Chapter 1: The Customer Service Profession

customer-focused organization

A company that spends energy and effort on satisfying internal and external customers by first identifying customer needs, then establishing policies, procedures, and management and reward systems to support excellence in service delivery.

learning organizations

A term used by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline to describe organizations that value knowledge, education and employee training.

service industry

A term used to describe businesses and organizations that are engaged primarily in service industry

service economy

A term used to describe the trend in which businesses have shifted from primarily production and manufacturing to more service delivery.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

A trade agreement entered into by the US, Canada and Mexico to help, among other things, eliminate barriers to trade across barriers to trade. promote conditions of fair trade across borders, increase investment opportunities, and promote and protect intellectual property rights.

telecommuniting

A trend seen in many congested metropolitan areas and government offices.

e-commerce

An entire spectrum of companies that market products and services on the internet and through other technology, and the process of accessing them by consumers.

customer service enviroment

An environment made up of and influenced by various elements of an organization.

downsizing

term applied to the situation in which employees are terminated or empty positions are left unfilled once someone leaves and organization

networking

the active process of building relationships and sharing of resources

delivery system

the method(s) used by an organization to provide services and products to its customers

service recovery

the process of righting a wrong or correcting something that has gone wrong involving provision of a product or service to a customer.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

United States governmental agency established to assist small business owners.

globalization

the term applied to an ongoing trend of information, knowledge and resource sharing around the world

external customers

those people outside the organization who purchase or lease products and services

deregulation

Occurs when governments remove legislative or regulatory guidelines that inhibit and control an industry

business-to-business

Refers to a business-to-business customer service

service sector

Refers to organizations and individuals involved in delivering service as a primary product.

outsourcing

Refers to the practice of contracting with third-party companies or vendors outside the organization to deliver products and services to customers or produce products

offsharing

Refers to the relocation of business services from one country to another.

product

Something produced or an output by an individual or organization.

customer service

The ability of knowledgeable, capable and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.

customer satisfaction

The feeling of a person whose needs have been met by an organization

cottage industries

The term adopted in the early days of customer service when many people started small businesses in their homes or cottages and bartered products or services with neighbors.

customer relationship management

concept of identifying customer needs, understanding and influencing customer behavior through ongoing communication strategies in an effort to acquire, retain and satisfy the customer. The ultimate goal is customer loyalty.

organizational culture

includes an element of an organization that a customer encounters

internal customers

people within the organization who either require support and service or provide information, products, and services to service providers.

deliverables

products or services provided by an organization

human resources

refers to employees of an organization