us to maintain a positive attitude, as things go wrong we would let negative thoughts to take over. Fortunately there are certain things that we can do to maintain  and develop a positive attitude. 

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE… CONT’D

Though the choice is yours, You should be having the will power to achieve a positive attitude. Curb Unwanted Activities - Now that you

are really committed, Avoid spending a lot of time for TV, Radio etc. and instead try to read a positive book, you can also read inspiring quotes to increase positivism.

Positive Language - You probably know this, Avoid words like 'never', 'can't', 'won't' and don't always use a 'why'. Use phrases like 'I can', 'I want', 'I will', 'I need', 'I should' etc.

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP POSITIVE ATTITUDE… CONT’D

Have Positive People Around You - It is quite tough, but try to surround yourself with people who support you, speak the truth and think positively. Try to avoid people who criticize often. Also avoid people who are jealous of you and impede your progress.

Don't Expect Anything in Return - Give away what you seek without expectation or measuring. When you seek success, help others to be successful. When you seek happiness, help others to find happiness first. (Wonderfully written, isn't it? :P)

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP POSITIVE ATTITUDE… CONT’D

Reduce your Ego - You can read more about this.

Don't "Get Angry; Resent; Judge" Resentment and Judgement give you negativity. Avoid them to have a positive attitude.

Make Positive and Realistic Dreams - Don't try to live up to the expectations of others. Do what you really dream of. Have positive and achievable dreams.

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP POSITIVE ATTITUDE… CONT’D

Dare the Truth, Believe in what you really think is 'The Truth' and what you really want to do

Take responsibility of your actions, your life - If you do this, you will start realizing your own mistakes and with that you try to avoid doing mistakes giving you positivity.

Show gratitude to people. Track your results in a gratitude journal.

BENEFITS OF POSITIVE ATTITUDE

Help achieving goals and attaining success easier

More happiness More energy Greater inner power and strength Ability to inspire and motivate yourself and

others. Fewer difficulties encountered Ability to surmount difficulties and challenges Life smiles at you People respects you. Life is placed in its right perspective.

WHY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer Satisfaction is very germane to the survival and success of every organizations.

It assists in the following regards. - Increasing customer base - Customers Loyalty - Revenue - Profit - Market Share - Competitiveness - Vintage Positioning - Survival

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE

Businesses that deal with consumers seem to be suffering from a definite disconnect between the level of service they want to provide and the service that their employees actually provide.

Six signs of poor service As a result, Harris suggests the following six key signs that customer service may be in need of some attention - and most probably some staff training - to help restore the customer's faith:

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D

1. Poor employee retention If employees are leaving too quickly (i.e. within three years), there can be no real opportunity for them to build up relationships with customers. Knowledge about individual customers leaves the company with every lost employee. If this is the case, consider bringing in an outside HR (human resources) consultant to talk to employees and find out what needs to be done to change the situation; employees will often tell an 'outsider' things that they would never tell their manager.

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D 2. Customer complaints 

On average, only around 6% of dissatisfied customers will actually take the time to complain. So, out of all the customers who encounter a problem, 94% won't tell you (but they'll tell their friends and family, of course).

So if management sees that there are very few complaints, that doesn't mean that customer service is perfect at all. If employees have not built relationships with customers, many customers will defect without any further prompting. Make sure that your front line teams are required to record all complaints and any action taken to solve them. Complaints data should be treasured, documented, and shared with management. If you're not getting complaint data from the front line, there's a serious problem.

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D 3. Employees aren't empowered to handle

problems Unless front line employees are empowered to resolve customer complaints and problems without resorting to calling supervisors or referring the customer to a manager, customer service - and the company's reputation - will suffer greatly. Customer issues should be handled from start to finish by the same person if at all possible. Customers do not want to wait or, even worse, be transferred to multiple people to have their problems solved. There is nothing worse than having to repeat the problem over and over again to different people. This is where you need employee training and empowerment: give the whole customer-facing team the knowledge, tools, and authority they need to defuse angry customers.

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D

4. Loss of long-term customers When a long-term customer leaves, you need to notice it and query it. When you have built a long-term relationship with a customer, your ability to retain that customer significantly increases. So when a customer who would normally give you the benefit of the doubt takes their business elsewhere, the problem is almost always the service they've received. Try to find out the real reason they defected, and use that information to prevent it from happening again. Remember that flexibility is needed in order to make changes in the company based on information from lost customers.

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D

5. Fewer referrals A business with delighted customers should always be gaining new customers from referrals. If your service isn't good, referrals will drop off first - even before your existing customers defect to a competitor. This makes the continual monitoring of referral levels one of the most powerful indicators of ongoing customer satisfaction. To quote a wise mentor, "Satisfied customers buy from you, but delighted customers sell for you." Also, if you're gaining lots of new customers but losing just as many existing customers, this indicates a serious disparity between what your brand is promising and what it actually delivers.

SIGNS OF BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE- CONT’D 6. Low morale 

Employees' morale is something that shows whenever they interact with customers, and the customer is quick to pick up on negative sentiment toward the company. While low morale is not always a result of poor customer service (although it can be due to a lack of empowerment), it always creates poor service. If this is the case, the management needs to try to instill a sense of pride throughout the company, and offer employees some well-deserved rewards and recognition. Empower employees to make decisions (within reasonable limits), and train them to make good decisions that have both the customer's and company's interests at heart. .

DO’S AND DON'TS OF HANDLING CUSTOMERS’ COMPLAINTS

Do have a person or people designated to handle complaint.

Do act helpful and willing to give guidance. Do direct them to a person who can resolve

or settle the complaint Do not argue with them. Do not continue to transfer them to people

who cannot resolve or settle their complaint.

PRACTICAL MODELS FOR ENHANCING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

There are indeed, many models for measuring and enhancing Customer Satisfaction. One of these is Batho Pele Principles.

These are built on the following:1. Consultation- Customers should be consulted on

level and quality of service.2. Service Standard- They should be informed of the

level and quality of service they will receive so that they are aware of what they should expect.

3. Access; Equal access to service that they are entitle to

4. Courtesy; Customers should be treated with courtesy and consideration.

PRACTICAL MODELS FOR ENHANCING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION- CONT’D

5. Information: Full and timely access to information that they require using appropriate medium.

6. Openness and Transparency: Customers should be aware of how organization are run and who is in-charge of what.

7. Redress: If promised standard in not delivered, customers should be offered an apology and full explanation and a speedy and effective remedy; and when complaint are made, customers should receive a sympathetic, positive response.

8. Value for Money- Possibly, customers should get best value for their money

CONCLUSION

Customer service, like any aspect of business, is a practiced art that takes time and effort to master. All you need to do to achieve this is to stop and switch roles with the customer. What would you want from your business if you were the client? How would you want to be treated? Treat your customers like your friends and they’ll always come back.

ALL THESE WOULD NEVER BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT POSITIVE ATTITUDE