Activities: SITXCCS501 - Manage Quality Customer Service
Activities: SITXCCS501 - Manage Quality Customer Service
Activities
SECTION 1: DEVELOP QUALITY CUSTOMER SERVICE PRACTICES
Activity 1
1. Explain the difference between internal and external customers. Give examples of both.
2. Should internal customers receive the same service as external customers? Why?
Internal customers want the same things that external customers do—courteous, friendly, timely service
and high product quality.
3. How does product and service quality offered by suppliers impact on the product/ service quality offered to
customers?
Suppliers must provide good quality products and timely, efficient service. If they do not then the product
and service you are able to offer your customers will suffer. Obviously if suppliers are not reliable and
consistent then you will look for new suppliers. Your customers also expect relativity and consistency from
you also. If it does not happen, they too, will look elsewhere.
The customer pays your wages. If you do not find out what the customer’s needs are and cater for those
needs they will take their purchasing dollars to your competitors.
The true measure of enterprise success is the level of customer satisfaction. Customers whose needs are
neither understood nor met will purchase from your competitors (who will find out what their needs are
and will meet them). If you do not have customers you will have no business and, of course, no wages. Every
single customer contributes to the success and profitability of the business.
Activity 2
1. What is the purpose of a customer survey?
If designed and worded correctly, they provide current and useful information that enables an organisation
to improve products and services to meet needs.
You must make all necessary efforts to find out what your customer’s needs are and how they change. If you
do not know then how can you possibly expect to meet them?
Activity 3
1. Although the key indicator of Japanese marketing success in the motor vehicle manufacturing and other
industries is their customer focus, there are other contributing factors. What do you think they are?
2. Briefly outline the ways in which a service organisation of your choice uses market research to identify and
pursue opportunities to enhance the quality of their service and products.
Answer is dependent on learner’s choice of service organisation and their uses of market research.
For example, learners might identify that market research is used to refine existing products and service,
develop new products and services, influence pricing, and to develop a competitive edge. It might also be
used to identify emerging trends and even identify potential training needs.
3. What are the benefits of integrating market research findings into planning for quality service?
The planning function of the organisation should be designed around the concepts of constant innovation,
adaptability, flexibility and the development of organisational skills enabling everyone to predict and pre-
empt change.
Customer focus means that the organisation includes customer service and measures of customer service in
their projected plans—in their employees’ job descriptions and in the KRAs and KPIs for the organisation.
In doing this they make their intentions known—to their suppliers, employees and to customers.
Products/ services will be structured around customer interests and around the recognised necessity for
building effective internal supplier–customer chains. Management processes and systems will support the
building and maintenance of internal and external relationships/ networks, which rely on constant
feedback and information sharing and will provide encouragement and reward systems for employees who
deliver excellent customer service.
Customer-driven organisations will succeed in a competitive market because they use research and
knowledge of their customers to design products and processes that the customer wants and will pay for.
Activity 4
Why should managers provide opportunities for staff to participate in the development of customer service
practices and what format could those opportunities take?
team members will have the most contact with customers and will therefore be able to
provide the most information about customer satisfaction with the service experience
team members are constantly in contact with customers and can question customers as
to their satisfaction with the service experience provided by the organisation and its
staff
oftentimes customers will volunteer information when dealing with team members
without being prompted
Management within an organisation can capture feedback from relevant team members
through a variety of mechanisms, such as:
holding forums with team members to engage ideas
feedback hyperlinks on intranets which outline specific detail that is required for
feedback to be useful
email drop boxes which are commonly utilised as a quick way of capturing an idea
focus groups (groups of staff are brought together to solve a particular issue)
Activity 5
1. Outline the steps involved in developing policies.
2. What considerations should be taken into account when assigning responsibilities in policy documents?
Policy documents should nominate job roles, rather than individuals, with responsibility for
the actioning, monitoring and review of policies as the holders of job roles can change.
Consideration must be given to the level of authority delegated to each job role to ensure that
responsibilities are commensurate with the level of authority.
3. Use the internet to source a quality service policy or procedure from a service organisation. Review the
policy and prepare a brief commentary on:
Responses will vary depending on the learner’s choice of service organisation and policy document but
response should demonstrate the learner’s ability to interpret policy documents.
Activity 6
1. The responsible service of alcohol aims to provide consumers with safer venues that are committed to
practicing harm-minimisation techniques. Currently, mandatory training in relation to the responsible sale,
supply and service of alcohol covers duty of care, standard drink measures, harm minimisation, refusal of
service, the effects of alcohol, juveniles, identifying intoxication and conflict resolution.
Identify appropriate method/s for distributing information on a hypothetical change to mandatory training
requirements for bar staff in relation to the responsible service of alcohol.
Appropriate methods for distributing information on a change to mandatory training requirements for bar
staff in relation to the responsible service of alcohol include:
advise bar staff of changes at team meetings
send letter to all staff advising of new requirements with return slip acknowledging they have read
and understood the letter
include information of new requirements with payslips
place posters about new requirements in common areas such as lunchrooms
record note in daily communication book
2. Research an organisation in the hospitality, tourism or travel industries and develop a list of the policies
and procedures they have made available to customers and the method they have chosen to do this.
Activity 7
A number of strategies for monitoring the progress of achieving product and/or service targets and standards
have been discussed in the text. Which of these strategies do you consider to be the most useful? Why?
Activity 8
1. Develop a questionnaire to identify the customer service training needs of workers responsible for
administration in a hospitality, travel or tourism business. Upload your questionnaire for
assessment.
The format of the questionnaire to identify the training needs of workers responsible for administration in
hospitality, travel or a tourism business will vary, but should include as a minimum:
list of required customer service skills/ knowledge for the role
response options, eg competent or training required
priority for training
opportunity to include comments
List of required customer service skills/ knowledge for the role should include, but not be limited to:
customer service responsibilities of workers
customer service responsibilities of employer
role of customer service specialists such as customer relations manager
understanding compliance
workplace customer service policies and procedures:
customer compensation
loyalty programs
pricing and service guarantees
refunds and cancellation fees
emergency evacuation
first aid arrangements
customer complaints
2. What should be considered when organising internal training for staff on customer service policies,
procedures and expectations?
3. Research training providers suitable to deliver customer service training in your state/ territory.
Provide details of one provider including their area/s of expertise and justify why you would use
this provider to deliver customer service training.
Responses are dependent on learner’s choice of training provider but should include their area/s of expertise
and justification for why they would use this provider to deliver customer service training.
Activity 9
Research two management roles in the hospitality, travel or tourism industries and write a brief overview of
the service outcomes and dispute resolution responsibilities for each position. Identify the skills, knowledge
and personal qualities required to manage service outcomes and dispute resolution for each position.
Activity 10
1. Why is it necessary for managers to act as positive role models for professional standards expected
of service industry personnel?
Staff will not automatically know the professional standards expected of service industry personnel. They
will need to be taught this. They will learn a great deal from watching their manager or team leader role
model these behaviours. Managers and team leaders act as models upon which staff will base their own
service strategies and as coaches to help staff develop their skills in customer service.
2. What is coaching?
Coaching is the process where one individual (the coach), works with another individual (the trainee) to
focus on achieving better outcomes for the trainee. Coaches can help staff to develop customer service
skills. While coaching does not meet the requirements of formal training, it is, in many circumstances, more
effective in passing on skills.
3. What characteristics do you think a good model or coach would have when it comes to developing
team members’ professional service standards?
being patient
the ability to explain technical terms in plain English
a person who is energetic and enthusiastic
a person who is encouraging and supportive
being knowledgeable and committed to improving their coaching
a person who is caring and interested in the team member’s growth
Activity 11
What are the benefits of seeking ongoing feedback from staff and customers and using it to improve customer
service performance?
Through feedback from staff and customers, employers and managers can become more aware of customer
service issues experienced by both parties. Workers and customers can also provide suggestions about how
to solve customer service problems that affect them and contribute to continuous improvement processes.
When stakeholders such as customers and staff are involved in policy development, decision-making and
assessments this leads to increased loyalty and support for organisational goals which, inevitably, affects
productivity.
Consultation and involvement also motivates stakeholders to improve and to contribute to continuous
improvement. It indicates organisational respect for the opinions and experience of workers and customers.
Workers are often the people who know the job, the job conditions and the issues best. Workers are also the
people who are potentially at risk from disgruntled customers and, therefore, should be entitled to an opinion
on how customer service programs will be designed, developed, monitored and evaluated.
Consultation with managers and stakeholders also facilitates determining customer service priorities for the
organisation as they will generally be aware of the operational requirements of the business, required and
recurring training needs, and the training needs of individual team members.
Activity 12
1. Analyse the results of a customer satisfaction survey from a service industry organisation of your
choice. Use the survey results to assess the effectiveness of the organisation’s customer service
practices and identify any apparent systematic customer service problems. Prepare a brief report of
your findings and recommendations. Upload your report for assessment.
Responses are dependent on the results of the customer satisfaction survey and service organisation
selected by the learner.
Responses should demonstrate the learner’s ability to analyse and interpret survey results data and
identify improvement opportunities. Responses should also demonstrate learner’s problem-solving skills.
2. How can an organisation make decisions to overcome problems and to adapt customer services,
products and/or service delivery?
3. How can an organisation manage customer service records, reports and recommendations within
the organisation’s systems and processes? How is this information used? How could the information
be used to greater effect?
Activity 13
1. Why should managers identify improvements to customer service procedures and communication
protocols in consultation with relevant personnel (ie frontline staff)?
Frontline staff often have a clearer idea than management as to whether customer service procedures or
communication protocols are working. They are on the front line and they are the ones who have to
implement the procedures/ protocols of the organisation. They will often have ideas as to how procedures/
protocols can be improved. For these reasons, it is a good idea to seek the input of staff when reviewing
customer service procedures and communication protocols.
2. Review a customer service policy from a hospitality, tourism or travel organisation of your choice.
Provide a brief overview of the intent of the policy and make recommendations on any adjustments
that could be made to improve service quality. If your recommendations were to be accepted by the
organisation, how could you communicate these recommendations to service delivery staff?
For example, Air New Zealand’s customer service plan covers these elements:
lowest fares
delivering baggage on time
accommodating passengers with disabilities and special needs
lengthy tarmac delays
overbooking and denied booking
compensation levels for flights originating at a US airport
website information
notification of changes to your travel itineraries
responsiveness to customer complaints and compliments
flight cancellations and misconnections
Learners should provide an overview of each aspect of the customer service plan and make
recommendations based on the content.
Methods for communicating changes to staff are dependent on the recommendations but could
include via email, at team meetings, information kit, etc.
Formal surveys can be conducted in a number of ways. If designed and worded correctly, they provide
current and useful information that enables an organisation to improve products and services to meet
needs.
While customers might not always be prepared to answer verbal questions, they are, on occasion, placed in
situations where they do have time to fill in questionnaires on customer service. For example, when on a
long flight, overnighting at a hotel or even when dining in a restaurant. Take advantage of these situations
where you can.
Ask qualitative and quantitative questions and a mixture of open and closed questions. Format questions in
ways that customers will bother answering; that is, work out a range of questions and options that do not
require long, wordy answers. Tick box formats can be useful.
Post-outs of survey questions can elicit useful information; however, responses are more likely if there is an
attached incentive. Customers can be induced to complete questionnaires because they see some benefit in
doing so. Warranty cards fall into this category. Other questionnaires might promise a chance of winning a
prize as an inducement to spend time filling in a form. Alternately, they might offer a discount on the next
purchase.
When designing survey instruments, questions must be carefully worded and constructed to:
reflect the information you actually want to obtain
ask the hard, or possibly controversial questions
encourage people to answer them through user-friendly formatting
Feedback and input from customers should be a constant part of the organisational planning, monitoring
and evaluation systems. Customer feedback results should be widely shared so that everyone in the
organisation is aware of customer satisfaction levels. Post key customer satisfaction measures and the
results of current surveys everywhere in the organisation.
2. Conduct research into the Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (ATAP) and provide a brief
explanation of the purpose of the program and accreditation criteria. List three businesses in your
state/ territory that hold ATAP accreditation.
The Australian Tourism Accreditation Program is a business development program that is based on Quality
Assurance principles. It has been developed by aligning the six state and territory based tourism
accreditation programs.
It encourages businesses to:
plan how their business will function
check that customer expectations are being met
The program addresses many of the issues that are covered in the development of a business plan but
focuses on those key elements that are part of the day-to-day function of any tourism operation.
This is achieved by the development of professional management systems that will lead to reliability,
consistency and predictability in the operation of the business which in turn results in improved customer
service and satisfaction.
Accreditation provides clients and industry colleagues with an assurance that participating businesses are
committed to professionalism both in business operations and delivery of service.
To gain accreditation, tourism businesses must demonstrate their commitment to and use of specific
business practices. These business practices are the essential elements of the Australian Tourism
Accreditation Standard.
3.Identify current service trends and changes affecting service delivery in the hospitality, travel and
tourism industries. What was your source for this information?
Response is dependent on learner’s choice of information on current trends. For example, Service Skills
Australia’s 2013 Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Environmental Scan identifies the trends that affect the
sector’s skill requirements and the way in which training packages are responding, and the industries’
workforce development needs—including the occupations that are in demand or shortage. Trends
identified in this document include changes to the flow of international tourists into Australia and the
impact of technology.
4. Design a template that could be used when developing workplace policies. Upload your template
for assessment.
5. What is the intent of competition and consumer legislation that applies in your state/ territory and
how does this influence service delivery?
For example, the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 aims to give businesses a fair and competitive
operating environment. It covers anti-competitive conduct, price fixing, unconscionable conduct and other
issues, such as advertising. The Act also sets out consumers’ rights and responsibilities. It covers areas such
as returns, refunds, warranties, contracts, marketing and advertising.
6. Research job descriptions for customer service managers in the hospitality, travel and tourism
industries. Determine the professional service standards, attitudes and attributes expected of
service industry personnel at that level.
Response is dependent on job descriptions sourced by learners but professional service standards,
attitudes and attributes expected of service industry personnel should include:
a strong commitment to customer service
a passion for the job role and the industry
common sense
highly developed communication skills
initiative
punctuality and reliability
contributing constructively to the team environment
appropriate use of humour
willingness to learn and adapt to change
self-management
appearance
experience
qualifications
7. How does the development of customer service policies and procedures contribute to the provision
of quality customer service?
Organisations develop policies and procedures for a variety of reasons; for example, to comply with
legislation or in response to concerns from stakeholders or to change workplace behaviour.
A policy is a guiding principle used to set direction in an organisation. It should be used to guide and
facilitate decision-making within the framework of the objectives, goals and management philosophies of a
business. Policies can range from broad philosophies to specific rules. Policies must comply with legal
requirements.
A procedure details the action to be taken to address the policy. It should be designed as a series of steps to
be followed as a consistent and repetitive approach or cycle to accomplish an end result. Procedures are
specific, factual, succinct and to the point.
8. What are the roles and responsibilities of managers in the provision of quality customer service?
Managers share responsibility for developing quality customer service practices, managing the
delivery of quality service, and monitoring and adjusting customer service practices to meet
business objectives.
Projects
Project 1
1. Complete the following:
How can organisations in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries ensure they continue to deliver
products and services that meet or exceed the needs of their customers?
Responses should demonstrate the learner’s understanding of the need to monitor customer needs,
expectations and satisfaction levels by using both formal and information research.
Explain what this statement means, how it should be applied, why it should be applied and why a policy of
encouraging customer complaints benefits organisations.
Customer complaints are the means by which you can measure customer satisfaction—
outcomes.
In the answer learners should explain that customer complaints point to improvement needs.
Encouraging customers to complain means that you make it possible for them to do so without
fear of being denigrated or abused. They know that their complaints will be taken seriously and
resolved as quickly as possible.
If you do not encourage customers to complain you will not know what you are doing wrong
(never assume that just because you are not hearing the complaints everything is going well), or,
for that matter, right.
Design a customer survey that could be administered to either internal or external customers. Your
survey will be designed to determine customer needs, wants and expectations and to determine
whether the product/ service or bundle you offer meets those specifications.
Learners should give clear reasons for all of their actions and intended actions. Survey questions must be worded
to elicit relevant, useful information, including negative comments.
2. Practical assessment
To be completed as well as the theory assessment.
This activity involves practical demonstration of tasks to your supervisor, trainer or assessor. Download and print
the Practical Assessment sign off sheet here for completion and submit it to your assessor by suitable negotiated
method (eg fax/ mail).
Record details of the practical demonstration including date conducted, the supervisor/ assessor present and sign off
form submission details in the answer box provided.
Negotiate, with your assessor, a time and place—either in an actual or simulated workplace—to demonstrate these
skills. Your assessor will draw up and provide you, ahead of time, with a properly contextualised task list that will
enable demonstration of the required skills and knowledge. You can use this when preparing for the assessment and
it can be used as a checklist during the assessment.
Answer requires a practical response and trainer/ assessor verification of the participant’s skills. Participant should
provide details of practical demonstration including date conducted, the supervisor/ assessor present and sign off
form submission details by suitable negotiated method (eg form submitted by fax/ mail/ email).
Assessor instructions
The practical assessment should cover all of the performance criteria for this study unit.
Assessors should ensure that they prepare and disseminate task lists that are relevant to the industry/ employment
context. These should be in plain English and provide adequate information about the assessment environment,
resources required for assessment and the performance standards relevant to the qualification.
Assessors should provide clear advice to candidates for assessment regarding the structure of the assessment, the
number of times performance must be observed, the performance expectations and the amount or type of assistance
candidates can expect.
If the practical assessment does not fully address all the PCs assessors should ask questions to determine the extent
of the candidate’s knowledge. They should make notes regarding candidate responses.
Instructions and checklists, relevant to the contextualised practical tasks to be demonstrated, should be given to
candidates well ahead of the agreed assessment time, so that candidates can prepare properly.
Candidates must also demonstrate LLN skills commensurate with the qualification level.