What does good customer care look like, and why does it matter to an organisation?
The features of good customer care (including a customer care strategy and service standards), the benefits of good customer care, and the consequences of poor customer care for the organisation.
An SQA Higher Administration and IT answer on customer care, covering the features of good customer care including a customer care strategy and service standards, the benefits of good customer care, and the consequences of poor customer care.
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What this key area is asking
Administrators are often the face of an organisation to its customers, so the SQA wants you to understand customer care: the features of good customer care (including a customer care strategy and service standards), the benefits of getting it right, and the consequences of getting it wrong. Strong answers describe specific features and link good customer care to loyalty, reputation and sales, and poor care to lost customers and damaged reputation.
The features of good customer care
A customer care strategy and service standards
A customer care strategy is the organisation's plan for delivering good service. Service standards are clear, measurable promises (for example response times, delivery times, opening hours) that tell customers what to expect and let the organisation measure whether it is meeting them. Publishing standards makes the organisation accountable.
Trained, helpful staff
Customer-facing staff (often administrators) should be knowledgeable, polite, helpful and well trained, able to answer questions, solve problems and deal with people professionally, including difficult situations.
Prompt, accurate responses and a complaints procedure
Enquiries, orders and problems should be dealt with quickly and correctly. A clear, fair complaints procedure lets customers raise problems easily and have them put right, which can turn an unhappy customer into a loyal one.
Seeking and acting on feedback
Good organisations gather feedback (surveys, comment cards, online reviews) and act on it to improve the service, showing customers their views matter.
The benefits of good customer care
- Loyalty and repeat business: satisfied customers come back and recommend the organisation.
- Good reputation: positive reviews and word of mouth attract new customers.
- More sales and a competitive edge: good service helps win and keep business against rivals.
- Motivated staff: dealing with happy customers is more rewarding, lifting morale.
The consequences of poor customer care
Poor customer care leads to lost customers and sales (dissatisfied customers leave), a damaged reputation (complaints and bad reviews spread quickly online and by word of mouth), loss of repeat business and loyalty, extra cost from handling complaints and refunds, and lower staff morale from dealing with constant complaints. In a competitive market, poor service can be very damaging.
Examples in context
Example 1. Service standards in a call centre. A call centre sets service standards (answer calls within 20 seconds, resolve queries on first contact where possible), trains staff thoroughly, and reviews customer feedback weekly. Customers get fast, helpful service, so they stay loyal and recommend the company, illustrating the features and benefits of good customer care.
Example 2. The cost of poor care. A retailer is slow to answer emails, has no clear complaints procedure, and ignores feedback. Customers post negative reviews, take their business elsewhere, and warn others. The retailer loses sales and reputation and spends time and money firefighting complaints, showing the consequences of poor customer care.
Try this
Q1. Name two features of good customer care. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: a customer care strategy; service standards; trained/helpful staff; prompt, accurate responses; a complaints procedure; gathering and acting on feedback.
Q2. Describe two consequences for an organisation of poor customer care. [4 marks]
- Cue. Lost customers and sales; damaged reputation (bad reviews/word of mouth); loss of repeat business and loyalty; extra cost of complaints and refunds; lower staff morale (any two, developed).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher style5 marksDescribe the features of good customer care.Show worked answer →
Worth 5 marks. Describe distinct features, one mark each.
A customer care strategy and service standards (1 mark). A clear plan and published standards (for example response times) that set out the level of service customers can expect.
Trained, helpful staff (1 mark). Staff who are knowledgeable, polite, helpful and able to deal with enquiries and problems.
Prompt, accurate responses (1 mark). Dealing with enquiries, orders and complaints quickly and correctly.
An effective complaints procedure (1 mark). A clear, fair way for customers to complain and have problems put right.
Seeking and acting on feedback (1 mark). Gathering customer feedback (surveys, reviews) and using it to improve the service.
SQA Higher style4 marksDescribe the consequences for an organisation of poor customer care.Show worked answer →
Worth 4 marks. Describe negative effects, one mark each.
Lost customers and sales (about 1 mark). Dissatisfied customers take their business elsewhere, reducing sales and revenue.
Damaged reputation (about 1 mark). Complaints and bad reviews, spread quickly online and by word of mouth, harm the organisation's image.
Loss of repeat business and loyalty (about 1 mark). Customers do not return, so the organisation loses the value of long-term, repeat custom.
Extra cost and lower morale (about 1 mark). Handling complaints and refunds costs money, and a stream of complaints lowers staff morale.
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