BUS4101 WEEK 1

A Case Study In Customer Service GTH Real Estate The Important Factors in Customer Satisfaction GTH Limited is in the real estate business. They lease and sell buildings to clients such as international business houses, government organizations, educational institutions, and hospitals. Recently, GTH conducted a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis and found improving customer service is a major opportunity for the company. Accordingly, GTH included the following in its mission statement: “To provide the best quality buildings and services to our customers and thereby ensure their complete satisfaction and peace of mind.” The mission statement was followed by the creation of the guiding principles. Now, GTH needs to formulate its strategic objectives. The following factors should be the focus of the strategic objectives:

• Provide complete product information, advice, convenience, and after-sales service. • Provide personalized and timely responses to customer queries, complaints, and suggestions. • Provide adequate warranties.

To gain a competitive advantage, GTH must focus on providing the highest-quality services to its customers. For example, they can include the following factors as part of their strategic objectives:

• Personalized services should be provided to each customer. • Employees should answer customer calls within four rings. • The customer service team should respond to every customer query, complaint, or suggestion

within twenty-four hours. • Every project should be completed on time and for the agreed upon contract sum. Or, for lease

customers, seven days of free rent should be provided for every day the company is late. For sales customers, an extended three months warranty should be provided.

• A five-year product and twenty-year structural warranty package should be provided on every new building purchased.

• Complete technical certification of the product should be provided. As the next step toward ensuring customer satisfaction, GTH needed to gather information about the needs and wants of its customers. The following methods should be included in the information-gathering plan of GTH:

• Surveys • Interviews • Personal visits

While sale-purchase data can be used to understand the product-level factors, it is not a potent tool in understanding why customers prefer GTH or what more they would want GTH to offer. Methods such as surveys, interviews, and personal visits help gather quantitative as well as qualitative data about customer needs and wants. For example, a survey of GTH’s repeat customers revealed that 53 percent of the

2 A Case Study In Customer Service GTH Real Estate

customers preferred GTH because of a satisfactory experience. Similarly, GTH conducted a customer satisfaction interview that included questions on all aspects of customer service and recorded scores on a scale of one to ten (ten being excellent). GTH can use Scholtes’ six-step strategy for identifying customer needs and wants. They can also use the affinity diagram to analyze customer feedback. In addition, GTH can utilize the quality function deployment (QFD) mechanism to include customer feedback as part of the product development process. GTH implemented customer-focused strategies as an important part of its overall quality initiatives and soon became one of the market leaders, with 16 percent of the entire market share. To keep the positive momentum moving forward, GTH engaged in a number of initiatives for continual improvement and also for making its successful quality initiatives increasingly visible. For example, GTH started an internal booklet for its employees. Apart from sharing knowledge about quality customer service, this booklet also shared examples of good customer service and accolades from customers. For its external customers, GTH launched a new customer charter that underlined the quality service strategies that make GTH different from all its competitors. Acknowledgment: This is a fictional case inspired by the true achievements of the company named Portakabin. (Source: The importance of excellent customer service. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/portakabin/the-importance-of-excellent-customer- service/introduction.html)

© 2017 South University

Page 2 of 2

Quality Management

©2017 South University