Attracting and keeping customers and customer care the inside track

Customer complaints.

It is said that the English never complain, but if that was ever true, things have changed. Research by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) shows that compared with the other three nations in the United Kingdom, the English are more likely to complain about poor service.

Two-thirds of those surveyed anticipated making more complaints this year than they did last. It might be argued that it is not the English but the quality of services that has changed. And few will be surprised to learn that the organization most complained about is a railway company.

Paradoxically, complaints can be good for business. ICS research shows that nine out of 10 people who have a complaint dealt with satisfactorily are likely to recommend the services of the company concerned to a friend.

In theory, at least, many marketing departments now argue that a company's brand is not its product but its people. The most visible symbol of this is the television advertisements that feature real employees – there is an underlying philosophy at work here. And the purpose of the ICS research is not to produce a league table of competence but to demonstrate that there is a correlation between share price and customer satisfaction. And its latest report, written by Robert Johnston of Warwick University achieves exactly that.

Naturally everybody is in favour of good customer service, but not everyone is delivering it. “The boards of many companies in the UK still believe that, although good customer service may be desirable, it is a cost that they are not prepared to fully commit to”, says Paul Cooper, business development director at the ICS.

Of course it might be argued that customer service is a wasted effort if employees are flogging a dead horse. For example, if rail management won't invest in new trains, there is little to be said that will cheer up the passengers. But it is not always that straightforward. For companies that deliver as much customer dissatisfaction as the rail firms, the unschooled, and presumably unauthorized, customer service announcement “Sorry, but the driver hasn't turned up” will fast become a collector's item.

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Glossary

65535. paradoxically – strangely

65535. league table – list which shows how successful a company is compared with other similar companies

65535. flogging a dead horse – trying to achieve something that cannot be done

65535. unschooled – not the result of training

65535. a collector's item – very rare

PROGRESS TEST

1. The recent boom in consumer spending resulted in sales .

a. recession

b. growth

c. improvement

2. They are determined to make the company profitable and to achieve a stable by fiscal 2010.

a. increase

b. income

c. loss

3. We should the product into the market by August.

a. take

b. launch

c. deliver

4. If you own some shares of a company, you receive per share.

a. interest

b. dividends

c. salary

5. I draw up contracts and advise the company on tax legislation. I work in the department.

a. Sales

b. Human Resources

c. Legal

6. He most of his savings in the Stock Exchange.

a. gave

b. invested

c. fixed

7. receive income, known as dividend, from the companies in which they

invested.

a. Owners

b. Shareholders

c. Stockbrokers

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8. In order to raise capital the company intends to issue shares .

a. on the consumer market

b. on the production market

c. on the stock market

9. Of course, our goods are not very cheap, but the prices are quite for the

average consumer.

a. high

b. reasonable

c. costly

10. If you sponsored a charity, you would improve your .

a. income

b. profits

c. reputation

11. Our company is determined to so that we might reach our full potential.

a. increase

b. recess

c. expand

12. A car’s fuel is generally very high.

a. consumptive

b. consummation

c. consumption

13. can result if you have no more income to pay your debts.

a. Transfer

b. Bankruptcy

c. Discount

14. Russian business is a lot of foreign capital.

a. investing

b. attracting

c. importing

15. The operating divisions of our company are like separate small businesses.

a. run

b. responsible

c. established

16. An amount of money required to start or expand a business is called .

a. capital

b. loan

c. rent

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17. People who buy goods or services are called

a. users

b. customers

c. suppliers

18. A non-profit-making organization is called a

a. company

b. business

c. society

19. A monthly payment in exchange for work is called

a. dividend

b. interest

c. salary

20. A plan of action is called .

a. objective

b. strategy

c. goal

21. He is on legislation problems.

a. a lawyer

b. an authority

c. a supervisor

22. A highly competitive market led to higher capital _

a. losses

b. growth

c. expenditure

APPENDIX TIPS OF HOW TO RUN A DEBATE

Running a debate

In a debate, speakers speak for or against an idea which is called the motion in front of an audience which is referred to as the House.

At the end of the debate, a vote is taken.

The fun is to see which side can win.

In real life, most people would often feel that there were some good points on both sides. In a debate, you support the side that you think has most good points.

If you are one of the speakers, you make your own speech trying to persuade everyone else that your side is the right side. You do this by pointing out all the good things about that side, and the bad things about the other side.

When the vote is taken at the end of the debate, it is important that people should think hard about what has been said, and vote for the side they think has really won the argument.

The procedure

The speakers speak in this order:

1. The chairperson reads the motion.

1. Someone speaks in favour of (proposes) the motion.

1. Someone speaks against (opposes) the motion.

1. A second person (a seconder) speaks for the motion.

1. A second person speaks against the motion.

1. Then the other people in the House take it in turns to speak, as the chairperson gives them a turn

1. The proposer of the motion then has another turn, to remind people of all the points that his or her side has made.

1. And so does the opposer of the motion.

1. The chairperson takes a vote and declares the result.