57.
(p. 325)
Uranus, a retail store, provides supervised child care for its customers. This is an example
of:
A.
providing an employee assistance program.
B.
providing intrinsic motivators.
C.
practicing conditional positive regard.
D.
going the extra mile.
58.
(p. 326)
Which of the following questions is an effective self–check when deciding on an ethical
approach to a situation?
A.
“Would I want all of my procedures to be made public knowledge?”
B.
C.
“Would this customer be pleased with my suggestions?”
D.
“Would my actions lead to a solution to the issue?”
59.
(p. 327)
Which of the following questions is the Golden Rule for ethical customer service?
A.
“Is this customer a valuable resource to be considered with utmost importance?”
B.
“Would you want to continue with this customer?”
C.
“Are you treating the customer the way you would like to be treated in a similar
situation?”
D.
“Is there an easier, non-controversial manner to resolve the customer’s problem?”
60.
(p. 328)
Which of the following strategies should be followed when dealing with customers?
A.
You should take customers’ complaints personally.
B.
To succeed with customers, you must avoid bolstering their self-esteem.
C.
You should be cautious when accepting feedback and suggestions from customers as
most often these turn out to be personal attacks.
D.
You should respect your customers and give them the highest-quality service but
should never let them run your business.
Fill in the Blank Questions
61.
(p. 316)
According to Michael LeBoeuf, customers buy only two things: _____ and solutions.
good feelings
62.
(p. 317)
According to the American Management Association, 65 percent of a typical company’s
business comes from repeat business by _____ customers.
current
63.
(p. 317)
Good service, which always includes good ____, is the main reason for repeat business.
human relations
64.
(p. 317)
A(n) _____ is the person who depends on the other people in the company to provide the
services and products for the external customer.
internal customer
65.
(p. 318)
Finding out what the customer needs, and doing whatever is necessary to satisfy that need
are the _____ of customer service.
two simplest principles
66.
(p. 321)
When giving a customer bad news, one has to maintain a _____ tone of voice.
polite
67.
(p. 322)
The customer who never complains, but responds to bad service by taking his or her
business elsewhere is called a “_____” customer.
nice
68.
(p. 322)
Reggie is a customer who never complains when the waiters of a restaurant are sloppy; he
simply makes it a point to visit another restaurant if he continues to face the same issue
with a particular restaurant. Reggie best exemplifies a(n) “_____” customer
nice
69.
(p. 322)
According to Bill Gates, adopting a(n) _____ attitude toward customers rather than a
defensive position makes customer complaints the most important part of improving
quality of a business process.
learning
70.
(p. 322)
A complaint should not be viewed as a personal attack but as a(n) ____.
opportunity to improve
13–17
71.
(p. 323)
An emphasis on careful listening to complaints sends the signal to consumers that yours is
a(n) _____ business.
customer-focused
72.
(p. 325)
When dealing with difficult customers, you should avoid the _____ trap.
self-esteem
73.
(p. 325)
A(n) _____ trap is the circumstance that comes from taking a customer’s attack personally
and letting it affect how you feel about yourself.
self-esteem
74.
(p. 325)
Callie is greatly affected by the abusive comments of an aggressive customer. This incident
lowers her confidence. Callie has failed to avoid the _____ trap.
self-esteem
75.
(p. 325)
Businesses can go the _____ by offering customers free services to ensure goodwill.
extra mile
76.
(p. 327)
A company can ensure the highest standards of professionalism and ethics in its delivery of
customer service by promoting its desired values, ____, and making sure frontline workers
follow the rules.
ethics
77.
(p. 327)
To succeed with customers, you must learn to bolster their ____.
self-esteem
78.
(p. 329)
_____ primarily involves forming meaningful relationships with your customers, which
makes them much more likely to return and buy from you again.
Relationship selling
Short Answer Questions
79.
(p. 316)
According to Michael LeBoeuf, what are the two things that customers buy?
According to Michael LeBoeuf, customers buy only two things: good feelings and solutions
to problems. Hence, a garment shop is not selling clothes, but it is selling stylish
appearance, attractiveness, or comfort. Similarly, an insurance company is not just selling
insurance, but is selling financial security.
80.
(p. 316)
Explain why the importance of high-quality customer service has increased.
The most obvious reason for the increased importance of high-quality customer service is
greater competition. Competition from European and Asian countries with a greater focus
on customer service is forcing American companies to emphasize on how they treat their
customers. A second reason for this emphasis is the growth of services in the United
States over the past few decades. The final reason is that maintaining an ever-growing
group of satisfied customers is essential to staying in business and making a profit.
Keeping customers happy and loyal simply makes good economic sense.
81.
(p. 317)
Discuss the importance of customer service.
According to John Tschohl, customer service is part of successful selling because satisfied
customers come back to be customers again. The cost of finding new customers is
considerably greater than the cost of keeping the existing ones. There is always the risk
that a disgruntled customer might tell others and thus cutting off future customers.
Improving customer service skills also helps in a person’s self-development. Finally,
customer service skills can be transferred to almost any other profession or occupation.
82.
(p. 318)
Why is it important to treat internal customers right?
Internal customers usually don’t walk away when the service provided by a company is bad.
Unlike their external counterparts, they are tied to the company more directly than that.
This is why treating them right is really important to the overall success of a business.
83.
(p. 318)
Give an example of an internal customer.
Students’ answers will vary. In the production floor of a car manufacturer, the paints
division is an internal customer to the bodyworks division. If the bodyworks division fails
their internal customer, the paint shop will not be able to deliver its output to the customer.
84.
(p. 318–
319)
Describe ways of identifying a customer’s unspoken needs.
By listening carefully to the customer’s stated needs, their unspoken needs can be
discovered. In some cases, the customer doesn’t have a thorough understanding of what
his or her own needs are. In that case probing and asking a series of questions to find out
what is behind the surface statements helps.
85.
(p. 319)
List three basic human needs that all customers share.
Students’ answers will vary. Every customer’s needs include being accepted, recognized,
and respected by others, being listened to, being treated as an individual, being treated
with fairness, being welcomed and acknowledged, feeling appreciated, and feeling
comfortable.
86.
(p. 319–
320)
How should a person treat a customer who is not interested in purchasing any product but
just wants to be noticed? Substantiate your response.
The wise choice is to treat the customer with the same cordiality a paying customer would
receive. The customer’s positive experience might influence a friend or family member to
shop in your firm. Moreover, treating others well is not only good business; it is the right
thing to do.
87.
(p. 320)
What kind of attitude should be avoided when dealing with customers.
Some businesspeople seem to have the attitude that customers exist only for their
(business people’s) benefit. Also, some businesspeople think that once they have “landed”
a customer, they can start taking the customer for granted. These are two attitudes that
should be avoided when dealing with customers.
88.
(p. 321)
Why are bad news skills important?
Bad news skills refer to the skills necessary to deliver bad news to customers but still
retain their business and goodwill. No matter how often you have to do it, you may never
get used to saying no to customers. Developing sound bad news skills is essential, and it
will make the job less unpleasant.
89.
(p. 321)
What are the effective ways of delivering bad news to a customer?
Effective ways of delivering bad news to a customer include using a polite tone of voice,
avoiding extensive apologies, dealing with why the problem exists, and talking about what
can be done to solve the problem.
90.
(p. 321)
How should one consider using the word “policy” when dealing with customers?
Most customers would rather not hear the word “policy.” If you have to use it on
unavoidable occasions, you must find out the reasoning behind the policy so that you can
explain it clearly to the customer.
91.
(p. 322)
Why should firms encourage complaints?
Firms should encourage complaints because customer complaints inspire improvements to
service that would otherwise have gone unnoticed to people in many businesses.
92.
(p. 323)
Why should firms lay emphasis on the practice of listening to customer complaints?
An emphasis on careful listening to complaints sends the signal to customers that yours is
a customer-focused business. When customers perceive that you are willing to listen, and
that you are encouraging their response, they will be much more likely to respond honestly
and openly.
93.
(p. 324)
What are the various means of rewarding customers who complain?
Students’ answers will vary. Many large retail companies offer cash prizes for answering a
customer service survey. Thank-you notes, phone calls, gifts, “consultant of the month”
awards—are the other ways of rewarding customers who offer helpful complaints.
94.
(p. 324–
325)
What are the two things to remember when dealing with unreasonable, angry, or overly
demanding customers?
There are two things to remember when dealing with unreasonable, angry, or overly
demanding customers. First, stay focused on the long-term goal of customer satisfaction
rather than the short-term goal of expressing your anger. Second, avoid the self-esteem
trap. Don’t allow anyone’s emotional outbursts to make you have negative feelings about
yourself.
95.
(p. 325)
What is the self-esteem trap?
Self-esteem trap refers to the circumstance that comes from taking a customer’s attack
personally and letting it affect your own self-esteem.
96.
(p. 325–
326)
Discuss the practice of “going the extra mile.”
When a company gives customers small extra products or services as a way of showing
appreciation for their business, the company is said to be “going the extra mile.” The
goodwill generated thus could translate into future sales through repeat purchases or
referrals. This is why it is considered that “going that extra mile” nearly always pays up for
itself.
97.
(p. 326)
Why is it important to act ethically in all dealings with customers?
Acting ethically is essential in all dealings with customers. Customer service is a critical
aspect of successful business development, and of maintaining lucrative business
relationships. The customer service ethics of a company or organization define the quality
of the services the customer will receive.
98.
(p. 326)
List a few unethical things cited by Christopher MacDonald that are done by front-line
service representatives.
Front-line service representatives can do unethical things like lose orders, lie to customers,
or even sabotage their own work.
99.
(p. 327)
Suggest practices that companies can employ to ensure the highest standards of
professionalism and ethics in its delivery of customer service.
Companies can employ highest standards of professionalism and ethics in its delivery of
customer service by promoting its desired values (ethics), and making sure frontline
workers follow the rules (compliance). This takes the form of being truthful to customers,
safeguarding sensitive information, and displaying empathy and concern to customers with
problems. By making sure that customers know that their satisfaction is guaranteed, and
by following the philosophy that the customer’s needs are of the greatest importance,
much of the ethics issue will take care of itself.
100.
(p. 328)
What should you do when customer service conflicts with ethics?
Although keeping your customers satisfied is an essential part of good business, attention
to customer service needs to be balanced with firm leadership—including ethics and
perspective—in order for a business to succeed.