[B HEAD] Mystery Shopper
To find out what the customers really experience, sometimes organisations will employ a mystery shopper. This is a person who pretends to shop and experiences the service and care ordinary shoppers get. They will record their experiences and then fed back to staff either to praise or to reinforce any concerns regarding poor standards. Sometimes staff are aware of the mystery shopper and don’t always co-operate and can even be hostile as they feel they are being spied on.
[C HEAD] Advantages of the mystery shopper
• This gives a really clear sample of what a potential customer might experience.
• It is good for identifying staff training needs.
[C HEAD] Disadvantages of the mystery shopper
• It only monitors and evaluates
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The most common loyalty cards can be found at Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury (Nectar) etc. When the customer buys goods or services they gain points on their card which they can put towards the purchase of more goods and services. Rewards such as these are aimed at retaining customers by showing that the organisations value and care for them. Furthermore organisations use these cards to gather very valuable information on the spending habits of their customers, allowing them to alter prices and extend special offers.
[B HEAD] Total Quality Management
[DF] TQM requires the commitment of all staff.
Total quality management (TQM) is a concept that acknowledges that ALL employees in an organisation have individual as well as collective responsibility for maintaining high quality standards. The fundamental principle of TQM is: Get it right, first time and every time. The relationship between improving quality and developing the business has been demonstrated again and again (especially by the Japanese electronics industry).
Quality management allows the setting and monitoring of standards, meeting targets and delivering what has been promised by a courteous and helpful staff. It also allows organisations to measure themselves against other organisations, sometimes known as benchmarking.
For TQM to be successful, quality has to be clearly defined and it must be measurable, and the commitment of all staff is very
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Explain what is meant by Total Quality Management.
4. Explain what is meant by an internal customer.
[ONLINE] Head to www.brightredbooks.net to complete some great activities on customer care.
[OT] Test yourself on this topic at www.brightredbooks.net
[TTDATA] Specimen SQA questions
1. Describe the areas that might be covered by a customer service strategy. 6 marks
2. Describe the importance of good customer service to an organisation. 6 marks
3. Describe the consequences, and their implications, of poor customer service. 6 marks
4. Compare the use of a mystery shopper with a customer focus group. 2 marks
5. Outline 4 reasons given by customers for not complaining. 4 marks
6. Justify the need for a complaints policy. 2 marks
7. Outline the qualities required of an Administrative Assistant when dealing with external customers. 4 marks
8. Describe the methods a company may use to gather information about customer satisfaction. 6 marks
9. Describe good practice an organisation could adopt to ensure that complaints are handled effectively. 6 marks
10. Justify the expense of training Administrative Assistants in customer care. 2 marks
11. Justify the importance of a mission statement to an organisation. 2
When customers are shopping online and place something in their cart, Tesco uses a system that allows the customer to see products that are related to the one(s) they are currently looking at. This helps the customer find a better item, or a similar item for a cheaper price. It may also encourage the customer to buy more products that will benefit their needs. Tesco also use ICT to remind customers about special event, and exclusive/special sales that are only available on or up to a specific date. Customer Relationship Management (CRM), refers to how a business such as Tesco builds their long-term relationship with their customers.
CVS Health is one of the many competitors in the pharmacy retail industry with a focus on retail stores and health clinics within their stores. Currently ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 list (Fortune), CVS Health has over 7,800 retail drugstores throughout the states and Puerto Rico as well as in Brazil, 1000 Minute Clinics, and over 1.7 billion prescriptions filled/managed annually with over 217,000 employees (CVS Health). CVS Health has one of the most successful loyalty programs in all of the U.S. The ExtraCare loyalty program has over 70 million card members. The loyalty program is so effective in the sense that it is tailored to the individuals based on their purchase history.
1. Consider key elements of ACA provided on p. 11 in the textbook. Pick any two and discuss. Whether a particular element of ACA has been already successfully implemented? What are the pros and cons of this element?
contribute to its gag rule. Tesco is also exposed to the non-food division of its business in which they are recorded losses and their competitive advantage is not sustainable any longer because the likes of the Aldi, Lidl and the one pound store spring up in the grocery stores in the UK. Hill and Knowlton (2006) described a study of the use of corporate reputation in the determination of financial analysts when assessing a firm’s operation. After inflating accounts by over £260 million, and wiping more than £2.5 billion off its market value, Tesco has severely damaged its brand, eroded consumer trust and shareholder confidence. To append to its woes, the Serious Fraud Office has set up an investigation into the company’s over stated profits.
Task 5 Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is an indication whether the expectations of a customer has been met. Customer satisfaction is an abstract concept where that involves factors like the products quality and quality of service and the locations atmosphere where the products are being purchased, and whether the prices are suitable for the products or service. Businesses uses customer satisfaction survey to find out whether the customers are satisfied with the services and the products of the company. It’s a leading indicator of consumer repurchase intentions and loyalty
Marketing Strategies:- • The designing department of root Canada makes sure that all products are up to date by travelling, researching and stay in touch with latest cultural and fashion development. • Time to time consultation with retail staff and consumers for the betterment of the product. • Strongly linked with the Canadian heritage and core values. • Testing new products on employees of the company in order to get feedback. • Co-Owners finalize the product before launch it in the market.
“Believe What You Want” What is it that shoppers are looking for when they walk into a store? The simplest answer is they don’t know what it really is ,but the store does. It is in Ann Norton’s article,” The Signs of Shopping” , that she reveals that within malls between woman there is a community of taste that is created as a culture. There is an opportunity for independence that they can enjoy amongst themselves.
Mission statements are typically future focused and are not essentially constructed on present-day. They should be a reasonable viewpoint from which to look down the road. These statements should not bound the development of the organization’s premises through incorrect
The goals created for the organization have to be aligned with the strategic goals and overall mission of the entire organization.
3. INTRODUCTION Today retailing services has become very much important in the competitive environment. Customer service quality has been widely used by the retailers as one of the important strategy. Retailing is the second largest employment provider after agriculture.
Specify organisational standards of customer service So the customer segment of the Ritz-Carlton is a wealthy clientele who has very high expectations since they use to get upscale products because they are ready to pay more to have more. Therefore, the differentiation of the Ritz-Carlton is made on an efficient and effective customer service. As we know the needs are general but the wants are specific, so the companies have to make the difference so as to become the customer’s wants. For example, customers will need to book an hotel room but some customers will want to book an Ritz-Carlton hotel room.
The teams processing the information for the customers for the service provided were contacted by the customers to assist them in making payments. Knowledge The knowledge about the buying criteria of the consumer and that there was greater opportunity for the differentiation strategy implemented based on the quality and the services offered for customers. Mike was also able to establish the fact that his relationship was not too smooth with the managers of the
Executive Summary The following report was conducted in order to suggest target markets and strategic recommendations based on evaluation of the business environment, market segments and strategy of Tesco Plc and the factors contributing to the company's corporate position in the retail market. Tesco’s size and brand identity are primary contributing factors to their current place in the market and their large customer base. They have faced considerable challenges since the economic recession as the consumer trend has been to look for cheaper alternatives and poor strategic decisions have led to a decrease in profits and slow in growth. Tesco’s brand identity, customer orientation, propensity to innovate and positioning in comparison to competitors
In my own words, total quality management approach is the ceaseless procedure of lessening or disposing of blunders in assembling, streamlining store network administration, enhancing the client encounter and guaranteeing that workers are dependent upon pace with their preparation. Total quality management aims to hold all parties in the production process as responsible for the general nature of the overall quality of the final product or service. Total quality management is a management philosophy and company practices that aim to harness the human and material resources of an organization in the most effective way to achieve the objectives of the organization (Hoyle, David 2007). This theory consists of eight principles. The first principle is customer-focused organisation.