TXMI 5250Exam #3 Study Guide Chapter 12: Customer Services and Retail Selling Customer Service - High-Quality Service o Is the type of service that meets or exceeds customers’ expectations o No absolute level of quality service o Ex: a costumer has lunch at a restaurant where she expects to have slow service and it takes 10 minutes; the next day she eats at another restaurant where she expects fast service and is again served in 10 minutes  The quality is going to be thought the be better at the first restaurant because she was expecting it to take longer even though both restaurantstook 10 minutes - Relationship Retailing o Comprises all the activities designed to attract, retain, and enhance long-term relationships with customers o Retailing is no longer driven by the expansion of large, homogenous, big-box chains offering only low prices o Profitable retailers of the future will be those who concentrate on building long-term relationships with customers by promising and consistently delivering high-quality products enhanced by high-quality service, shopping aids to ease the purchase process, and honest pricing to build and maintain a reputation for absolute trustworthiness o Two Benefits from relationships  Financial - Increase the customer’s economic rewards - Ex: frequent-purchaser discounts or product upgrades already offered by some supermarkets etc  Social - Increase the retailer’s interaction with the customer - Shopping can be a pleasant experience for the customer - Retailers must not forget that their stores must offer customers a combination of excitement and entertainment - Retailers must o 1) Get customers into the store o 2) Convert these customers into loyal consumers o 3) Do this at the lowest possible cost - Customer Service o Consists of all those activities performed by the retailer that influence  The ease with which a potential customer can shop or learn about thestore’s offering (pretransaction)  The ease with which a transaction can be completed once the customer attempts to make a purchase (transaction)  The customer’s satisfaction with the transaction (post-transaction)o None of these services are altruistic offerings; they are all designed to entice the customers with whom the retailer is seeking to develop a relationship o Firms that actually achieve high customer satisfaction also enjoy superior economic returns o Retailers should design their customer-service program around these 3 elements of sale in order to obtain a differential competitive advantage o Transient Customer  An individual who is a dissatisfied with the level of customer service offered at a store or stores and is seeking an alternative store with the level of customer service that she thinks is appropriate There are a significant amount of transient customers  Can help build a retailer’s sales volume if they have good customer service o Service Elastic  An increase in service levels of 1 percent will result in more than 1 percent increase in sales - Merchandise Management o Best way a retailer can serve its customers is by having what they want in inventory o Ex: Nordstrom gives customers a free shirt if something they want is out of stock - Building and Fixture Management o Ex: heating and cooling levels, availability of parking, ease of finding merchandise, placement and cleanliness of restrooms, complaint and returns desk, levels of lighting, width and length of aisles - Promotion Management o Promotion provides customers with information that can help them make purchase decisions - Price Management o Are prices clearly marked and visible, priced fair, etc- Credit Management o Credit along with the retailer’s layaway plans, is a significant aid in both encouraging loyalty and helping consumers purchase merchandise Common Customer Services - Pretransaction Services o Are services provided to the customer prior to entering the store o Convenient Hours  The more convenient the hours the easier it is for the customer to visit  The most basic service that a retailer can offer Also depends on competition - If your competitor is willing to stay open until 9 pm 6 nights a weekyou should bare minimum do that as well o Information Aids  Today, with the click of a mouse consumers can not only search for products or services, but also determine what choices are available in local stores, the location of specific stores, and directions on how to get there  Info on: returns policies, credit policies, merchandise availability, and even merchandise prices on the websites of most major retailers - Transaction Services o Services provided to customers when they are in the store shopping and transacting business o Credit  One of the most popular transaction service offered  Enables shopping without the need to carry large sums of money  Allows customer to buy now and pay later  Increases sales by increasing both impulse buying and purchases of expensive items  60% of purchases by some form of plastic o Layaway  Customer can place a deposit on an item and in return the retailer will hold the item for the customer  Customer will make periodic payments until they have paid for the item infull and then can take it home  A negative: many items are never picked up by customers and they have to return a “dated” item into inventory at a marked down price o Gift Wrapping and Packaging  Consumers are typically better served if their purchase is properly wrapped or packaged  Can be very simple such as placing the item in a nice bag  The retailer must match it’s wrapping services to the type of merchandiseit sells and its image o Check Cashing  Most retailers offer some sort of check-cashing service  Most basic type consists of consists of allowing customers to cash a checkof the amount of purchase  Many retailers now have online acceptance systems on their registers thatmake check cashing as easy as using a credit card o Gift Cards  Many consumers think that gift cards are the perfect present because they are fun to receive, make shopping easier, and consumers can usethem to take advantage of after-Christmas sales  $25 billion in gift card sales in November and Decembero Personal Shopping  Occurs when an individual who is a professional shopper performs the shopping role for another; very upscale department and specialty stores offer personal shoppers to their