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The report illustartes about Understanding and Engaging In the Customer Experience-key drivers for all decisions made

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Understanding and Engaging In the Customer Experience

INTRODUCTION

 

The key to success in any organization starts with understanding the needs and wants of the customers while not understanding is a recipe for failure. The reason an organization is in business is the customers. They are the key drivers for all the decisions made throughout the organization. The profits of any organization are directly linked to the customers of it. A company apart from being focused on the achievement of its vision and mission must stay linked with effectively managing interactions to best serve the customers. Stepping up the brand value and business growth depends upon the customers. Also serving the customers efficiently helps to acquire more customers. Customer loyalty is achieved with effective customer service. So, more customers mean more business. Analyzing the customer’s experience by getting their feedback is the best way to know about them (Albrecht, 1995).

I am a manager at Darbaar Restaurant located at 1 Snowden Street, Broadgate Quarters, London, EC2A 2DQ. Set in London's trendy Shoreditch, Darbaar Restaurant is a sensational contemporaneous space helping a menu divine by the feast of the Indian Royal Court. In accession to the chic bar, there is an unparalleled synergistic grill seating sphere and a tailormade chef's table. Eclectic dishes with panache are prepared on the menu. Customers in my workplace play a significant role as they are the ones through whom we generate revenues.

 

 

 

QUALITY PROCESS AND STANDARDS IN WORKPLACE

 

Quality Management circles around the four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. Quality is significant to impute  in products and services (Covey, 2009). Satisfaction of the customer is the keystone of Quality Management. Setting up a big organization will not generate revenues unless customers are satisfied with quality goods.

My workplace primarily focuses to fulfill customer needs and endeavor to transcend customer anticipations. Retaining the confidence of customers leads to sustained success. I always try to understand the modern and subsequent needs of customers to sustain the success of my

 

workplace. Establishment of unity in my team and directing them towards purpose helps me in achieving my quality objectives. My workplace tries to ordinate its policies, procedure and available source of wealth to accomplish its objectives. It is always crucial to postulate everyone at all levels to govern an organization adequately and efficiently and to esteem them as an independent. Acknowledgment, authorization, and improvement of capability alleviate the involution of employees in accomplishing organization’s quality objectives. Interrelated processes functioning as a coherent system develops consistent and predictable results thus optimizing the performance of my workplace. There is always an ongoing focus on improvement in my workplace as it is essential to conserve flow of the performance, responding to modifications in intragroup and intergroup conditions to create fresh opportunities. Making up of the decisions is always a complex as it is precarious. Decisions in my workplace are always constructed on the examination and consideration of data and information collected from the customers after understanding the cause and effect relationships. For conserving the success of my workplace, we try to manage the relationships with customers, suppliers as they always influence the execution of the organization. It is significant to manage the relationships at the workplace to ensure the consistent growth of an organization. Everything is firstly planned and then implemented before checking up and finally acting up to achieve the goals of the organization. While selecting the quality standard it is never to undervalue the people’s factors such as the culture. To achieve the quality standards, it is significant to understand the perceptions of customers, to give them the required satisfaction, to give them the service quality by developing the critical knowledge of service quality. I and my subordinated always try to understand what influences the customer’s perceptions of service, be it related to food, ambiance, location, drinks, entertainment, trendiness or child eco-friendly.

 

 

 

CUSTOMER SERVICE

 

Customer service is an essential part of running a wealthy restaurant. If the customers are treated right, they will come back again and again, so it becomes directly proportional to the revenues of the workplace. Good customer service is all about fetching them back. It is all about the arrangement of services to customers before, during and after their purchase. Depending upon the interaction of people in the workplace by aligning themselves to the

 

personality of a customer is the perception of accomplishment. To provide good customer service it requires the complete staff. The golden rule of running a successful business is that customer is always right, even if they are wrong (Rokes, 2002). While taking up the feedback or any complaints it is necessary to be empathetic. Problems originate in even the excellent of restaurants- it’s how one grips them will specify the return of customer. Knowing about the key strategy in handling tumultuous customers in right and good way leads to success. In the fine-dining restaurants, etiquette matters the most. One of the strategies at my workplace is not to make a customer wait for long. By making them wait for long can be turned out as a negative point. It is always terrible to secure back the disappointed customer. My workplace goal is to accommodate food with accurately the same quality every day and every time. Exceptionally significant thing while delivering customer service is fixing up their problems instantly. As a manager of the restaurant, I always try to acknowledge my customer’s issues and try to empathize. Going out-of-the-box by incorporating technology as in offering free wi-fi facilities, provision of games at the table, taking up the orders online, speedy delivery of food gives the excellent customer service. Acquiescent front of house attendant will keep consumer buoyant and returning more to the same place. A good customer service experience can modify the complete perception a consumer keeps regarding the organization. The era of automated helpline has begun through Artificial Intelligence (AI). Touch-tone phone service has begun at my workplace to meet up the challenges and competition in the market. Training the staff to serve best to a customer and always taking up the extra step to provide good customer service with good word of mouth will always win the hearts of many customers. The famous saying of actions speaks louder than words holds true for customer appreciation by always letting the customers feel they are VIP (Buchanan, 2011).

 

 

 

CUSTOMER CENTRALITY

 

In the today’s era, customer centrality plays a significant role as it is considered as the viewpoint in which the requirements, desires, the susceptibility of the consumer are the kickoffs for the management or the decision makers of the organization. The principal aim behind this phrase is that the consumer is at the center for everything for an organization and driving force for marketing planning are also the consumers. The organization should always pursue to build value for their customers and should understand that if they will create the

 

value for the customers, it will bring them money (Eliot, 2018). In order to compete in short- term and to thrive in long-term, many organizations need customer centrality. It is the customer centrality that realigns the performance metrics, development of the product, customer relationship management (CRM) and organization to make sure that focus is directly on the requirements of valuable customers and increment the gains for the future. One cannot be all things to all people, so there is always a need to learn and find out who really matters to the success of an organization. A separate data has been maintained in my workplace of the regular valuable customers so that all their desires about food and other requirements are fulfilled. My workplace always tries up for coming up with something new indispensable, which has been pleasing children and their parents. My workplace always tries to treat customers importantly as if they are the most significant people on earth. To go out of the box, my workplace customizes a birthday party, down to greeting card with a photograph and a poem, to commemorate the occasion. There is also the system of maintaining the electronic records of customers that include how frequently they arrive and about their likes and dislikes. Servers provide customers on a timely basis, without becoming aggravator. Instead of striving to offer good customer service, I try to make it exceptional, going above and beyond at every possible way to make my customer’s happening in my workplace memorable. The trick to turning the discontented consumer into a true-hearted one is acknowledging that we are wrong and then going out of the way to make it right. In my workplace, all staff tries to scan the customers about their needs, and immediately respond when any of them need something. Keeping up the main motive of fulfilling the requirements of customers leads the organization in achieving its goals and thus incrementation of its revenues and generating of high brand value. Quality, quantity, presentation, ambiance matters in my place is taken care of by all the staff members including me.

 

VALUE AND PURPOSE OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

The restaurant industry is resolute. There is an estimation that around 60-80% of recent restaurants be unsuccessful in achieving a goal within the first year. Life is still not tranquil- competition is imminent. The Consumer is pampered for choice. Building up of a relationship is a cue, it can make a contrast between a one-time consumer and those that come back on methodical intervals. Customer relationship management (CRM) is the powerful and

 

the most organized approach in maintaining and generating relationships with customers (Welsh, 2008). Apart from pure business, CRM also contemplates strong personal relationships with people. This type of relation drives the organization to a new level of success. Customer relationship management contains each bit of details of a consumer, thus easy for tracking up the customer. It is purposeful in dealing with the current customers and in acquiring the new customers. The dignity of CRM is less requirement of paper and manual work and lesser resources to deal thus making it cost-effective. It is mere a dilemma in today’s commercial world of practicing the dealing with the existing customers and booming business by acquiring more customers into a loop. Incorporating a CRM system can surely ameliorate the situation and help in challenging the new ways of marketing and business in a productive way. I in my workplace tries to make the consumer’s experience a distinctive one that keeps them coming back. To promote a positive relationship with the customer in my workplace, it provides useful functions such as customer feedback and their valuable suggestions, also the consumer complaints. It is regarded as a mechanism for the customer to rebuke to the restaurant. The favored and highly profit-making items are kept on the menu unlike the unfavoured and unprofitable making items are jettison from the menu in my workplace. It has always remained a challenge in finding out the imaginative ways to ameliorate the two in middle. Estimating the type of meals which are favorable can lead to intriguing of new menu products. Using the customer relationship management helps the organization in retaining the customers thus ensuring the consistency among them (Paine, 2002). Happy customers always lead to happy and profitable organizations. CRM also helps in improving pricing policies and customization of products and services for customers.

 

MAINTAINING AND IMPORTANCE OF BUYER SELLER RELATIONSHIPS

 

 

There is a great motive for handling buyer-seller relationship in this rapidly changing era where there is great competition in the market. A better relationship between both helps the organization to gain ambitious gain in the market. It helps the seller gain buyer’s loyalty by having a good understanding of the needs of buyers. To maintain healthy relationships between both, the seller needs to offer a lower price and ask for a larger quantity to compete in the market and to gain and maintain in the long run (Paine, 2002). It is significant to

 

maintain the goals and targets so that they can get the competitive reward. I always try to communicate with my customers in my workplace to know about their needs and desires and to maintain the continuity of their trust. Ample communication between buyer and seller is needed to maintain satisfaction and stability. An immediate action is always required to be taken when either side observes an upshot or problem. The Consciousness of entire details of both side ambition, strengths and weakness are essential. It may come through exposures, discussions, mutual problem-solving. To retain good relationships with the customers, it is important to offer them incentives. All staff members in my workplace are propelled to hand over the order on time. In this way, both the buyer and seller can handle a better relationship between them and relish the perks. It is important to understand the culture as it may ascent to dissimilar views and rendering while having the equivalent conversation. There shouldn’t be any communication gap as handling a good contact with the suppliers’ can welfare the business in a big way. A sound and fit relation only foster when both the parties stay together for long. When we enter a business subject era, we should not only consider the matter of increasing the revenues but also increase a healthy relationship with the consumer as well. Consumers nowadays tend to choose good quality and better product which suits their daily lifestyles (Beijaard, 2010). In my workplace, Customers are treated as members to know about their perspectives and opinions while launching with the new product or any dish, which means they can also do their part by giving some ideas of feedback towards the newly launched dish or product. Staff always ensures that customers are treated well so that my workplace can gain a good reputation in terms of behaviors and discipline by welcoming them and talking with them politely. It is always easier to produce and handle reputation and reliance than try to retrieve them. Morality and accuracy, unentitled reputation and crystalline honesty, therefore becomes significant in the new marketplace made up of institutions and scepter customers and stakeholders. Thus, it is important to manage the relations between the seller and buyer to run the business in the long run and to meet the short-term goals as well as long-term with the fulfillment of expected revenues. Every business or organization should try to maintain healthy relations without any biases.

 

HANDLING OR MANAGING EXPECTATIONS OF THE CUSTOMERS

 

Managing the expectations of consumers is highly significant. Consumers anticipate great services at a reasonable price. They are unlikely to order items that are over their price range. But reckon this: Consumers frequently make hard petitions because they don’t know what to expect from the service provider (Welsh, 2008). Only a small portion of the customers know what to expect and try to get more or take advantage of the company. There are five effective ways by which I manage expectations in my workplace

1.            The Staff which directly deals with the customers are trained with diverse of solutions to common and the possible problems. That way, we offer our customers another way when they demand something which is not possible.

2.            Reasonable anticipations are frequently born from loyalty. My workplace policies, rules, and values are transparent which builds trust with customers.

3.            Many consumers don’t mind waiting for a little time as long as they understand the reason behind it, but they always want or expect the service provider to remain honest with them. It is always better to give them and clear them the timelines.

4.            One should always remain optimistic and realistic. My workplace wants to make the customers happy and all the staff knows that immediate declaration will do that as everyone wants to always hear the wonderful news such as their problems will be resolved, or the refunds will be made. It is significant to set the right expectations for them.

5.            The last way to manage the expectations is to follow up. It is most the crucial element of managing the expectations. Customers always expect organizations to follow up with them to let know about their experience. Apart from the suggestions and feedback, I try to call up customers to know about their experience about my workplace to know about the reviews of food, ambiance or if any problem they had faced.

 

It always depends upon the ability of the organization to give excellent B2B (Business to Business) customer support unless it meets the expectations of the customers. It must be given due importance to know about the expectations of customers from our organizations in different dimensions. If those expectations cannot be met, then the best steps should be taken to reset and recalibrate those anticipations. The idea of managing the anticipations of the consumers should not be viewed from only one side. My workplace tries to find out what customers really want or desires from our workplace. It is significant to meet out the

 

expectations of the consumers to survive the organization, in the long run, to remain it be on a profitable basis.

 

BUYING DECISION MAKING: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS SUCH AS FAIR TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES

 

 

Ethics is as important as quality is. It is important to meet ethical standards. Ethics cites to principles or values that catalog conduct. Although there is limited research about the business effects of customer sensing of ethical behavior, the work of Creyer and Ross (1997), studying “the influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: do consumers really care about business ethics” provided a guideline for conceptualizing the research framework. The products should be sourced ethically which has a low environmental impact and should support biodiversity and Fairtrade. My restaurant grows its own herbs and fruits and ambiance has always touched with flower pots and roof gardens and provides sustainable food products. Consumers prefer only that food which is healthy and safe and is of great quality and is sourced ethically. It is right of the customer to know about the food product about the ingredients used, that how it has been produced and it is not charging any cost to others. Respect to the animals, people living on earth, the environment should be given (Lloyd, 2002). In my workplace, we try to encourage those food products which have a less environmental impact and boost for more greenery. A recycling machine has been installed in my workplace. The items which can be recycled are put into the machine. My workplace has been registered as a trader with Fairtrade to use the Fairtrade certified products. It promotes the Fairtrade mark products to boost the small farmers living across the world. Thus business or an organization has to keep in its mind about the quality as well as the ethical considerations to make their products on a continuity of sale as the buyers while making a purchase are more cautious about the details of the products be it the components used in the product, its effect on the environment or if any harm has been done to nay animals or living being and value they are receiving from the product after paying for it ( Covey, 2009). Ethical considerations are to be kept in mind while delivering the product as it is directly proportional to the coming back of the customers and attracting new customers in the business. The usage of renewable resources over the non-renewable resources should be given.

 

APPRECIATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY CONTROL

 

 

As we all know that today’s era is the ‘Era of Quality’. In this age of neck to neck competition and huge scale production, only those organizations exist who supplies goods with better quality and renders better services to the consumers. Quality control is the supervision check to know about the quality of goods and services produced (Covey, 2009). A proper benchmark is organized for quality control and has become a major consideration before incorporating and an industrial undertaking. The word quality control comprises of two words- ‘quality’, ‘control’. Quality relates to the specifications and standards such as shape, dimension, color, strength, workmanship. Quality being a relative term basically means the various characteristics of a product. It has become the market differentiator for all the products and services. There are various methods which are being followed by different organizations such as Total Quality Management (TQM) or it may also be internal or external standards (King, 2006). The Control means checking out the actual performance performed in an organization and planned performance and if there occurs any deviation between planned and actual performance, the necessary corrective measures are to be taken. There should not be any customer gap while giving the service quality. Service quality is the judgment of the customer regarding the product and taking into mind about the quality of the product (Remarkable Service, 2001). There are five dimensions of the service control which are: Assurance, Reliability, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness. Reliability is the capacity to perform the service which has been promised. Assurance is the capacity of employees to maintain trust and loyalty. Tangibles include any physical facilities or any equipment. Empathy means giving personal attention to customers and giving them care. Responsiveness is enthusiasm to help the customers and to provide them with fast services

 

 

 

CUSTOMER VALUE

 

The term “Customer Value” should not be confused with the value of a customer to the organization. Customer value means to value the customers receive. It does not refer to the value of a customer (Paine, 2002). If a customer in my workplace pays a price for the food

 

which he/she has ordered, the food provided to them should match the price paid by them. There should be parity between the ordered food or product and the price to be paid for it. The price menu providing the various food or drinks in my workplace has been set up after analysis, interpretations and after considering the competition in the market. Customer value does not only relate to the quantity but also the enjoyment which a customer gets from the product is counted i.e. quality also counts in the customer value. Be it the business or organization of any size, it is an important and integral part to determine and analyze how well they are serving their customer base. A research may be conducted on usage and the value of a product to the customer. Most organizations generally lackreal understanding and alignment on their customers and it is very necessary to understand the customer in a genuine way. Companies invest highly in CRM systems but through its customers do not get any value. Businesses need to deliver value to their customers keeping in mind the cut-throat competition prevailing in the market. To be successful, every business needs to capture the various ways of customer needs and measure how well they are satisfying their customers and build up the action plans (Murphy, 2006). In my workplace customer’s lifetime value (CLTV) is calculated to find out the customer value. Firstly, the most profitable customers are identified and then it is figured out whether those profitable customers are retained. There goes the identification of which consumer acquisition channels are working to best and then there is a determination of revenue which is likely to be made over the span of time, also figuring out the span of time it takes to recover the cost of having a new customer. Then the sustainability of my workplace is determined, and various adjustments are made and finally getting insight into our customer’s satisfaction with the company is attained.

 

 

CONCLUSION

Everything in an organization revolves around the customer. A satisfied customer always brings profit to the business. It is significant to satisfy all the customers in order to expand and grow the business on a large scale. It can ultimately be done through customers only. Even though profit has not remained the only goal of every business, but it is the ultimate reason for which every business comes into an existence and wishes to thrive. Quality and fulfillment of customers desire and need matter a lot. The various factors which influence the mindset of the customers such as quality, price, quantity, satisfaction, value perceived, various ethical considerations are to be taken care of by the business to keep the customers coming back to them.

In my workplace, I have learned customers are always to be treated as a right and serving them the best quality in every sphere matter. The satisfied customer brings new customers, so the satisfaction of them and quality is the utmost goal. Also, ethical standards are always required to meet up to run in the long run. In this cut-throat competition era, things which are out-of-box works more than the old methods


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