- Consumer protection Act 1987
- Sales of goods act 1979
- Trades Description Act 1968
- The weights and Measures act 1963 and 1985
They have done this by incorporating a policy that refunds any products that are not satisfactory to the customer. By this they are abiding the law and may ensure that they get returning custom.
The customers receive a guaranteed expectable product in the long run and this ensures the policy ensures this, It ensures that there details will not be sold to other firms or use for anything unapropiate. Also they will receive the product that they have paid for, it will be of merchantable quality, Fit for their purpose and as it is described.
There are a wide range of customers who purchase Thorntons goods and services. Thorntons claim to be able to provide a product for any occasion therefore there are a wide variety of types of customers that purchase their products. Thorntons cater for all types of customer, gender and race unimportant they are able to provide services for the disabled, families, children, special occasions and groups of people who use Thorntons range of goods and services. They are able to do this by researching what needs different customers have and adapting there business to the needs of the customer. Thorntons give all customers an equal response to the feedback they receive. Whether a customer has purchased a drink in a cafeteria or brought an ice cream they will get the same level of customer service as a customer who purchases a higher costing product. This is considered a high priority as Thorntons value all consumers who use the Thorntons range of products and services. With this in mind Thorntons don’t measure customers income bracket so that they are able to provide a wide range of products to all types of customers.
Customers who purchase Thorntons chocolates expect to receive a high quality product and a good level of service. This is because Thorntons chocolates are a luxury product and not a necessity, therefor they rely on the customer to purchase their product. Also Thorntons specialize in quality, there chocolates have a high cost to the consumer therefor the customers expect high quality in all areas. This means that the disabled expect to be able to receive help with selection of product, general care, and be able to use wheelchairs in stores. Other customers who have different needs also expect their needs to be met. Some of the needs of customers are listed below:
- Young children, they may require adult supervision, advice and help with costs of the products, and general help with mobility of dispatch of a good or service.
- The Disabled may need help with mobility, extra care and assistance; respect as a customer and to feel valued and not discriminated against.
- Families with young children- may require pushchair access, facilities for infant’s e.g. high chair in cafeteria.
The management at the customer service department set out to meet their customer’s needs by investing a large amount of capital and resources into researching what there customers needed. With the large market that Thorntons operate within, they had to ensure that they could meet the needs of the customers to be able to provide the luxurious products and services the business offers. With the combination of research, knowledge and experience, the management has set out a customer service policy that gives the customer exactly what they want. With this Thorntons can provide the luxury service that is required and they get repeat business from existing customers. This is the reason for the large input to customer service by Thorntons.
Thorntons keep a record of all complaints so that they can decide if they are meeting customer needs. From their complaints and feedback they can find out what shops perform well/badly and they can address their problems. They can find out internal details by the number that is printed on Thorntons receipts. This is called a blame code, it goes into the quartile report and it enables them to run an analysis of each shop. This cuts the time the customer has to be interrupted by their experiences and makes Thorntons more efficient. Thorntons can also measure if they are meeting customer needs by comparing their sales revenues from previous years. Although this method may not be 100% accurate, they can find out if there are higher sales than previous years. With these methods they can decide if they are meeting customer needs or if they need to invest more resources into perfecting their operations.
I think that the Thorntons customer care policy is more than satisfactory for both the customer and the business. It covers all aspects of customer care and gives their customers some extra benefits. The policy abides the law and provides a high level of customer service. This was Thorntons solution to ensuring that customers who received faulty goods or if their goods did not meet up to the customer expectations then they are entitled to a refund or exchange. The fact that a receipt is not needed benefits the customer by not putting any pressure on the customer. I think this makes the policy more consumers friendly and brings more benefits to the business rather than disadvantages.
