Customer Service Is a Fundamental Service That Essay

Customer service is a fundamental service that a business should provide in order to increase sales and have a returning clientele. Customer service thus becomes a very important facet of a good business and of growing profits. In this paper various questions will be analyzed, such as what good customer service actually means, and what defines such service. A company will further be selected, and will be analyzed from the viewpoint of good customer service.

To begin, one must analyze what "good customer service" means. One heard this every day and expects it from all companies. In order to appreciate good customer service one must have had bad experiences, such as customer service personnel being inattentive, unknowledgeable, or not helpful. Therefore, good customer service can be defined as when an employee takes the time to listen to a customer's concerns by genuinely expressing interest, sympathy, and eagerness to satisfy the said customer. Good customer service also means employees not brushing aside questions, which they are unable to answer, but rather aiding the customer in solving their request by doing everything in their power.

Good customer relations and rapport to the customer are established by both parties being involved in the problem, and by the former party, namely the customer service personnel, being closely engaged, as mentioned above, in the problem and trying to do everything in their power to solve it.

It is also important to mention that in order to accomplish the above, the customer service personnel must certify certain customer needs.According to one website (Lifehack, 2011), there are six basic customer needs which all need to be met to be considered to have achieved good customer service. They are:

1. Friendliness,

2. Understanding and Empathy,

3. Fairness,

4. Control,

5. Options and Alternatives, and

6. Information.

Friendliness, for instance, is a basic need for interaction in any society, but for the purposes of customer service it relates to having a strong and friendly greeting without feeling as though one is intruding. Understanding and empathy relies on the customer feeling as though the service person understands and appreciates the circumstances and does not approach concerns without criticism or judgment, according to the article.

Fairness is also crucial to customers, particularly so that they do not feel as though they are being left out or excluded from equal treatment for any reason. Customers need to feel as though they are in charge of situations, which is why customer service depends on good control, so that employees are able to solve problems without losing control of the situation at hand. Options and alternatives are necessary so that customers are not deadlocked into situations, there must be more possible solutions than one to problems, which may arise. Lastly, customers need information on their current predicament, and will demand constant reinforcement of their facts.

The company selected for the purposes of this study is Bloomingdale, which is a retail store with headquarters in Manhattan. The company profile states that Bloomingdales began in 1860, when founders.....