Courses » Catering » Study Room Catering » Give customers a positive impression of yourself and your organisation (2G1)
The success of customer’ visits to your workplace – their satisfaction – depends on how well their needs and expectations are met. When you deploy your skills to understand customers requirements you have the ability to give a good quality service that will overall improve business and reputation. This will also maintain repeat business from regular and loyal customers.
Your appearance should give the impression that your are;
FRIENDLY – CLEAN – SMART – ORDERLY – ORGANISED
If you are immaculate and your workplace is set out just so then your customers will be convinced that everything else is equally clean and fresh. Take pride in your appearance and the way you present your workplace. Your customers expect it and you will feel better for it! Before going on shift you should look at how you are presenting yourself, you should make sure your uniform or clothing and your footwear is clean, neat and in good repair, your personal cleanliness and hygiene is up to your organisations standard and you are wearing the minimum of jewellery.
You need to think about how you communicate to meet the needs and expectations of customers. How do you get them to enter your workplace? How do you deliver the service that they are expecting? Is it the menu they are attracted to or are they just passers by? Have they heard news from friends or are they meeting them there? There are many more questions you can ask and a wide range of answers. Even the same customer is likely to give different answers according to the circumstances at the time.
If customers enter your workplace either to use the facilities or just to enquire about them, be welcoming. Remember that customers are not an interruption; they are people who pay your wages. A positive attitude towards customers will win them over and could influence their decision as to where to spend their money. If you weren’t attended to as soon as was humanly possible in a friendly manner, if you were ignored or if you were spoken to rudely or in a bored manner would you go back? Would you give over your hard-earned money for this type of service?
A big smile will win over your customers’ right from the start. Without saying a word, a smile puts customers at ease. Eye contact is another positive form of body language, as they can express a variety of feelings. By looking your customer directly in the eye in a positive manner lets them know that you are listening to them and they are valued.
Greet your customers with a smile. If you are busy and cannot attend to them immediately, look at them, acknowledge their presence and let them know you will be with them soon. Also, on saying goodbye, give another smile and look at them. The service you offer should not stop once the bill is paid.
Knowing what your workplace offers
The more you serve customers the easier it gets. You will learn how to respond helpfully to customers’ needs and expectations about the range of services, products and information available. Take an interest in all the products and services offered by your establishment. Serving at the table or counter or even just walking around the establishment puts you in line for all sorts of questions.
Understanding and advising your customers
Now that the customer has entered and decided to spend their time in your organisation and deploy your services you should make sure that you do it correctly. Talking to the customer is the biggest and most important thing you do. You must pace your speech and use a friendly tone of voice so that they can understand it and be able to make an informed decision. How do you know that you have understood their requirements? Ask them! Be polite, you may need to read back to them a large food order just to make sure that you haven’t missed anyone off. Did they want ice in their drink?
The customer may ask you for advice and guidance. You must be prepared for this by having a good knowledge of all products and services offered in your workplace. But beware! In your enthusiasm to help customers, or promote your workplace, there is a danger of saying too much or giving incorrect information on a product or price you are not sure of. All information that is given to your customers should be done so in a way that is clear, polite, confident and most importantly accurate; you should do this to avoid misunderstandings with customers, maintain their satisfaction and to ensure your positive, professional image. You should also do this to comply with the Trades Descriptions Act; this is a law that was brought in to ensure all products on offer are genuine and customers will not be sold products that they do not want. According to the TRADE DESCRIPTIONS ACT 1968, ‘it is an offence for a trader to apply, by any means, false or misleading statements, or to knowingly or recklessly make such statements about services’.
Special needs customers
What are special needs? Anything that is either a special request, requires a special ‘out of the ordinary’ service or extra attention. If a customer where a vegan or a diabetic, they may ask you to advise them on the most appropriate drink or meal for them. Again be careful. Your advice could cause serious harm. If you’re not sure, seek assistance from a person who is more informed. This will be far more helpful.
Some customers may have special seating requirements, such as not smoking or be physically impaired and require you to help them to their seat, bar or lifts. If families are your regular customers then offering a children’s menu and a brief description of the child facilities conveys a positive image.
Speech Impairment – You may have to take the lead in finding out what they would like. Show them the menu for instance so they can spot their choice and maybe point. If this is ineffective begin with the general, e.g. ‘would you like a starter? Soup…salad…fish…etc?’
Hearing Impairment – Look directly at the person. Keep your hands away from your face. Speak clearly. Make use of menus, point to items such as ice and lemon and wait for conformation.
Language Differences – Again speak clearly. Remember that some people from different regions of this country have different names and expressions for things.
Undisclosable Information - There are some questions that customers may ask that will require a careful answer, so as to avoid giving confidential information. The DATA PROTECTION ACT 1999 was brought into force to ensure that all confidential information, such as customer bank details and staff personal details are secured against unauthorised access, in order to prevent fraud or theft.
Its easy to recognise a direct question, e.g. “Can you tell me if Mr Smith is in his room please?”, and to give vague answers, “No idea, I’m afraid, would you like me to get a message to him and let him know you are asking for him?”. Indirect questions are harder to spot, e.g. “What time does Sally finish her shift? I think she lives near me; I might ask her can I share a taxi with her” Clever people collect little pieces of information, which when put together provide a valuable picture.
Good customer service is not only face to face, this can also be given in many other ways, such as, menus, flyers, posters, letters, contractual agreements, faxes, telephone, e-mail, internet or any other method you may be expected to use within your job role. You should make sure that all your materials you use to give information to customers are displayed properly and attractively. All materials should be clear and concise, containing accurate information to the customer. These may include registration cards when booking into a hotel, confirmation letters to customers of advanced bookings or just simply general letters containing organisational information.
When customers complain to you about the service or some other subject to do with your organisation, they are quite likely to be frustrated. Some will be angry, some distressed and some feeling vulnerable. Recognising these feelings helps you adapt the way you deal with the complaints. Often customers don’t complain to staff, they go home and complain to their family, friends and colleagues.
Angry customers display behaviour such as shouting, clenched fists, animated movements, red faces and a sarcastic tone of voice.
Distressed customers display similar signs as angry customers but may vary from person to person. They may cry or be shaking. Their voice may take on a higher pitch and they might fidget.
Vulnerable customers will have worried expressions and be nervous. They may be very apologetic.
Frustrated customers are sometimes quite difficult to recognise. You might notice restlessness, lack of enjoyment, pushing food or drinks aside.
If you can recognise these types of feelings and behaviours early you may be able to prevent a complaint by acting swiftly to solve the customers’ problem before it gets to the point of complaint.
Angry and complaining customers spoil the atmosphere in the workplace and create unpleasantness for everyone. Customers who feel frustrated or vulnerable, especially if this turns into anger or distress cause similar difficulties. When you become aware of any negative feelings or see the warning signs, your priorities are:
Some effective ways of recognising and responding to customer needs and expectations are:
These methods of communication should always be followed when dealing with customers, they will not only ensure you are dealing and communicating with your customers effectively, but also ensure you are complying with the relevant legislation, such as the Data Protection Act 1999 and the Race relations Act 1976, which includes it is unlawful to discriminate against any person, whether direct or indirect.
There are lots, listed below are some of the main types
Time Related – The customer has had to wait a long time for service or attention
Quality Related – The customer is not happy with the quality of their meal, drink, room
Cost Related – The customer thinks that they have been over charged or they are not willing to pay the price asked for the service/product offered
Personnel Related – Customer is not happy with treatment or service from another member of staff
Whatever the complaint you must deal with it quickly and effectively. There are some basic rules to follow whilst doing so but adapting your behaviour to deal with certain situations is crucial. You do this by not returning anger with anger, sarcasm with sarcasm, distress with distress and so on.
Firstly you must identify the exact nature of the complaint. The most effective way to do this is firstly acknowledge that the customer has a problem. Let them know that you are serious about their complaint and that you would like to solve it.
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