However there are also examples of bad customer service. These are the things you don’t want to be doing:-
- don’t become impatient or aggressive with customer (the customer is always right)
- don’t ignore the customer
- don’t take your attention away from the customer
- don’t show bad manners
Chester zoo & Customer Service
Chester zoo’s definition of customer service is to keep people safe but to make sure they have a fun day out in a happy environment.
Why does Chester Zoo need good customer service?
- They rely heavily on repeat visits from people that have enjoyed the zoo ( 86% of their visitors have been before)
- 96% of customers who have had a bad experience don’t complain, they just don’t come back
- They don’t get any funding from the government so 96% of their income comes from the visitors.
I think that Chester Zoo’s definition of good customer service is correct because they make sure that all their customers have a fun day out and enjoy it so much that they come back again and recommend it to their family and friends. This means that they get all the money they need to promote their main aim: to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide.
Chester zoo obviously shows good customer service because 96% of their income comes from the customers and they wouldn’t return to the zoo if they had experienced bad customer service.
Part 2:-
The second half of this piece of work is going to talk about the different situations in which you may have contact with the customers within the chosen organisation.
Basic Customer Needs
All customers, internal and external, have the same basic needs. They want to feel welcome and be in a friendly, helpful environment. They want to know that they are safe but at the same time, have fun.
There are two types of customers:
- Internal customers – these are people within the organisation eg.staff
- External customers – these are people outside the organisation who want to buy a product or service from you
Inside the group of external customers there are many different kinds of customers. For example:
- School groups: these may need to be directed round the zoo and spoken to in a language that they understand (simple words)
- Families: the parents will want their children to be happy so make sure they have fun and do not get lost or distressed
- Foreign customers: these customers will probably feel a bit awkward so try to do your best to understand them and train staff to speak some phrases from different languages
- Disabled customers: if a disabled customers comes round the zoo on their own, then having a personal worker on hand to push them round the zoo may be a good idea
- Argumentative customer: if a customer becomes argumentative try to stay calm with them and make sure their problem gets sorted out or they will remember their day out as a bad one
- Shy, timid customers: these may need some reassurance and guiding round the zoo
Chester Zoo staff will have to deal with all of these different situations and would handle each one in a slightly different way.
As well as all these external customers, the internal customers are also split into further groups as you can see in the diagram below.
How does Chester Zoo deal with these customers and meet their needs?
Chester zoo’s internal customers are also treated very well within the organization. They basically have the same basic needs as external customers:
* They want to feel safe
* They want to work in a calm, happy environment
* They want to be treated well by their bosses and managers
* They want to get paid a good wage
Chester zoo also views internal customers very importantly inside the organisation as well because without them, they would not be able to run the zoo. To make sure they are safe, Chester Zoo provides several health and safety training courses which will show them how to handle different emergencies such as a fire drill.
One difference between the way internal and external customers get treated, is how the internal customers communicate with each other. Although certain members of staff will have nothing to do with the actual animals, there are numerous meetings throughout the year between the internal customers so they can communicate with each other and discuss different areas of the zoo.
I think overall, Chester Zoo knows the importance of treating internal and external customers well and trying to meet their needs the best they can. They do this effectively which is why they receive enough visitors to make an £18,981,000 profit each year.