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1.Define customer service.

2.Describe factors that have impacted the growth of the service sector in the United States.

3. Identify the socioeconomic and demographic changes that have influenced customer service.

The Profession

The Customer Service ProfessionLearning Objectives, Chapter 1

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Customer Service Profession, continued

4. Recognize the changes in consumer behavior that are impacting service.

5. List the six major components of a customer-focused environment.

6. Explain how some companies are addressing the changes impacting the service sector.

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What is Customer Service?

Customer service is the ability of knowledgeable, capable and enthusiastic employees to deliver

products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies

identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity

and return business.

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What is a Customer-focused Organization?

A customer-focused organization is a company that spends energy and effort on satisfying

internal and external customers by first identifying customer needs, then establishing policies, procedures and management and reward

systems to support excellence in service delivery.

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Factors Related to Customer-focused Organizations

• They have internal and external customers.• Their focus is on determining and meeting

customer needs.• Information, products and services are easily

accessible.• Policies are in place to allow employee

decision-making.

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Factors Related to Customer-focused Organizations, continued

• Management and systems support and reward employees.

• Reevaluation of business strategies and systems is ongoing.

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Shift to Service

Typical Former Occupations:Farmer

Ranch worker

Machinist

Homemaker

Railroad worker

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Shift to Service, continued

Typical Service Occupations:

Salesperson

Insurance agent

Food service

Administrative assistant

Child care provider

Security guard

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Impact of the Economy

• Quantity of jobs being created

• Distribution of jobs

• Quality of service jobs

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Factors that Impact Job Quantity

• Interest rates

• Consumer demand

• Advent of technology

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Parallel Trends in Job Development

Changes in economy have brought changes in distribution of jobs such as:

• Need for employees to be able to have regular access to personal and professional networks and to engage in collaborative exchanges.

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Quality of Service Jobs

Economic growth, low interest rates and new job opportunities since the late 1900s.

Networking: builds relationships inside and outside an organization. One accomplishes this through

meetings, interactions and activities.

Join committees and boards to secure invaluable experiences.

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Downsizing: What is that?

A company sometimes needs to step back and review its positions; it may find it needs to lay off some number of

employees.

This process is usually known as downsizing.

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Factors that May Have Caused the Economic Shift from Manufacturing to Service

• Increased technology• Globalization• Deregulation• Geopolitical changes• More white-collar workers• Socioeconomic program development• More women entering the workforce

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Knowledge=Power

What does this mean?

Relate it to knowledge

regarding your job such as

software, equipment, emerging technologies.

How could the above help you in the workplace?

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Geopolitical Changes Caused by Various World Events

Oil embargoes

Political unrest

Conflicts and wars

What affect do these situations have on travel?

Explain the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and any effect on trade and outsourcing

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Reasons for Increase in Older Workers

Result of social factors:Most significant is because median age is rising

Not enough entry-level people

Other reasons may be economic and socialization (they miss interactions and/or the work itself)

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Statistics on Small Business

Small Business Numbers Increasing:

70% of all businesses are small

In U.S. there are 24.7 million businesses

Small businesses with less than 500 employees represent 99.9% of those 24.7 million since recent data show there are only 17,000 large businesses.

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Growth of e-Commerce

Sales in 2003 increased 27.8 percent from 2002 with sales topping $12.5 billion

Do you surf the Net? Why? How Often?

New way to access goods and services through technology is called e-commerce.

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Shifts in Consumer Behavior

Leisure time

Expectation of quality service

Enhanced consumer preparation

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Customer Service Environment Components

The customer

Organizational culture

Human resources

Products/deliverables

Delivery systems

Service

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Addressing the Changes to Provide Better ServiceDiscuss the philosophy behind the term

learning organization.

Discuss the statement: To excel, organizations must train all employees to spot problems

and deal with them before the customer becomes aware they exist.

Discuss service recovery briefly.