A case study comparing two business organisations, investigating the extent to which each has developed an effective customer service programme, and evaluating the effect of those programmes on customer satisfaction.

* VAT back service

* Wine advisor

Marks and Spencer provide a lot of services to satisfy and meet the needs of their customers.

All of the above is also very important to for Marks & Spencer as they increase customer satisfaction so therefore increase their sales.

Providing Information

Marks & Spencer offer customers a lot of information. Customers are able to phone Marks & Spencer and listen to the opening hours. The customer has the option to either connect with an operator or just listen to the opening times. Again this would gain the satisfaction of customers.

Marks & Spencer offer a lot of training for their staff. This enables the employees to tell customers information on products without having to ask a manager etc.

Training and development is key to the future success of any individual. Marks & Spencer places great emphasis on ensuring this, through both formal, structured methods and invaluable hands-on experience.

First of all, people skills are essential. Whoever you come into contact with, whether customers, suppliers or members of staff, an understanding of situations and the ability to interact in a calm, confident manner are vitally important.

Working with one of the UK's leading retail organisations will also bring out the trouble-shooter in you. Every single day presents new issues; all of which have to be resolved, and the day will come when it's all down to you. At Marks & Spencer they want you to be the best, prepared to deal with any eventuality, now and in the future. Good training and experience will last you a lifetime.

All Graduate trainees receive a varied programme. They receive system training to enable best use of internal applications as well as training in your specialist area.

In Autumn 2002, Marks & Spencer became the first UK Company to trial an innovative new till, which enabled customers to check out their own shopping, with a view to improving further its customer service and expanding customer choice.

Every summer there's a chance to find out more about Marks & Spencer food at one of the many Agricultural Shows up and down the country.

Their enthusiastic sponsors of the shows and, if you visit their stand, you'll find out more about their support for British farming, be inspired by cookery demonstrations by celebrity chefs and then be able to buy their legendary sandwiches for lunch! The show really provides a great family day out.

It's also a chance for many of their supplying farmers to get together and meet the Marks & Spencer team and other suppliers. All of this increases customer satisfaction and enhances their image.

Taking and relaying messages

I found the following letter sent to Marks & Spencer on the Internet. It shows how Marks & Spencer handle their complaints:

To: Marks & Spencer

The Cannelloni Complaints Dept.,

Marks & Spencer, plc,

Baker Street,

LONDON.

Dear Sir,

Food Packaging

Now here's a thing; I wish to complain about the packaging of your St Michael Italian Range Fresh Pasta Cannelloni Fresh Egg Pasta With Traditional Beef & Tomato Fill In A Rich Creamy Sauce With Fresh Parmesan Cheese.

My mother bought me a "serves two" pack last week and, what with its getting near the Use By date, I thought I'd better heat it and it eat tonight. Now, my mother (whose eyesight is, admittedly, not as good as it used to be) had specifically chosen the cannelloni because it apparently did not require defrosting. I checked this before starting cooking, then popped the cannelloni in the oven. After the specified half hour, I was horrified to find that the food was still stone cold in the centre. Upon closer inspection of the packaging, I eventually discovered the message "Defrost Thoroughly Before Use" in extremely small letters on the bottom of the pack. As the packet advised against re-heating, I could hardly let the cannelloni defrost now, could I? I eventually decided that, what with the recent salmonella epidemics and what have you, I'd better bin the lot and go and spend a fiver down the chinkie. Quite an expensive mistake, I'm sure you'll agree.

It seems to me that such food which could be extremely dangerous if not properly cooked should have the words "DEFROST THOROUGHLY BEFORE USE" in large, red letters on the top of the package. Clearly, this would lose you some sales, but it could save lives and would cover you nicely against any law suits. I shudder to think what could have happened had my mother decided to cook the cannelloni for herself (she never eats foreign stuff, so she probably would have thought it was supposed to be cold in the middle).

While I'm at it, I notice that this "Italian Range" food is actually produced in the UK - not illegal, but rather misleading and un-British I would say. I would also query your use of the word "fresh" (three times!) when describing frozen food.

Yours sincerely,

From: Marks & Spencer

Dear Mr Date,

Thank you for your recent letter with regard to our Fresh Cannelloni. I was sorry to read of the problem you recently experienced when proceeding to cook this product after you had chosen to freeze it. Please accept my apologies for the obvious concern and inconvenience this matter has caused you.

In the majority of cases the cooking instructions which we give on our products are to cook the product from the state in which it has been purchased. Therefore if a product is sold in one of our chilled cabinets then it is always best cooked from a chilled state, as opposed to being cooked from frozen.

We give recommendations for freezing on our packaging for our customers convenience, as we have many enquiries from customers who wish to know which of our goods are suitable for freezing. Along with this, wherever we recommend that a product is suitable for freezing we then always clearly indicate that the product must be thoroughly defrosted before use. As I am sure you can appreciate, on much of our packaging we are very limited for space. It is for this reason that when we have instructions for freezing they are always highlighted in a blue area to ensure that this is clear to our customers.

I am obviously sorry that this particular purchase has proved unsatisfactory with you and I would like to assure you that your comments with regard to this matter have been passed on to the selectors and technologists in our Recipe Dish Department. This is to ensure that they are fully aware of all customer comments received in this office and that these can be borne in mind when making future developments.

I also understand that you were dissatisfied with the fact that we advertise these dishes as "Italian Range" whilst the product is produced in the UK. I am sorry that you find this misleading but it is for this reason that we call the items Italian Range so that customers are aware that the products are produced to Italian recipes whilst still being manufactured here in the UK.

Once again, thank you for the time and trouble you have taken in writing to us with regard to these matters and I do hope that all future shopping trips made to our stores prove entirely satisfactory.

Yours sincerely

Z E RAVEN (MISS)

Customer Advisor

Food Customer Services

The letter that Marks & Spencer sent back to Mr. Date shows that they have passed the complaint on to their Recipe Dish Department.

Keeping Records

In many ways Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is what our company founders often referred to as 'moral responsibility'. It is a modern phrase for describing how we want companies to behave and it is best measured by listening to the people who know us best - our stakeholders.

Our stakeholders are all the people and interest our business impacts upon. Below is a chart illustrating who they are:

Community and how they listen

* Participation in a wide range of town and city centre initiatives, such as quality freight partnerships and crime prevention

* Regular meetings with key charity partners

* Partnership initiatives to address issues of health, safety and education/learning'

* 'One Community' initiative that develops actions based on engagement with employees, customers and neighbours.

Employees and how they listen

* Company-wide local, regional and national employee representation forums known as Business Involvement Groups

* Regular employee surveys know as 'How are we doing?'

* Internal communications include an employee magazine (on your marks) regular business updates and team briefings.

* Three month CSR consultation programme during 2002.

* Listening Groups conducted by senior management during regular store visits.

Environment and how they listen

* Regular meetings

* Active participation in benchmarking and surveys

* Partnership initiatives across a wide range of issues such as wild fish, fish farming, free range eggs, food pesticides, and food miles.

Customers and how they listen

* Sales information

* Weekly and monthly monitoring of views

* Surveying of customers who have visited new and refurbished stores

* Customer panels

* Annual independent Corporate Social Responsibility Survey

* 350,000 communications through our Head Office

* 2 million communications through our Financial Services business.

Suppliers and how they listen

* Regular visits and meetings

* Regular surveys of supplier/ franchisee satisfaction

* Participating in major UK agricultural shows and running farmers listening groups

* Direct relationships with important raw material suppliers

* Joint participation in the Ethical Trading Initiative.

Government/Regulators and how they listen

* Regular meetings with bodies such as the Food Standards Agency, Health & Safety Executive, Environmental Regulators, Financial Services Authority, and key government departments

* Local authority partnership initiatives on environmental health, fire safety and trading standards are consulted through local authority partners.

Shareholders and how they listen

* Annual General Meeting, Report & Financial Statements

* Regular meetings and presentations with institutional investors

* Participation in Social Responsibility surveys.

Animal Welfare and how they listen

* Regular meetings to discuss key issues

* Active participation in benchmarking and surveys

* Partnership initiatives across a wide range of issues such as wild fish, fish farming, free range eggs, food pesticides, and food miles.

Providing Assistance

All staff are given training sessions on customer service - more detailed in some sessions.

Training and development is key to the future success of any individual. Marks & Spencer places great emphasis on ensuring this, through both formal, structured methods and invaluable hands-on experience.

First of all, people skills are essential. Whoever you come into contact with, whether customers, suppliers or members of staff, an understanding of situations and the ability to interact in a calm, confident manner are vitally important.

Marks & Spencer also keep staff up to date with product improvements. This is essential, as customers will be asking about these improvements.

In recent years they have conducted an extensive review of how they communicate within the company.

They have improved communications by introducing daily briefings that provide store managers with an opportunity to update their teams, a weekly store newsletter and increased use of e-mail updates and an intranet system. Their employee magasine has also been re-launched to increase its appeal. Since 2001, they have also conducted an annual communication campaign across the company to update employees on business aims.

To promote higher levels of employee involvement in business decisions they re-launched their democratically elected employee representation groups as Business Involvement Groups at the end of 2001. These groups were created and shaped by the employees themselves with all representatives attending a training programme created for them in conjunction with the Institute of Management. Employees who sit on Business Involvement Groups are given two hours a week for this role. Store Business Involvement Groups feed into a bigger national group.

They conduct an annual employee survey known internally as 'How are we doing?'. Over the last eighteen months participation has improved to nearly 90% helping them respond to the needs of employees.

All of the above encourage a motivated and efficient workforce so therefore enhancing the organisations image.

2(a)

The strategies used to ensure a high standard of customer service are:

2(b)

Workplace impacts are those associated with Marks & Spencer employing over 60,000 people in the UK. Their aim is to provide 'A Great Place to Work', because they will:

* ...be clear about how they each make a difference

* ...build their strengths and develop their skills

* ...respect the balance between life and work

* ...recognise and respect a job well done

* ...be rewarded for superior results

Customer Service Information Employees

This staffs help customers regarding products and services offered in a friendly and helpful manner. The staff are well trained so that they have good product knowledge. This means that they are less likely to give out false information about the company.

Sales Staff

These are the members of staff who are working on the shop floor, either filling shelves or ensuring the store is tidy. This is essential when helping to contribute with good customer service.

The staff continually tidy up rails/shelves as if a Marks & Spencer customer comes in they will expect to find all the sizes and products on the same rail/shelf. This will also keep the stock replenished.

The sales staffs also give advice, and are also pleasant, friendly and helpful.

Managers

Where shop floor staff cannot resolve a situation it is up to the section manager to try and sort the problem out. These managers will try to ensure the customers receive what they want and will always be helpful to customers. They may also take customer details and get back to them.

What makes a good Section Manager?

To be a good Section Manager people skills are essential. Whoever you come into contact with; whether customers, suppliers or members of staff, an understanding of situations and the ability to interact in a calm, confident manner are vitally important.

Selling and Stock Section Manager

Leading a team of Sales Advisers, our Selling and Stock Managers focus on a section of the store. You will begin by creating a pleasing layout for your section, making sure all goods are displayed in an attractive and practical way. At the same time, you will see to it that customers enjoy exceptional service and assistance with their purchases. Increased sales will be a measure of your success, and you will relish the challenge of regularly surpassing your targets.

Till Staff

These are usually the last contact customers have of the store and Marks & Spencer try to ensure that it is a pleasant experience. In the Belfast store additional checkout tills have been installed to speed up their service times. If an item is replaced at the till then another member of staff would replace it for the customer. At busy times they tend to pack the customers bags.

Service and Tilling Section Manager

Good service is one of the hallmarks of Marks & Spencer. As a Service and Tilling Section Manager you will lead and develop a team of Tilling Advisers. You will be responsible for motivating and inspiring your team of Advisers, as well as ensuring that customers receive excellent levels of service at every point of contact within the store in order to provide them with a positive experience to which they will return.

Visual Merchandising Manager

Our Visual Merchandising Managers take the lead in giving each of our stores that distinctive Marks & Spencer feel. Although every store is unique in its own way, you will rise to the challenge of making sure each has a consistent corporate look. You will lead and motivate a team of Advisers to deliver exceptional standards of visual merchandising. You will work closely with Store Managers giving creative advice that will help shape the store layout and generate an attractive ambience for our customers to shop in.

Security Staff

Generally the security staff are the first contact for customers of Marks & Spencer.

Security Staff give the customer a feeling of safety and security. They do not just stand at the entrances or exits. They move around the store. They also have distinctive uniforms. These are an addition to the plain clothes detectives who move unnoticed around the store. Security staff can also give advice to customers on their way around the store.

Café Staff

The staff at the Revive Café at Marks & Spencers are called a Barista.

So what does a barista do on a typical day? Early morning, they will set up the coffee machines, check the grind, weight and feel of the coffee, and make a sample cup or two to test the aroma, flavour and crema - the head of the coffee produced by the coffee oils. If the grind is too fine the coffee will taste bitter, if it's too coarse it will taste weak. Even the atmosphere outside can affect the taste.'

To become a barista, you need to be a people's person who can interact well with customers. You need to be enthusiastic, bright and friendly first, then they can teach you all you need to know about the coffee.' All baristas undergo a comprehensive training programme, using traditional Italian coffee machines. There's no age limit on employees - everyone from 16 to 60 is welcome, and Café Revive have even had non-coffee drinkers on the staff, most of whom have been converted to coffee addicts.

At Café Revive they pride themselves in offering you a range of superb speciality coffees, using exclusive blends developed by their expert roasters. They are able to accommodate all of your personal preferences at Café Revive, whether you want a flavoured syrup, an indulgent whipped cream topping or a large coffee to help you through your day!

Retail Operations

What makes a good Section Manager?

To be a good Section Manager people skills are essential. Whoever you come into contact with; whether customers, suppliers or members of staff, an understanding of situations and the ability to interact in a calm, confident manner are vitally important.

Store Services Manager

Marks & Spencer Store Services Managers are based either in our main store or in one of our regional stores. This is a diverse role and your challenge will be to make sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently from an operational point of view. Overseeing a team of Store Services Advisers, you will be responsible for cost control, deliveries, equipment and cash management on the sales floor. You will develop efficient systems and operational procedures that are designed to allow our stores to perform to their very best at all times whilst keeping abreast of all Health and Safety issues.

Staff Services Manager

Based in either their main store or one of their regional stores, their Staff Services Manager heads up a dedicated group of Staff Services Advisers. They will take initiatives to ensure high standards throughout the staff quarters area, while monitoring effective cost control and compliance with Health and Safety requirements. They will have a flair and passion for creating stylish layouts in the staff catering area and enjoy motivating their team to deliver the first class Staff Services Operations that their people have come to expect.

Accounting Centre Manager

Marks & Spencer Accounting Centre Managers play a key role at the heart of their organisation. Directing a team of Accounting Centre Advisers across a number of stores they will make sure that all cash and stock information is accurate and balanced. An eye for detail will be vital as they prepare and present data for financial accounting, making sure information flows securely and reliably throughout the Company. With the personality to work closely with colleagues, they must enjoy working under pressure and meeting deadlines.

Human Resources

What makes a good Section Manager?

To be a good Section Manager people skills are essential. Whoever you come into contact with; whether customers, suppliers or members of staff, an understanding of situations and the ability to interact in a calm, confident manner are vitally important.

Human Resource Management in Stores

As a pivotal part of store management you'll work in partnership with the Commercial teams to increase the capabilities of their people and achieve results through flexible and innovative solutions. Their biggest asset is, and always has been, their people and they will ensure that the environment they work in is a positive one that embraces change, whilst remaining customer focussed.

The Human Resource team is responsible for the implementation of a complete Performance Management Framework and cutting edge training packages to provide long lasting and measurable benefits. In addition they will deliver professional recruitment practices and processes alongside focussed quality support to their colleagues. They will also facilitate the application of the Company's Human Resource Policies. As a specialist in their field, working as part of the larger Human Resource team they will provide solutions that will enable their people to meet the challenges created by an ever changing retail environment.

Reporting to the Head of Human Resources, they will get real satisfaction from seeing that these accountabilities are met and that they work towards achieving the Company's business goals.

Section managers - job overview

These are the types of activities that they would be doing on a regular basis.

Ways of Working

All members of the Marks & Spencer team have adopted a generic way of working. No matter who you are, what you do or where you work, you will always...

What is the purpose of the job?

To manage a team of motivated advisers who deliver results and provide exceptional levels of service to the customer base.

What do you have to achieve?

* Satisfied customers.

* Motivated advisers.

* Meet targets.

* Manage costs.

* Compliance with company and legal requirements.

What is the scope of the job?

* Team size could range from 5 to 50 people, dependent on role and store.

* 4 reporting levels between you and Board level.

What do they have to do?

* Encourage feedback from customers; analyse this information; recommend and implement service improvements.

* Ensure your team are aware of current products, promotions or services that may benefit your customer.

* Work with advisers to identify service improvements.

* Act as a specialist expert when advisers are unable to solve problems.

* Determine and manage the staffing requirements of your section.

* Agree and review individual targets and objectives with advisers.

* Keep advisers informed of company and store developments.

* Plan and agree daily activities with team.

* Involve the whole team in decision making.

* Identify training needs and capability gaps within your team. Work with the Human Resource team to develop solutions.

* Give regular feedback to advisers on their performance.

* Establish and maintain good relationships with advisers; provide basic counselling where required.

* Action and implement disciplinary procedures.

* Have an awareness of local competitor activity and recommend appropriate action.

* Keep up to date with systems and procedures.

* Regularly review progress against set targets; take appropriate action to ensure these are achieved.

* Maximise profitability within your area.

2(c)

3(a)

In order to provide a high standard of customer service you will need to understand the needs of customers and how to contribute to the satisfaction of these needs through excellent customer service provision.

The needs of the customers include:

* Safety and Security

* Clear and Accurate Information

* Expecting their consumer rights to be upheld

* Impartiality and objectivity

* Complaint and enquiry, and suggestion procedures

* Special Needs

* Ethical Standards

Safety and Security

Marks & Spencer have an active programme to protect the health & safety of their employees and customers supported by safety officers in each store and annual audits carried out by an independent specialist. Over the last year training has been focussed on store safety officers and managers. They have also been taking the opportunity to make their sale floors safer with their programme of store modernisation.

The major causes of accidents to their colleagues and customers are slips, trips, falls and being struck by moving objects on sales floors. Their actions in 2002/03 have concentrated on reducing these sorts of injuries.

Their customers have high expectations of Marks & Spencer products. They employ around 130 specialist technologists whose job is to set and develop quality standards and work with their suppliers to make sure that these are being met. As well as traditional types of product quality such as the taste of food or the fit of clothing they also pride themselves in taking a progressive approach to issues of social responsibility.

You'd expect them to operate effective systems to ensure the quality of thier clothing, what you might not expect is the use of independent specialists to help ensure that all designs of children's clothing are ethically suitable or their 'needle policy' which bans all sharp pieces of metal such as staples where our children's clothing is being manufactured or stored.

Clear and Accurate Information

Marks & Spencer go out of their way to provide clear and comprehensive labelling on packaging so you can make informed choices about what you eat.

Nutrition Panel

This tells you how much energy (Calories and kilojoules) and nutrients are present in the product. Labelling regulations dictate the order and nutrients included here.

Energy

This can be useful if you are trying to lose weight.

Protein

You might be surprised how much protein there is in cereals and milk, not just meat and fish.

Carbohydrates

These are broken down to show the sugar content. This can be sugars naturally present in foods such as milk (lactose), fruit and vegetables or can be from added sugars such as honey, table sugars, syrups. The remaining carbohydrate is made up of starches, which are essential for energy.

Fat

This is broken down so you can see the amount of saturated fatty acids. On some products such as butter and fat spreads polyunsaturated and mono unsaturated fatty acids are shown too.

Fibre

This includes both soluble fibre (helps to lower blood cholesterol) and insoluble fibre (promotes good digestion). We're recommended to have around 18g of fibre a day. Having five portions of fruit and vegetables a day plus wholegrain products, beans and lentils will help achieve this target.

Sodium and salt

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Because of the recommendation to keep salt levels to a minimum (6g per day for adults) for good health, we list both the salt and sodium content so you can track how much you are eating. Look out for the new salt balanced icon (below).

Ingredients

Provides clear and comprehensive information on what the ingredients are

in each product.

Guideline Daily Amounts

This shows the recommended average daily amounts of calories, fat and salt for adult women and men, so you can compare how the product fits within the recommended amount.

Contains

If you have an intolerance to certain ingredients this will help you quickly identify which foods to avoid, by showing when a product includes allergens such as cow's milk, wheat, eggs, fish, shellfish, sesame products, nuts, gluten, soya. It will also mention the presence of phenylalanine and salt substitutes such as potassium chloride.

Icons

For more information about the icons displayed on our food packaging, click on the appropriate icon.

Expecting their consumer rights to be upheld

Ethical Trading

Customers have the right to expect that Marks & Spencer products will provide them with truly aspirational levels of quality and value without exploiting the people who work for their suppliers. That's why a summary of our their standards called the Marks & Spencer Global Sourcing Principles forms part of the contract between us and our suppliers.

Their technologists regularly visit suppliers and where they want extra assurance about their standards on child labour, safety, pay, terms of employment, and working hours they use 'ethical audits'. Many of these audits are conducted as part of their participation in the Ethical Trading Initiative which brings together groups representing government, business, trade unions and human rights groups.

Set out below are the Global Sourcing Principles Marks & Spencer expect all suppliers to meet, then use as a base to raise standards further as their business relationship develops.

Supplier's Responsibilities

Together with each supplier they establish a set of standards, which includes specifications appropriate to the industries and countries producing the goods. It is the supplier's responsibility to achieve and maintain these standards.

Workforce Rights

The people working for their suppliers are to be treated with respect, and their health, safety and basic human rights are to be protected and promoted. Each supplier must, as a minimum, fully comply with all relevant local and national laws and regulations, particularly with regard to:

* Working hours and conditions, rates of pay and terms of employment.

* Minimum age of employment

Moreover, whatever the local regulations, workers should normally be at least 15 years old; as a norm, they should be free to join lawful trade unions or worker's associations.

Production Sites and Labelling

Suppliers of goods must agree with them in advance the production site or sites to be used for each order and no subcontracting of their orders from these agreed locations is allowed. All goods must be labelled with their country of origin.

Regular Assessment

All production sites are to be regularly visited and assessed by their suppliers and by their own staff. Together they will strive for continual improvement.

Environmental Responsibility

At the very least, suppliers must meet all relevant local and national regulations. In addition, they expect them steadily to improve their environmental performance by aiming to comply with international standards.

Dedicated Production Units

Once they have established significant levels of business with a supplier, they expect that supplier to produce their goods in units, and with workers, dedicated to Marks & Spencer orders.

Commitment to Extending Principles through the Supply Chain

They expect their suppliers to adopt similar principles in dealing with those who, in turn, supply them. Suppliers must not only apply these principles at all times, but must also be able to show they are doing so. Marks & Spencer will take action against suppliers who do not comply, which may involve cancelling their orders and ceasing to trade.

Impartiality and objectivity

Complaint and enquiry, and suggestion procedures

Special Needs

Ethical Standards

3(b)

3(c)

3(d)

Tesco

(a) Customer Service

Their core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty.

Giving First Class Customer Service is the most important aspect of the Tesco business. It's their staff who make all the difference, and Information Technology is a key part of their innovative customer focused approach. At Tesco, IT creates genuine advantages for them as a business, and their new generation Siemens Nixdorf Point of Sale solution allows them to place even more emphasis on First Class Service through the use of leading edge technology at the Point of Sale."

Tesco is the UK's leading food retailer with 568 stores throughout the country. The company has grown internationally, opening over 200 stores across Europe, and was recently voted 'Britain's most admired company' in the annual Management Today survey.

According to Tesco IT Director, Ian O'Reilly: "Our customers are constantly telling us that our people are our best asset. In all parts of the company, service is key, and it's the enthusiasm of our people in delivering First Class Service that drives our business forward. During the last year we've added more service counters in our stores, extended opening hours, and even opened some stores through the night to help customers shop at the times that are most convenient for them".

Tesco is a team dedicated to professional management of both people and property. They are committed to each other through mutual respect and support. They realise the importance of individual growth in order to strengthen the whole. They invest in the development of the individual through training, education and reward.

Tesco is committed to serve their owners, their residents, agencies and each other with integrity, fairness and honesty. They seek a balance between preservation of their resources and realisation of profit. They strive to combine accuracy and reliability with accountability.

(b) What is customer service?

The provision of a high standard of customer service is an important part in the overall performance of an organisation. Many organisations would not be able to maintain a satisfactory level of sales, or be able to maintain a competitive edge in the modern business environment without effective customer service. You need to be aware that customer service involves:

* Presenting an image of the organisation

* Making sure that the needs of the customer are met by the product or service offered

* Providing information

* Giving advice

* Taking and relaying messages

* Keeping records

* Providing assistance

* Dealing with problems

* Handling complaints

The importance of customer service

An organisations level of sales is greatly influenced by the standard of customer service that it encourages in its staff. A high standard of customer service is important for an organisation in order to achieve the following objectives:

* Increase sales

* Gain a competitive advantage

* Maintain customer loyalty

* Attract new customers

* Gain customer satisfaction

* Encourage a motivated and efficient workforce

* Enhance the organisations image

Customer service in Tesco involves the following:

Presenting an image of the organisation

Tesco is committed to playing a positive role in the community.

Each year the Tesco Charity Trust gives financial and practical help to hundreds of charities and projects that support children, education, people with disabilities and the elderly in areas local to where we have stores.

Tesco Charity of the Year

As the part of their continued commitment to supporting local communities, each year Tesco adopts a national charity to be the main focus for staff fundraising activities. This year the Tesco Charity of the Year is Barnardo's.

During 2003 Tesco staff throughout the UK will be taking part in events and activities to raise funds for the charity, which will receive a 20% "top up" from the Tesco Charity Trust.

This would definitely enhance Tesco's image as people would feel that by buying from Tesco, will mean that they are also doing there bit as a sum of their money will go towards each charity.

Tesco is committed to protecting the environment, using its commercial strength to put robust principles into practice.

Their environmental standards apply to every aspect of their business and Tesco also asks its suppliers to adhere to many of these practices.

Calling on expertise from all quarters, they continually seek ways to improve further - their customers expect no less. Tesco staff is often invited to join policy groups so that the company's expertise may be used to help other businesses across the country.

Again people want their environment to be looked after, and buying shopping with Tesco they will fee that they are helping to do this. Also because the staff are involved in protecting the environment by invitations to join policy groups then they will be encourage and motivated to make an efficient workforce.

Tesco & recycling

Tesco is committed to minimising the amount of waste produced and to recycle it wherever possible.

They have a comprehensive recycling programme for their own operations and for their customers. Secondary packaging is kept to a minimum and recycled where possible. Wherever possible, paper, polythene and other consumable items used by Tesco, as well as some non-food products and consumer packaging, contains a proportion or recycled materials.

Tesco has its own recycling units, recovering paper, cardboard and plastic that would otherwise be consigned to landfills or incinerated.

Ink-Jet Cartridge Recycling

In August 2002, Tesco launched the ink-jet cartridge (IJC) recycling scheme in an attempt to reduce the amount of IJC that are thrown away and to raise money for charity.

The recent IT boom over the last few years has made printers and fax machines much more accessible. An average family uses six ink-jet cartridges each year and 90% of IJC are thrown away and end up clogging land-fill sites and causing environmental damage.

The scheme is simple - pick up a FREEPOST recycling envelope which are available in Tesco stores and for every IJC that is recycled, a £2 donation will be made to Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

As the biggest customer of UK agriculture, Tesco has a long-standing commitment to source as much UK produce as possible, where availability and quality permit.

For instance, nearly 100% of their fresh beef is from the UK, 100% of their fresh pork, 100% of their fresh, organic and long-life milk, and 100% of their eggs are sourced from this country.

Their success as a business is built on understanding customer needs better than anyone else and they want to help UK farmers achieve the same. They regularly talk and listen to farmers and suppliers so that together they can provide customers with the quality produce that they demand.

Can you lead a healthy life and still enjoy your food? With Tesco, the answer is yes!

Tesco has been listening and responding to customers' views on health since the launch of the Healthy Eating range in 1985 and helps you make informed choices for you and your family.

Making sure that the needs of the customer are met by the product or service offered

Catering for all tastes

Tesco is Britain's best value supermarket. Not only is no supermarket cheaper than Tesco on products of the same quality, but they also offer unbeatable quality, range and service. They understand their customers have different tastes and requirements. Thieir in-store offer ranges from the Finest products to their Value range, catering for every customer in every community.

Organics

Already the UK's largest organics retailer, Tesco has plans to grow sales to £1 billion over five years. They recently announced a further £12 million of organic produce being sourced in the UK. Responding to customer demand, they also extended their organics range to over 1,000 lines and cut prices on the 50 most popular lines.

Finest

The Finest range has grown by 300 lines over the year to 800, with additions including Finest Roast Onion Mayonnaise and Finest whisky. The brand is now worth over £400 million. Tesco Finest is also sold internationally - in Taiwan you'll find Finest jams and sauces.

Value

Values lines can now be found in all our European markets. Hungary has Value vodka and cheese. You'll find Value dumplings in Poland, while the Czech Republic has 200 Value lines across all ranges, including fresh foods and grocery. In Thailand they have Tesco own-brand products and over 500 Supersaver lines, while Value lines in Taiwan include fresh fruit and vegetables.

Bringing Prices Down

Their consistent approach to forcing down prices has resulted in £1.2 billion of price cuts over the past six years. February saw a further £70 million of price cuts across 1,500 lines in the UK. They employ the same strategy internationally, aiming to be the best value retailer wherever they operate.

Providing Local Flavour

Wherever they operate they cater for local tastes, providing customers with the products they want, at the prices they want. Their local products are clearly identified with country or county of origin - sometimes even the farm they came from. Providing products to meet local customers' needs is also clearly visible in their international operations. They sell Welsh beef in all their Welsh stores. Their stores in Poland sell live carp, while in their South Korean stores you can buy 6-feet long strips of seaweed, live octopus and giant radishes weighing 2.5kg.

Excellent Exports

This year Tesco was named Retail Exporter of the Year. Their Special Reserve Whisky is going down a treat in Taiwan, where the popularity of Tesco Lemon Curd has also spread. Customers in Thailand, the Czech Republic and Taiwan have now got a taste for Tesco Muesli, having seen it featured in the film Bridget Jones's Diary.

Innovation On A Plate

They introduced 3,500 new food lines this year, including their 'Ready to Bake' range for special dietary needs. New counters are being rolled out to some stores, including olive bars, pizza and Grab and Go. Responding to customer needs, they now plan up to 32 seasonal ranges a year, up from four just three years ago. This year they also acquired a majority stake in The Nutri Centre, enhancing their health and beauty offer and meeting their customers' desire for natural products.

Healthy Eating

They now have nearly 400 Healthy Eating lines in stores. January saw the launch of their

Healthy Living Campaign. Two new food ranges - 'Free From' for special dietary needs and the naturally healthy 'Food Doctor' - were launched and backed by a new Healthy Living Club and website (www.tesco.com/healthyliving). The Healthy Living brand also covers their 5 A Day campaign to encourage people to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day to help reduce the risk of cancer.

One-Stop Shop

Customers love their non-food offer. In the UK they have over a 4% market share, on track for their target of 6%. Their extensive non-food range offers the quality, range, service and price that their customers expect - whether it be in their Extra stores, Superstores or online. This year they have launched thousands of new lines offering more choice in more markets for their customers.

Offering Best Prices

They have significantly reduced the price of thousands of health and beauty lines resulting in market leadership in sales volumes. This year they saved customers over £70 million by significantly reducing prices on many non-food lines, including branded goods such as Levi Jeans and Apple Mac computers. Following the end of Resale Price Maintenance on medicines they cut their prices by up to 50%. They continue to campaign to have more freedom to import branded goods from outside the European Community so that they can bring even greater value to their customers. The introduction of Value lines into their clothing offer saw adult jeans for £7.99, kids' jeans for £4.99 and adult T-shirts for £2.99.

Understanding Local Customers

Listening to customers allows Tesco to fine-tune their ranges, opening hours and even the type of store they build in a local community. Catering for individual needs and employing local people not only benefits customers - it's also good for staff, shareholders and society as a whole. They pursue their focus on customers wherever in the world they operate.

Staying Local

Wherever in the world they operate, they stay local. The majority of store managers in Europe and Asia are local people and they have development programmes to grow thier local talent for the future. Local sourcing, wherever practicable, means many products are sourced from within each national market.

Keeping It Simple

In October they unveiled an innovative new concept in store design at Irlam, Manchester. They put together in one store a host of new initiatives aimed at making things better for customers, simpler for staff and cheaper for Tesco. Their new store layout ensures that high volume products are moved as little as possible, many counters have self-service options and the flow of products to and from the sales floor has been improved.

Shop Around The Clock

They now have 365 UK stores open 24 hours a day, meeting the needs of people with different lifestyles right across the country. This year, Taoyuan Chingkou became the first hypermarket in Taiwan to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; many of their international hypermarkets operate on a 24 hour basis.

A Refreshing Change

Refresh My Superstore was launched this year, giving customers a real say in how their store is improved. Before any work is carried out, customers and staff are asked what changes they would like made, from the product ranges to the car park layout. Their feedback forms the basis of the work then carried out. In the coming year they plan to refresh over 100 of their UK stores.

Formats That Fit

Their customers have different shopping needs, so Tesco vary their store format for them, tailoring the design so each store is better able to serve its community and make shopping more convenient.

Extra Stores

Provide destination shopping with an extensive food and non-food offer, on major sites.

Supermarkets

Provide one-stop shops for the weekly shop.

Metro Stores

Provide convenience in their high streets.

Express Stores

For top-up and impulse shopping, can be found in busy thoroughfares.

Investing and Innovating

Their UK step change programme achieved savings of over £200m in its second year. Based on the principles of better, simpler and cheaper, their operations were improved and efficiencies increased. A combination of new systems and new processes realised these savings:

BREAKING NEW GROUND: LEADING EDGE SYSTEMS

Their Continuous Replenishment system, where products are ordered automatically based on continuous information flows from their checkouts, is now operating on nearly all food and drink lines, raising availability and simplifying operations.

Using the world's first store-specific merchandising system Tesco can now tailor each store range to meet the precise needs of its customers. Linked to continuous replenishment, product space is allocated to demand.

A new automatic scheduling system in stores works out the optimum staffing levels required at checkouts, to match 12 million customers per week with 18,000 checkouts.

First For Finance

Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) is one of the UK's fastest growing financial services businesses. Over one million accounts and policies were opened this year and their share of profit rose from £3 million to £20 million. TPF now has over 2.5 million accounts. With 20% of sales now originating from the internet and 80% of business coming through the stores, Tesco products are available where and when their customers want them.

E-@sy Shopping

Tesco.com is the biggest online supermarket operator in the world. Covering 95% of the UK population, they have delivered to over a million homes. The site receives millions of unique visits each month. This year turnover reached £356 million.

Tesco.Com...

...was voted E-tailer of the Year in the 2001 Retail Week Awards, Best E-Commerce Service at the World Communication Awards and won the Large Corporate category at the Daily Telegraph and Barclays Bank @chievement 2001 awards.

...is pioneering internet home shopping for blind and partially sighted people. The new Tesco.com access site (www.tesco.com/access) is much simpler to use for visually impaired people, allowing text to be increased in size. If shoppers use a screen reader, a voice from the computer guides them as they shop online. This technology has also opened up shopping on the move via a pocket PC or smartphone.

Tesco.Com also sells a huge range of non-food products. A new wine warehouse was launched in 2001 offering a much larger range of wine by the case than at a conventional store. Their broad range of online warehouses offers everything from prams to flowers and TVs to dishwashers. For example, their online entertainment warehouse carries 1.2 million books plus every single CD, video, DVD and computer game on UK release.

Providing Information

Taking and relaying messages

Keeping Records

Providing Assistance

Dealing with problems

Handling complaints

AVCE Business

UNIT 16 - Customer Service

Centre No: 71207 Candidate No: 6089