E2-E3: MANAGEMENT. CHAPTER-15 CUSTOMER CARE (Date of Creation: )

Transcription

1 E2-E3: MANAGEMENT CHAPTER-15 CUSTOMER CARE (Date of Creation: ) Page: 1

2 Customer Care Introduction: Organizations produce goods and services to sell them to the customers, for making profits. Marketers facilitate this transaction. The least a customer expects is the value of the item in terms of money, time and energy and reasonable level of warranty, assurance that the item will deliver what it is intended to, failing which the seller would extend appropriate support. Customer care is primarily concerned with this expectation of the customer. This handout details the concepts, model and BSNL system for customer care Lesson Objective Define Customer Care Understand Touch Points Framework of Customer Care Customer Relationship Management Degree of customer care and customer segmentation Regulatory dimension BSNL system for customer care Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation. Customer care can be defined as comprising of all tasks and activities by a company directed to satisfy a customer across all touch points at various stages of customer life cycle for a mutually beneficial relationship. Touch point is any point of interaction where a customer (prospective as well as existing) can form positive or negative opinion about the company. Many touch points exist in an enterprise and their significance to various groups of customers will be different. Generally we may categorize touch points as given below: 1. Communication 2. Physical 3. Human Interaction Advertisements Bills Brochures Point-of-purchase Business cards Incoming call system Web site etc. Product Offices/buildings Reception /waiting area etc. Sales staff Call center representatives Service/installation staff etc. Page: 2

3 Impact of the touch points & approach to customer care is different at various stages of customer life cycle. The relationship begins with the first transaction. Then, the organization must be prepared to fulfill its promises, delight the customer, and plan for customer retention. A customer expects is the consistency across all the touch points of the company, means that should get the same feel and response from various Touch Points, for his similar type of requirements. Framework of Customer care: Expectations of modern customers are: Customer wants all queries to be solved at one place. (Single Window Concept) Customer wants all queries to be solved over phone itself. (Call center) Customer wants they should get consistency. (Across all touch points) Customer wants the information should be available on fingertips. (IVRS) Customer wants Service to be provided at their doorsteps (DSA, Sales personnel) These can be achieved within the framework of customer care which depends on the strength of three pillars within the company, namely: 1. Technology 2. Process 3. People Technology for Customer Care: Here the technology refers to the computer aided supporting technology. It may be the issue of bill, dealing with service request or for registration and follow up of complaints/faults the technology plays a key role. Customer relationship management software, IVRS, call centers, database management systems, networking of offices, web based systems offering faster communication for better and more accurate response. Process: High technology will not deliver results unless the processes are efficient & effective. BSNL has been modifying various processes such as simplifying the customer application form (CAF), simplifying the work execution steps etc. For example CSCs have been asked to operate from 8 AM to 8PM and act as single window system. All processes in the customer dealings should be streamlined and simplified to make them effective, professional and customer friendly. Page: 3

4 People: The people do the processes with the help of technology for caring the customers. The people thus play the most important role in utilization of appropriate technology and implementation of suitable processes. Normally a service organization consists of two groups of people: Front end Back end Front end: They are the people who directly interface with the customers. They may or may not be directly responsible for ultimate rectification of fault/grievance. In general we find that maximum focus of service organizations is on these people they are to be specially trained to handle customers to listen, and to respond with empathy, speak clearly, consistently, politely, pleasing manners, use good body language, have sufficient updated subject knowledge etc. But more often front-end people are just an interface between the actual care people (back end) and the customer. Imagine, a customer asking a call center representative about the latest mobile bill only to be told that fresh data has not been uploaded in the server. A customer asking when his/her complaint will be addressed, may be told that the issue is being looked into by experts (back end people) no feedback available to be passed on. In such a scenario, it is the front-end people who face the music not the back end those who are actually responsible for the cause. Empowerment to some level is also needed at the front end to respond in a demanding situation. BSNL has the concept of Account Managers or Customer Relationship managers (CRMs) to take care of group of customers and providing them a single window interface. Back end: Majority of the work force of a company falls in this category especially in service sector. Proper skills, in depth knowledge is must for this category to ensure proper working of the technical and administrative systems They are the decision makers, the planners, the developers, the installers and the maintenance personnel; they play key role in proper and prompt settling of grievances / complaints and rectification of faults. Internal marketing provides proper information flow within the organization about the latest /new services and other related aspects from the Back end to Front end and about feedbacks of the customers in the reverse way. This strengthens the knowledge level of the people in the Front end who have contact with the ultimate consumer or who have a direct effect on the consumer s satisfaction. In essence, internal marketing suggests treating employees similar to customers-delight them with surprises, plan to retain them, and train them in how to care the ultimate customers appropriately. Page: 4

5 II) Concepts in Customer Care Customer relationship management (CRM) is a term applied to the processes implemented by a company to handle its contact with the customers. CRM software is used to support these processes, storing information of the current and prospective customers. Details on any customer contacts can also be stored in the system. The rationale behind this approach is to improve services provided directly to customers and to use the information in the system for targeted marketing and sales purposes. Information in this system can be edited, accessed and utilized by employees in different departments, such as sales, marketing, customer service, professional development, performance management, human resource development, planning& material management. While the term is generally used to refer to a software-based approach to handling customer relationships, most CRM software vendors stress that a successful CRM strategy requires a holistic approach. CRM initiatives often fail because implementation is limited to software installation without providing the appropriate motivations for the employees to learn, to provide input and to take full advantage of the information systems. There are many technological components to CRM, but thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is as a process that will facilitate to bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends, ultimately it will help in deciding and designing of effective marketing strategies. From the outside, customers interacting with a company perceive the business as a single entity, despite often interacting with a variety of employees in different roles and departments. CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by a company that unify its customer interaction and provides a mechanism for tracking customer information. Using CRM, a business can Provide better customer service Increase customer revenues Discover new customers Cross sell/up Sell products more effectively Help sales staff to close deals faster Make call centers more efficient Simplify marketing and sales processes CRM also includes many aspects which relate directly to one another: Page: 5

6 Front office operations Direct interaction with customers, e.g. face to face meetings, phone calls, s, online services etc. Back office operations Operations that ultimately affect the activities of the front office (e.g., billing, maintenance, planning, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, finance, etc.) Business relationships Interaction with other companies and partners, such as suppliers/vendors and retail outlets/distributors, industry networks (lobbying groups, trade associations). This external network supports front and back office activities. Analysis Key CRM data can be analyzed in order to plan target-marketing campaigns, conceive business strategies, and judge the success of CRM activities (e.g., market share, number and types of customers, revenue, profitability, etc.). Customer Care for whom?: Should a company treat all customers alike? Company manpower is limited. Given the time constraint, should one utilize the time for attending complaints of high paying customer (CIC) or an average one? This dimension calls for categorization of customers on the basis of their present and future value to the company. Concept of customer lifetime value (CLTV) is used to segment the existing customers for extending proper, prompt & improved care. This approach also facilitates identification of probable high paying customers, so that company can earn more revenue from limited resources. BSNL also offers Service level agreements (SLAs) for corporate customers. How much to spend on Customer Care: Customer is the king, Customer provides our bread and butter, Customer is always right - these are some phrases often quoted. Up to what extent company should serve the customer? One cannot expect a company to invest unlimited amount on customer care i.e. without linking it with the returns. For example, a mobile service provider would certainly optimize opening of outlets, regulate supply of SIMs, recharge coupons, erection of new cell sites etc, even if it means losing a few customers at odd hours or in selected areas so long as the cost benefit ratio is in favor of company. One cannot open unlimited IVR channels or call center seats just to ensure no call is lost unless the situation demands so. The optimization of resources against the expectations of the customers is a real challenge. Customers desiring exceptional services are in general willing to pay premium over the normal tariff also. Such desiring customers are offered SLAs by charging appropriate premium. Regulatory dimension of Telecom Customer care: While each telecom operator would certainly take care of customers as per business sense; the growing market, constrained supply, operators inclination to cut down costs in the wake of low margin tariffs do Page: 6

7 disturb the customer care balance which would have existed in a market driven economy. In India, Telecom Regulatory Authority has defined the Quality of Service benchmarks to be adhered by all telecom operators. Every quarter TRAI releases quality of service report in respect of all service providers on its website Regulatory awareness: TRAI has issued certain guidelines regarding customer care to be followed by all service providers. All complaints -by , phone or post are to be registered within 24hours. Consumer grievance redress process with respect to fault, complaints and billing disputes is printed on the reverse of each bill. All details related to call and tariff details are to be provided in the bills, payment procedures and list of points at which payments can be made also to be intimated through the bills. No forcible change in tariff plan for six months for customers. Chargeable value added services cannot be given in activated mode Do not Call registry [SMS DNC ACT/DEACT & 1500, 1909] o o o Minimum three level grievance handling mechanism (Call center, physical office level-1& II) Time limit for redressal of grievance of consumers by Call Centres. Unless specified elsewhere, all complaints relating to fault or disruption of service or disconnection of service shall be redressed within three days from the date of registration of complaint; Unless specified elsewhere, all other complaints shall be redressed within seven days from the date of registration of complaint; Where lesser time limit has been specified by any other law for the time being in force or other regulations of TRAI or DOT or by BSNL for redressal of grievance, the Call Centres shall redress the grievances of the consumer within such specified time. Customer Care System in BSNL BSNL has recently restructured the company in to three verticals namely CFA, CM and E&WS. The existing system for customer care has also been aligned accordingly to new set up. At Corporate office, CM & CFA have separate GM (Customer service) while GM (CSC) & GM (Regulation) has dual reporting to Dir CM & Dir CFA. At circle level, same approach is followed. Some of the Key Result areas for CS and CSC units are given below: Page: 7

8 Customer Service unit: Key Result Areas Formulation of customer service strategy for respective business unit o Pre-sales service products and services on offer, tariffs, feasibility etc o Service delivery following-up with network unit, updating customers, etc o After-sales service fault resolution, cross-selling, etc Management of Call Centres Setting-up and management of online customer service support Conceptualizing, designing and delivering on provisioning, billing & customer care modules CAF management, verification, Monitoring and payment of penalties CSC unit Key Result Areas Typical layout of CSCs and standardization thereof Guidelines on operational metrics for CSCs (e.g. staffing benchmarks) Target setting Sales from CSCs revenue, # CFA connections, # CM subscribers, etc Design and operationalization of services to be demonstrated in CSCs (e.g. 3G) Decision on outsourcing of selected activities at the CSC (if required) Customer Service fault resolution, Customer satisfaction, etc Development of employees to ensure continuous improvement Customer Care Initiatives in BSNL: (These can be classified under the Technology, Processes and People or combination of any of these) CSCs- Customer Service Centers manned by BSNL Staff. The concept of Single window is introduced, wherein a customer can get all types of requirements right from enquiry and new registration to payment of bills of a particular service- possible at the same location. BSNL at present has got about 3000 such CSC s. The procedures are simplified and standardized so that the CSC s become more customer friendly.all BSNL Customer Service Centers (CSCs) now remain open on all seven days from 8.00 AM to 8.00 PM without any break for all activities.csc s also function as outlets to the Franchisees. A Standard design is formulated for uniformity.the CSC s are classified as Lev1, 2 and 3. Call centers: Round the clock manned Call Centers are set up wherefrom customers and the public can get any type of information; also they work as access points Page: 8

9 for registration of complaints/faults. Call centres are service specific, some are meant only for technical supports. There are some call centres which are nationally accessible. Centralized complaint booking: Now the booking complaints can be done from anywhere by prefixing the STD code to the designated number 2 xxx198 of the FRS of the Exchange/SSA. Customer care portal: Customer care portal facilitates a web based platform for all types of requirements of customer like service request for landline/mobile/bb, New connection requests as well as complaint handling. Wherever the bonafideness of the customer to be verified (for eg: request for ISD provisioning), the same is done with the help of call centre agent. The main advantages of the system are (i) the customer can receive/view the status reports online (ii) monitoring and follow up of pending cases can be done by officers at various levels. KAM & NAM concepts: To provide single window, customized service for enterprise customers, Key Account Managers and National account Managers have been appointed. Customer Relationship Managers: This is a concept initially introduced in BSNL to take care of the CIC s. One officer is assigned as CRM for a group of CIC s. this officer, in addition to his normal duties will act as a single widow contact point for these CIC s.he would ensure good service extended to these customers even in adverse situations, appraise about the new services, advise them regarding the most suitable plans, act as interface between the CIC s and BSNL and retain them through good relation. this go a long way in retention of CIC s Single window CRM: The CSC s normally function as Single widow at service specific level: i.e. separate CSC s for basic phone and mobile. But the customers need a real single point where all the service requirements can be met- Registration to Billing of Basic services, Mobile, VAS and BB. This can be achieved with the help of CRM software, which provides the unified platform. Provision of single bill will also be possible once Convergent billing system is commissioned Convergent Billing System: BSNL is also in the process of commissioning Convergent billing wherein a customer will be able to get single bill for all services Page: 9

10 availed from BSNL; be it landline, internet, mobile, WLL, broadband, lease line etc. across the country. Online customer care portal is already operational offering customers the ease of applying new connection/add on facilities, duplicate bills, shifts, payments, complaints pertaining to landline, mobile, broadband, IN services etc. Consumer Grievances Redressal Mechanism : BSNL has a very elaborate and multi-layered public/customer grievance handling system. The Public Grievance Redressal setup in BSNL has been introduced right from the Corporate Office to SSA (Secondary Switching Area) levels. The following form part in the chain of Public Grievance / Dispute settlements mechanism: 1. The Toll free 198 and Centralized Complaint handling like The PG cells in Circle and SSA HQ s: "12727"(for Circle Office) and "12728" (for SSA Office). 3. Public Grievance Officers are available right from Corporate Office to SSA (Secondary Switching Area) level. The complainant can approach these officers in person or through written complaints or communicate through or contact on telephones, 4. The Customer Service Centers 5. The Call Centers 6. The Customer Care portal: on line complaint booking 7. All the front end offices. 8. In order to extend better sufficient support to CIC s and strengthen relation with them, exclusive CIC meetings are held by Heads of SSA s/circles. 9. All the more the customers are free to approach any officers or the Vigilance wing of BSNL for settling their grievances. 10. Open House Session: BSNL conducts forums like Open House Sessions, at Subdivision level/ Area-wise and SSA wise. The basic idea of conducting such Open House Sessions is to establish direct channels of communications with our customers and also to enable the telecom staff to appreciate and evaluate the customers difficulties and complaints from their point of view. 11. Telephone Adalats: Telecom Adalats are conducted in quite transparent way to settle long pending grievances of customers. The periodicity is bimonthly for SSA and Quarterly at Circle level. The SSA level Adalat is presided over by General Manager of the area and Circle level by CGM. The order of the presiding officer is communicated in the Adalat after hearing the arguments Page: 10

11 from both the parties. A speaking order settling the case is communicated to the customers as well as to the unit concerned. For unsettled cases, a time frame is fixed. Circle adalats headed by CGMs can consider the cases of the appeals against the decisions of the adalats chaired by SSA Heads. Adalats headed by SSA Heads can consider cases of excess billing which have been rejected by them as administrative heads of SSAs. 12. PGRMS: Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System: It is a web enabled system which facilitates monitoring and follow-up op of grievances registered in the PG cells. Various reports also can be generated which facilitate the analysis of complaints,- type, location wise, service wise, time wise, etc and thus can be utilized as a management tool for improving customer service by being proactive and minimizing the irritants to the customers. 13. Annexure1 Important Toll free numbers: a) BSNL call center numbers/help desk For basic services including broadband services: Nationally accessible For GSM Mobile services : /1503 For Broadband &Internet services : For MPLS & Other Data services : Sancharnet Internet Help desk service : 1957 Managed Network Services : Video Conferencing: [email protected], Fax: Audio Conferencing: [email protected], Fax: Web Conferencing(CEPL) Toll Free : ,Ph No. : , Ph No. : , [email protected] E-Track Fleet Management Solution: Number Blackberry Service : Toll-free 1505 ( from BSNL Network ), ( from BSNL Network ), ( from other network ), support: [email protected] b) Public Grievance Cells: Telecom Circle HQ s :12727 SSA HQ s :12728 Page: 11

12 Chapter 15: Customer Care Sample Self study Objective type questions 1. Customer service is the provision of service to customers, during and a purchase. 2. is any point of interaction where a customer (prospective as well as existing) can form positive or negative opinion about the company 3. Which of the following are Expectations of modern customers : a. IVRS a. Single window Call center b. All 4. Framework of customer care depends on : a. Technology b. Process c. People d. all of the above 5. Normally a service organization consists of two groups of people. They are : a. Front end b. Back end c. middle d. a and b 6. a successful CRM strategy requires a holistic approach. a. true b. false 7. Using CRM, a business can a. Provide better customer service b. Increase customer revenues c. Discover new customers d. all of the above Page: 12

13 8. The CSC s in BSNL are classified as a. Level 1, b. Level 2 c. Level 3. d. All of the above 9. The helpline no for For MPLS & Other Data service 10 The helpline no. for Managed Network Service is : Page: 13