11 Jan Question 1. 1. (TCO 2) Explain how

Question
Week 1 discussion

DQ1

The Positive Impact of Customer Service

How does good customer service positively affect both the company and the customer?

DQ2

Building Relationships With Customers

How can companies build healthy relationships with customers?

Week 2 discussion

DQ1

Engaging Your Customers

Choose one of the Action Tips presented in Chapter 2 of the textbook and describe the tip, as well as how you would implement it for a particular company.

DQ2

Listening to Your Customers

Choose one of the Action Tips presented in Chapter 3 of the textbook and describe the tip, as well as why it is important. Illustrate your argument with an example.

Week 3 discussion

DQ1

Talking to Customers on the Telephone

Choose one of the Action Tips in Chapter 4 of the textbook, and discuss it with examples.

DQ2

Electronic and Internet Communication

Choose one of the Action Tips in Chapter 5 of the textbook, and discuss why it is important. Provide an example of the tip, from your experience as a customer, or your experience as an employee.

Week 4 discussion

DQ1

Addressing Customer Turnoffs

What causes customers to become dissatisfied and turned off? How can you prevent it?

DQ2

Emerging Trends in Customer Service

Choose one emerging trend in customer service and discuss how it is impacting the relationships between companies and customers.

Week 5 discussion

DQ1

Collecting Customer Feedback

How can companies collect feedback from customers, and how much data should be collected?

DQ2

Handling Customer Complaints

How should you handle a dissatisfied customer? What about a customer with unreasonable complaints?

Week 6 discussion

DQ1

Using Value to Exceed Customer Expectations

Explain how value and perceived value can be used to exceed customer expectations.

DQ2

Using Information to Exceed Customer Expectations

Explain how providing accurate and timely information can be used to exceed customer expectations.

Week 7 discussion

DQ1

Building Customer Loyalty

What strategies can companies use to generate and develop customer loyalty, and why is that increasingly important?

DQ2

Stress and Customer Service

Customer service can be seen as a kind of emotional labor. How can you reduce stress and prevent burnout if you are a customer service representative?

Week 1 homework

Choose either the Independent Auto Sales and Service (IAS) case on page 16, or the Network Nutrition Distributors (NND) case on page 17. For either case, answer all of the Strategy Planning Questions on page 17. Make sure that your writing is clear, understandable, and properly formatted and edited, including checking for proper spelling and grammar. Provide a cover page, reference page, and at least two accurate APA source citations for your answer. You may reference the textbook or other appropriate academic sources. These can be web-based sources, but do not use Wikipedia entries as part of your final submission.

Week 3 homework

Continuing either the Independent Auto Sales and Service (IAS) or Network Nutrition Distributors (NND) case that you started in Week 1, answer the Strategy Planning Questions listed on page 77 at the end of Chapter 4. Answer all three questions (including all sub-questions) completely—your response should be at least 200 words, properly formatted, clearly written and organized, and checked for spelling and grammar. Make sure to include a title page.

Week 6 homework

Continuing either the Independent Auto Sales and Service (IAS) or Network Nutrition Distributors (NND) case that you started in Week 1 and continued in Week 3, answer the Strategy Planning Questions listed on page 177 at the end of Chapter 10. Answer all four questions (including all sub-questions) completely—your response should be at least 200 words, properly formatted, clearly written and organized, and checked for spelling and grammar. Make sure to include a title page.

Week 2 you decide

You just took a new job as general manager with a manufacturing company. They brought you in because sales and profits are declining. As you look into the company sales and profits issues during the first few weeks, you also observe that in addition to the declining sales, the company has complaints from customers about a variety of issues, including late shipments, defective products, and wrong invoices. Your sales and manufacturing groups blame each other and the customer for the issues, including misleading information given to the customer by sales, incorrect information from the customer regarding specifications, and unrealistic ship dates. On Thursday morning of your third week, a customer called with a complaint about a defective product. The cost of the complaint could be significant. The department managers all have different opinions on how to handle the complaint. By Thursday afternoon, you find that some of the required information to make the part was missing. It was a rush job. The information is normally requested from the customer by customer service. By late Thursday, you have the following positions:

You have two roles here. The first is how to handle the complaint from the customer. Secondly you must decide on the customer relations position you want for the company.

Bob Yeader

Sales Manager

Photo of Dori Lately

Dori Lately

Operations Manager

Photo of Jennifer Garland

Jennifer Garland

CFO

Photo of Monica Milton

Monica Milton

Customer Service Representative

Photo of Sam Spaniel

Sam Spaniel

Customer

Given the scenario, your role and the information provided by the key players involved, it is time for you to make a decision. If you are finished reviewing this scenario, close this window and return to this Week’s You Decide tab, in eCollege, to complete the activity for this scenario. You can return and review this scenario again at any time.

Read the You Decide scenario and decide on a response. Your goal is to identify the critical issues in the scenario and determine how you would resolve the situation. Write a report correctly formatted of at least 250 words. Submit the report via the Dropbox. Remember to check your work for spelling and grammar issues before turning it in.

Week 5 you decide

You are a general manager with a service company. You are hearing comments from your sales group that customers are unhappy with your company. The comments range from poor service, missed assignments, to technical failures. When you ask for specifics, you get a general view of dissatisfaction from your sales group, but not a clear view if there is an issue. You have met with several of your large customers in the past few months, and they have not indicated that there is an issue. If anything, your impression from customers is that things are going well. Your company is growing and there are new customers and some new sales people.

Would you investigate customer complaints further? If so, how would you proceed to understand if there is a problem with service?

Bob Yeader

Sales Manager

Photo of Dori Lately

Dori Lately

Operations Manager

Photo of Jennifer Garland

Jennifer Garland

CFO

Photo of Monica Milton

Monica Milton

Customer Service Representative

Photo of Philip Fried

Philip Fried

Service Manager

Given the scenario, your role and the information provided by the key players involved, it is time for you to make a decision. If you are finished reviewing this scenario, close this window and return to this Week’s You Decide tab, in eCollege, to complete the activity for this scenario. You can return and review this scenario again at any time.

Read the You Decide scenario and decide on a response. Your goal is to identify the critical issues in the scenario and determine how you would resolve the issue. Write a report correctly formatted of at least 250 words. Submit the report to the Dropbox. Remember to run the spelling and grammar check on your work before turning it in.

Week 7 you decide

You are Bob Yeader, a Sales Manager of a small printing company. One of your sales people asked for a meeting. The meeting was difficult. The sales person, Pat Lawson, broke down in the meeting. Pat said the work was too much and the customers too demanding. Where Pat used to be able to get all the work done in one week, there was now too much work. Your internal staff has noticed that Pat seems stressed. You wonder if customers are seeing the stress. Pat has been with your company for 15 years, but is ready to quit. You know that there is more work, after all there are more customers, and you recently put in place some new procedures and technology to make service to customers better and increase sales. Pat is the only one struggling; at least you thought so. You are wondering what your options are.

Your role is to come up with a solution for Bob’s situation. If you were in Bob Yeader’s position what would you do? Define the problem(s) as you see it. Determine possible solutions and pick a solution to implement immediately.

Chris Nihil

HR Manager

Photo of George Fish

George Fish

Customer Service

Photo of Jack Mason

Jack Mason

Bob Yeader’s Consultant

Photo of Monica Milton

Monica Milton

Customer Service Representative

Given the scenario, your role, and the information provided by the key players involved, it is time for you to make a decision. If you are finished reviewing this scenario, close this window and return to this week’s You Decide tab in eCollege to complete the activity for this scenario. You can return and review this scenario again at any time.

Read the You Decide scenario and decide on a response. Your goal is to identify the critical issues in the scenario and determine how you would resolve the issue. Write a report correctly formatted of at least 250 words. Submit the report to the Dropbox. Remember to run the spelling and grammar check on your work before turning it in.

Week 3 case study

Objectives

Interview: After completing your assigned readings for this week, interview someone who has a customer relations/customer service role, or responsibility where the person has organizational responsibility and knowledge of the company’s customer relations policies. This person could be in your own organization, or in any other company. Ask the interviewee to describe the role and importance of customer relations/customer service to the organization, and the top three customer relations/customer service issues faced by the organization. In case of a last minute conflict, it is best to have a second choice lined up.

Supporting Research: Based on what you learned in the interview, you’ll conduct online research using scholarly resources, which can be found in the DeVry Online Library (available under Course Home) and online research sources such as Google. Locate at least four articles (two must be from scholarly resources) that discuss the current business climate for this company for inclusion as sources for your paper. What are current trends in this business (or in the overall industry of which this business is a member) that might impact customer service, customer satisfaction, or customer loyalty positively or negatively?

Examples

Toyota is a business in the auto industry. Customers want safe cars. Recently, Toyota had a series of setbacks from brakes failures to acceleration issues. Toyota has a history of great customer relations, but now appears to have to reshape its image. Other car companies are using safety and quality messaging against Toyota (insert accurate APA in-text source citation here). Toyota needs to address its customer service programs and customer relations for both existing customers and potential new customers.

Yume, the owner of a local Thai restaurant, has recently introduced a customer loyalty program where customers earn points for purchases that can be redeemed for free food and drinks; and customers love it! The American Restaurant Association says that loyalty programs are growing in popularity, especially in small boutique establishments, where there is a more personal connection between the owner and the customer (insert accurate APA in-text source citation here). Yume’s customers are very loyal and very satisfied, so since service improvement may not be entirely necessary, she may be able to expand her relationship with her customers by selling her sauces and cookbooks to her customers. This venture may also attract new customers!

Potential Research Sources:

Hoovers.com

Moody’s online database

Ebscohost

ABI/Inform database

NetLibrary

Each of these resources contain business articles and other resources that may assist you in answering the case study questions.

Analysis and Recommendations: Using what you’ve learned from the interview and your research, analyze the customer service environment at this company. How can customer service be improved? What are your recommendations to this company based on what you’ve learned?

Additional requirements: Prepare a 750 word (minimum) paper addressing these questions, using APA style and formatting. Pay particular attention to the accurate citation of your interview source, and your secondary research sources. Full contact information for your interview source (interviewee name, company name, phone, and email address) is required, and should be included as a separate Appendix page following your Reference page.

Week 1: Conduct Interview

During Week 1, you should decide who you are going to interview for the case study, make arrangements for the interview, and conduct the interview.

Week 2: Conduct Research

During Week 2, you should be conducting your online research and begin to write your paper.

Week 3: Write and Submit Case Study 1

During Week 3, you’ll finish writing your paper. For APA format guidance, please refer to the APA Tutorial in the Syllabus. Ensure that the body of your paper, excluding cover page and sources, exceeds the 750-word count minimum, and that all of the assignment requirements have been met. Then, submit your paper.

Guidelines

Case Study FAQ

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about this assignment.

Q1. I don’t know anyone in customer relations/service, or my company doesn’t have a customer service function. What do I do?

A: Find someone with customer relations/service responsibility, in any business, anywhere. You may have to get on the phone and make some calls. Tell them you are a college student and need 10 minutes of their time. People are almost always happy to help a student.

Have a backup in case your first choice for an interview has a conflict at the last minute. Conflicts and conciliation can happen, so it is best to be prepared.

Q2. Do I have to do an interview?

A: Yes, a personal or phone interview with another person is required. Full contact information for the source should be provided in your paper for verification purposes.

Q3. I do this for my company, can I just talk about my experience?

A: No, see Q2, above.

Q4. My firm doesn’t have customers, what do I do?

A: Every organization has a destination for its products or services – even government agencies, non-profits, and charities. You can use internal or external customer relations and service issues for this paper. If this is still an issue, see Q1, above.

Q5. How do I cite a personal interview as a source reference?

A: See the APA Tutorial in the course Syllabus.

Week 6 case study

Objectives

Companies with Good and Bad Service: Using the DeVry Online Library (available under Course Home) and online research sources such as Google, research the customer relations and customer service reputations of two (and only two—no more, no less) companies of your choice.

Supporting Research: Choose one company with an excellent customer service reputation, and one with a poor (or less than perfect) customer service reputation. Compare and contrast the customer service reputations of these two companies. Your paper should address the following questions.

What is the company with good customer relations doing right?

What is the company with poor customer relations doing wrong?

What are the results of the actions of the companies? For instance, financial, public relations, or employee issues?

What specific, actionable recommendations would you give for improving customer satisfaction for each company?

Additional requirements: Prepare a 750-word (minimum) paper addressing these questions, using APA style and formatting. Pay particular attention to the accurate citation of your research sources.

Week 4: Choose Companies

During Week 4, you should choose your two target companies and begin your research process.

Week 5: Conduct Research

During Week 5, you should be conducting your online research and beginning to write your paper.

Week 6: Write and Submit Case Study 2

During Week 6, you’ll finish writing your paper. For APA format guidance please refer to the APA Tutorial in the Syllabus. Ensure that the body of your paper, excluding cover page and sources, exceeds the 750-word count minimum, and that all of the assignment requirements have been met. Then submit your paper.

Guidelines

Case Study FAQ

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about this assignment.

Q1) The company’s web site doesn’t show anything about their customer service reputation, policy etc., what do I do?

A: Do your homework, which means do your research. The company’s web site will not be sufficient for objective information. Make phone calls, look for articles online, go to the library—a company’s web site is a starting point. Your job is to use all of the information available to you through all outlets to address these questions. Claiming to be unable to find any information is not a viable option. If this is the case, choose another company.

Q2) How can I tell if their service is good or bad?

A: Start with your own experience, and choose companies with which you are familiar. Read everything you can find about the company and soon, a picture will emerge that tells you a story about their service levels, their approach to business, and the relative happiness of their customers. Based on this information, you can formulate your own analysis of the relative effectiveness of the company’s service efforts.

HINT: The more thoroughly you show that you have the capability to think about these two companies in their respective positions in the marketplace as it relates to their service programs, the better your chances of getting an A on the paper. If you claim to have looked on the Web and found little information; if you make generalized statements that indicate a lack of thorough, specific research; if you fail to accurately cite your sources in APA style or present a paper that is not spelling and grammar checked, your grade will suffer. Get creative, find a way to answer the questions and address the assignment requirements. Good luck!

Week 4 midterm exam

One

Three to five

10 to 20

30 to 40

Question 2. 2. (TCO 4) What is one of the benefits of treating customers fairly to generate customer loyalty? (Points : 10)

They will always refer 15 people to you.

It will generate positive feelings.

They will always put up positive reviews online.

It will generate a sense of accomplishment.

Question 3. 3. (TCO 1) Which of these core customer service competencies reflects the notion that customer service employees need to seize opportunities to satisfy a customer request quickly? (Points : 10)

Acceptance of ownership

Ability to manage change

Ability to manage knowledge

Ability to communicate effectively

Question 4. 4. (TCO 13) Which of these is not true of electronic customer service via websites? (Points : 10)

Electronic customer service can produce frustrated customers.

Electronic customer service can completely replace phone calls.

Your company can end up with a failed website.

Installing an electronic customer service solution can be costly.

Question 5. 5. (TCO 2) Which one of these is not regarded as a potential turnoff to customers? (Points : 10)

Advertised sales items not in stock

Having to drive to the store

High-pressure sales tactics

Noisy shopping or service environments

Question 6. 6. (TCO 3) Which of the following is not a best practice for phone conversations? (Points : 10)

Speak clearly and distinctly

Avoid “dead air” silence

Keep callers on track

Engage callers in personal conversation, no matter how long it takes

Question 7. 7. (TCO 5) Which of these positive personality behaviors gives customers goodwill and moves them toward a positive experience? (Points : 10)

Plant seeds for relationship building

Compliment freely and sincerely

Reassure customers in their decision to do business with you

Pay attention to your dress and grooming

Question 8. 8. (TCO 7) Which of the following listening tips can prevent you from “correcting” customers? (Points : 10)

You should listen for more than just facts.

You should be patient and defer disagreement.

You should try counterattitudinal advocacy.

You should solicit clarification.

Question 9. 9. (TCO 7) What does having an escalation policy mean for customer service? (Points : 10)

Never talk about something until a customer does

Always try to “one-up” the competition

Know when managers need to be involved

Giving a bigger refund than the sales price

Question 10. 10. (TCO 2) What does the concept of service recovery mean? (Points : 10)

Problem situations can be prevented entirely

Customer loyalty is destroyed by any problem, even if resolved

Customers can perform services for your business in exchange for goods

Acknowledging and addressing complaints helps create loyalty

Question 11. 11. (TCO 8) A customer has written a letter complaining about having her reservation cancelled at your hotel. Your hotel is named the Winter Sands Hotel, and she had a reservation for November 25th. The hotel features a spa, for which she also had reservations. The spa is not associated with your hotel management, and the spa reservation could not be cancelled. The customer had to drive to the appointment, and drive back home, since all the other hotels in the area were more expensive. Your management will offer her a 15% discount on a future stay, but needless to say, her letter was not relaxed — she was very upset, but civil. Draft a response to the letter that demonstrates your understanding of proper written communication techniques for addressing customer concerns. (Points : 25)

Question 12. 12. (TCO 6) A female customer on a video conference says the following: “I’m calling about this purse that I bought at your outlet store. I really liked it but I noticed that there was a stain on the bottom. I went back to the store, and of course that was the only one there, but when I went up to the counter I couldn’t believe what happened! The woman at the counter took the purse, and my receipt, rang it as a return and then cut it to pieces right there in front of me! She said it’s your policy that imperfect merchandise can’t be sold, and must be destroyed. I did get the refund, but if I would have known that, I would have kept it. It was only a small stain and I really liked the purse, but she didn’t even give me a choice about what to do! Is that your policy, or was she just crazy? What are you going to do about this? You have other outlets somewhere, but now I don’t even have the stock number, and I can’t figure out how to find it online. It’s not on your website, but I was even looking at auction sites at this point. Is that really your policy? How can you waste all that money? It makes me want to not buy your products anymore. I’m sure that the planet doesn’t need you wrecking it with factories only to throw things away. Someone could have used that purse! I’m just very upset about the whole thing and the way that it was handled.”

Indicate at what point you would have given her verbal or nonverbal feedback, and what form it would take. Then, paraphrase her response, looking for the essence of the complaint. Imagine that you are talking directly to the customer as you type your response. (Points : 25)

Week 8 final exam

Question 1.1. (TCO 1) Which of these key organizational behaviors helps customers to interact with your organization? (Points : 8)

Smiling

Shaking hands with customers

Asking often “how am I doing”?

Asking customers to begin filling out paperwork

Question 2.2. (TCO 1) Which of these key organizational behaviors helps customers to stay close after a transaction? (Points : 8)

Having a Halloween costume day

Having employee casual dress days

Mailing thank-you notes

Greeting customers within 30 seconds

Question 3.3. (TCO 2) Which of these can be a value turnoff for customers? (Points : 8)

Price too high for quality received

Sloppy appearance, poor grooming, or annoying mannerisms

Business place dirty, messy, or cluttered

Inconvenient location, layout, parking, or access

Question 4.4. (TCO 2) Which of these can be a people turnoff for customers? (Points : 8)

Overly complicated or difficult to use products

Low selection or poor availability of product

Business place dirty, messy, or cluttered

Employees who lack knowledge or who are not helpful

Question 5.5. (TCO 3) Which of the following is true about listening to customers? (Points : 8)

You should only listen for facts, never emotion.

You should fake paying attention when you can’t afford to pay it.

Communication problems can arise from information overload.

Internal, environmental, and interactional elements never form barriers.

Question 6.6. (TCO 4) Which of the following is true about customers in the zone of indifference? (Points : 8)

They are motivated.

They are not loyal customers.

They are not inert.

They are dissatisfied.

Question 7.7. (TCO 5) When interacting with customers, it’s important to maintain proper verbal discipline. Which of the following represents proper verbal behavior? (Points : 8)

Commenting on a customer’s bad clothing

Thanking a customer for their purchase

Judging another customer’s rude interaction style

Concluding a sale with “There you go.”

Question 8.8. (TCO 6) How can you let customers know that you are listening? (Points : 8)

By interrupting them

By paraphrasing and asking for clarification

By staring at them

Using body language such as physical distance

Question 9.9. (TCO 7) Which of these is an example of true listening? (Points : 8)

Always having a script ready to respond to any situation.

Pausing to hear the whole story before offering a solution.

Nodding your head so that the customer thinks you are paying attention.

Interrupting the customer to help them finish their thoughts.

Question 10.10. (TCO 7) How does true listening help customer relations create business value? (Points : 8)

It reduces the amount of office supplies required.

It can help rescue lost customers and turn them back into loyal ones.

It decreases numbers of managers needed for customer service.

It allows companies to sell defective products more often.

Question 11.11. (TCO 8) Which of these is not a function of call centers? (Points : 8)

Sending customers invoices

Handling inbound calls

Handling outbound calls

Responding to billing concerns

Question 12.12. (TCO 8) Which is true of angry customers on the phone? (Points : 8)

Never let them know you are listening.

Interrupting them makes them angrier.

You shouldn’t empathize with them.

They don’t want positive solutions.

Question 13.13. (TCO 9) Some companies can value profits over customer relationships. Which of these practices doesn’t sacrifice customer trust for short-term “bad profits”? (Points : 8)

High premiums for seasonal goods or popular options

Exceeding customers’ expectations and building relationships

Special offers only available to new customers

Extra charges for services that should be included in the price

Question 14.14. (TCO 9) Which of these is not a common cause of anger or frustration for upset customers? (Points : 8)

They are helpless

They are a new customer

They are not valued

They are not important

Question 15.15. (TCO 10) When dealing with an upset customer, how should you view the situation? (Points : 8)

You should be objective.

You should take it personally.

You should give the customer everything they ask for.

You should always tell them “no.”

Question 16.16. (TCO 11) What is the customer life cycle called for recovered customers? (Points : 8)

A second life cycle

A recovery run

A prospect phase

An unlost transom

Question 17.17. (TCO 11) What percentage of customers who have a negative experience tell others about it? (Points : 8)

79%

78%

77%

76%

Question 18.18. (TCO 12) If you had an issue with a high-roller customer, how would you start trying to resolve the conflict? (Points : 8)

Work hard at soliciting comments.

Listen carefully to be sure that you understand the complete problem.

Listen respectfully and question them carefully.

Remain unfailingly objective and use data.

Question 19.19. (TCO 13) Which type of software can track individual customers across their life cycles? (Points : 8)

CXM

CRM

SaaS

Virtual dashboard

Question 20.20. (TCO 13) Which of these should you avoid on your company’s website? (Points : 8)

Sarcasm

Simplicity

Clarity

Consistency

Page 2

Question 1. 1. (TCO 2) Explain how complicated fares and the perception of inequity between two different passengers might hurt the credibility of airlines. Include as much detail as possible in your answer, but focus your answer on who earns frequent flyer rewards, and how many of them are actually redeemed. How much does poor customer satisfaction hurt their business? What are the risks for the company? Provide a balanced answer that looks at the “big picture” of profit and satisfaction. What changes would you suggest for the industry? (Points : 30)

Question 2. 2. (TCO 11) Explain overall strategies for recovering lost customers. Include as much detail as possible in your answer, but focus your answer on feeling customer pain as described in the textbook. Create a scenario where a customer has come to you and is disappointed, but not necessarily angry or frustrated. Choose an industry, describe the customer’s complaint, and how you would react in the situation. The customer does not want to continue doing business with your company because of the events. Explain your customer recovery efforts, and what impact they ultimately have on the business. (Points : 30)

Question 3. 3. (TCO 4) Explain how you would exceed customer expectations by convenience and timing. In your answer, focus on a particular industry and create a scenario that illustrates your point. What is the impact on the customer, the store/location, the brand, and ultimately the parent company? (Points : 30)