Customer Service Topic Sheets

Self-service is the practice of serving oneself when interacting with a supplier of goods or services. eService is a term used to describe self-service via the internet

This topic explores how specific responsibility and hence accountability for customer service rests with an appropriate person and how the ethos of collective responsibility and individual accountability sit with each other.

A Mission Statement defines what an organisation does. A Vision Statement describes what the organisation wants to become.

A contact centre or call centre is a centralised office used for receiving and/or making customer contacts by telephone, email fax or webchat

Organisations are now accommodating a wide variety of work practices. Roles in customer service are ideal for such flexibility.

Performance Management can be defined as a way of managing people that encourages and helps them to make optimum use of their capabilities for the achievement of the organisation's business strategies and objectives.

Speech recognition technology (hardware and software) can be used to enable customers to communicate with an organisation or an individual to communicate with a personal computer

Where a complaint can't be resolved at point of entry, it will required to be escalated or referred up the line. In some cases, a complaint may reach deadlock.

There are some simple steps that if followed can ensure that complaints are resolved effectively

This topic sheet looks at why communication is so important and offers some crucial principles to bear in mind when communicating with customers, whether over the phone, in person or in writing.