Customer Satisfaction

The most important consideration a company must factor in its operations is the total satisfaction of its customers. Customers are the ones who determine whether sales volumes will rise or fall, depending on their level of satisfaction. Provided a customer is content with the performance of the product and the professionalism of support staff, one can be sure that they client will inform others about the company’s services and recommend customers to buy the firm’s products. Dissatisfied customers will spread the word, and discourage friends and colleagues from dealing with the firm.

For that reason, service managers should ensure that customers receive timely services for all their requests for assistance or complaints. Customer service should incorporate the elements of speedy service, professionalism, preciseness and reliability to make a positive impact on the client. Service managers should develop feedback forums that customers can use to rate the level of assistance they received from the customer care representatives (Nag, (2004). In this way, the manager will be able to address certain concerns of the customers expeditiously.

The issue of accents informed Dell to relocate calls pertaining to two products back to the US in a bid to satisfy customers’ concerns. The case study clearly identifies some of the key concerns a customer considers prior to buying a product from any manufacturer. These include price considerations and pre and post purchase services. Low prices tend to attract higher sales; Dell Company’s success was primarily due to its policy of offering customers the right product at a cheaper price.

The high cost of living and competing needs for the limited resources means that customers have to evaluate their spending patterns and opt for those products that will ensure they save money. Added to the issue of price is the concept of customer care. Some customers may prefer manufacturers that are more costly but treat them with respect and attend to all their queries about the product and respond quickly to any concerns they may raise. Customer care service should be more attuned to the personal needs of the client rather than offer textbook responses that seem impersonal and rehearsed (Nag, 2004).

Service managers should structure the customer service in such a way that the client is made to feel special in the eyes of the company, and that all no effort is being spared to resolve any issue. With regard to the complaint about accents, the company opined that it was better to relocate the services back to the US where customer care representatives were able to communicate more effectively with the callers. A decision to return the customer care service back to India is dependent on a number of factors. The management needs to commission a survey to establish which markets account for the largest sales of the two products.

If the US market is the prime destination for sales of these items, it is advisable to retain the services in the US. However, should the survey reveal that other regions account for over 50% of sales figures; it will be prudent to redirect the calls to the Indian facility. This option is informed by the fact that India has a larger pool of cheap but trained human resources in the field of technical expertise while the US market does not. Relocating the calls will save the company money and the benefits passed on to the customer through lowering the price of the products.

Lower prices will act as incentive to the public to purchase more of the products on sale and increase the profitability of the company. Higher sales and increased profits mean more funds are available for investment in R& D; the company can invest in technology that will improve product performance and functionality of the items on sale. Customer care staff will benefit from superior training programs made possible by the availability of funds. Such training programs should address the unique needs of the demanding customer, whose concerns cannot be adequately dealt with by a general customer care representative.

The company should ensure that all operations employ the latest technology to give the company an edge over rival firms. With regard to customer care, clients with language and accent challenges should have their calls rerouted to other personnel that can deal with their cases more efficiently. Dell Company is a results oriented company that takes pride in attending to customer issues in a timely way. By forming an analytics team to address various matters affecting overall performance, the management was conceding to the fact that a team effort is the best way to achieve desired results.

Executives with different skills introduce various perspectives that impact the operations and profitability of a company. Ideas generated from the interaction of such executives ensure that a holistic approach is followed when implementing new practices and processes. The company is able to develop strategies to promote increased sales and improved customer satisfaction. In this respect, the company is proactive and innovative in a bid to maintain its market share and expand business horizons.

The case study shows that Dell Company stuck to the policy of using outsourced call centres to manage customer service despite poor results in the beginning. Implementation of a new project is fraught with a number of challenges (Ryan, 2005). The best approach is to evaluate how effective the new methods are in achieving the long term goals and objectives of a firm. Top management at Dell realized that employing resources from the Indian market will save it money that could go towards reducing the retail price of its products and thus gain a price advantage over rival manufacturers.

Consequently, Dell would be in a better position to acquire a larger market share by offering consumers quality products at reduced prices. In the initial stages, the teething problems of a project inform the management about the need to streamline processes, rather than abandoning the project altogether. The move to relocate some calls to the US market was one of the issues the service managers had to deal with immediately, as a long term solution was sought.

Customer feedback provides opportunities for the personnel concerned to reevaluate the services offered and make necessary changes to the processes to satisfy customer demands. The call center option should be considered a work–in–progress initiative that needs constant tweaking to ensure it works well (Ryan, 2005). Adopting new technology aimed at improving services, and responding in a timely manner to client queries and complaints will ensure that the concept remains a vital aspect of business operations for the foreseeable future.

While the company needs to increase profits and cut down on overhead costs, comprising on customer care can erase all the gains achieved. Maintaining a delicate balance between customer care initiatives and overhead costs, is the key to succeeding in increasing sales volumes and developing customer loyalty and satisfaction References Nag, B. (2004) Business Process Outsourcing: Impact and Implications. Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspectives. Ryan, P. (2005) Challenges Before Indian Call Centres. Domain-B. Com