Task summary

For this assessment task you are required, in the role of Operations Manager of Ozhouse Clean, to research and develop a customer service strategy for the company. Your strategy will need to be discussed with, and agreed on by, senior management.

Required

Computer and Microsoft Office

Access to the Internet for research

Access to consumer legislation/regulations/codes of practice at the following web sites: http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers http://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/business-and-industry/consumerrights

Customer Service Strategy Template Submit

Regulations report and your customer service strategy.

Revised customer service strategy and screen shot attached.

Assessment criteria For students' performance to be deemed satisfactory in this assessment task, they must satisfactorily address all of the assessment criteria. If part of this task is not satisfactorily completed they will be asked to complete further assessment to demonstrate competence.

Ozhouse Clean is a cleaning services company based in Melbourne. The company offers professional, residential cleaning services, including regular home cleans, as well as spring cleans.

The company's mission, vision, values and objectives are as follows:

Mission

Ozhouse Clean is committed to providing the highest quality residential and commercial cleaning services available by exceeding the expectations of our clients.

Vision

We are constantly working to establish ourselves as the most respected and sought-after contract cleaning and facilities support service in Melbourne.

Values

Respect: taking time to understand and value each of our customers and respecting their choices.

Responsibility: acting with integrity towards our staff, our customers, the community and the environment.

Caring: a duty of care for our staff, customers and the environment. Excellence: to always look to provide the best quality experience with regards to our cleaning and our customer service. Integrity: to act with honesty, openness and do what we say we will do. Innovation: to be industry leaders.

Objectives

Our key objectives and that are fundamental to our business in delivering world-class cleaning and customer service, are as follows:

Provide our customers with a professional and friendly service.

To increase the number of clients by 10% each year.

Meet or exceed the expectations of customers.

Implement best practice in cleaning operations, including environmentally sustainable practices.

Currently 70% of the company's customers are residential customers. Most of these customers are fulltime workers, needing cleaning services because of their busy lifestyle. Most customers use regular cleaning services (either once a week or twice a week for 3 - 4 hours).

The company also has a small number of commercial contracts for cleaning. Generally, these involve cleaning staff going in each evening for 2 hours to clean the office. Regular services are priced at $35 per hour and the market is very sensitive to price and quality of service delivered. The company does not currently have a customer service strategy. As part of the current strategic planning process and overall drive to achieve excellence within the company you, as the Operations Manager (responsible for a team of staff including call centre operators and the cleaning team), have been tasked with the responsibility to develop a customer service strategy and a customer service charter that aligns with the company's strategic plan mission, vision and objectives. All customer services strategies need to be implemented during upcoming year and a priority assigned. The management team has developed a key principle on which the customer service strategy is to be based:

We listen to our customers, understand their needs and deliver services to meet these needs. The management team has advised that all strategies must come from that principle and that strategies must also address (but not be limited to) the following key areas: Staff training: currently staff are not trained in customer service Customer feedback mechanisms: there are no formal mechanisms in place for customers to provide feedback Quality and consistency of service provided: while the company does not receive many complaints, most of them relate to customers being unhappy with the level or detail of cleaning provided. A quality assurance mechanism needs to be in place to be able to check that the cleaning completed will be satisfactory to the customer. This is currently not in place. Development of a customer service charter: the company wants to tell customers about what they can expect, how they can provide feedback and the complaints process.

Complete the following activities: 1. Write regulations report. Use the Internet to find out about legislation and regulations that the company needs to abide by in its delivery of services and ensure that this information is incorporated into the development of customer service strategies. In step 4 you will need to provide an overview of the legislative and regulatory context at the meeting with staff so ensure you make notes to guide your delivery of the information to staff. Use the Internet to find examples of customer service strategies developed by other companies. Make notes on your findings. Using secondary sources of information, research, identify, investigate and assess likely key customer needs in relation to cleaning services, including as a minimum quality of service, cost of service and response times from booking of service to completion. Your report should be between half a page and one page in length.

2. Develop a customer service strategy

Research options for customer service strategies and customer needs The customer service strategy must clearly reflect the customer needs you have identified and show how these needs will be satisfied through the service provided. The strategy should also document specific actions, priority and performance indicators. Make sure you consider the organisation's mission, vision, values and objectives when developing the strategy. Use the Customer Service Strategy Template to guide your work. You will modify this document following a meeting with the Management Team, so save this version as Draft Customer Service Strategy.

3. Send an email to the management team (your assessor). The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style. It should introduce and summarise the contents of the attachments. The email text should advise the management team that you would like to set up a meeting to discuss the documents. It should include a brief statement of the purpose of the meeting and the date and time and duration for the meeting (the meeting will be approximately 30 minutes). Attach your regulations report and your customer service strategy to the email.

4. Meet with management. At the meeting you will discuss and confirm the customer service strategy with the General Manager (your assessor). At the meeting, you will be required to: Explain the importance of customer service, as well as legislation and regulations key to customer service Explain each of the strategies and actions in the new customer service strategy Explain how strategies and actions will assist in achieving the key customer service principles, as well as strategic mission, vision and objectives. Explain how your plans achieve the quality, time and cost specifications that the company has agreed to uphold for customers.

During the meeting, demonstrate effective communication skills including: Speaking clearly and concisely Using non-verbal communication to assist with understanding Asking questions to identify required information Responding to questions as required Using active listening techniques to confirm understanding Your assessor (in the role of the General Manager) will provide you with feedback on your strategy, which you will incorporate into the document.

5. Revise your customer service strategy.

Following the meeting, incorporate your General Manager's feedback into your customer service strategy. Save this draft of the document as Revised Customer Service Strategy.

6. Take a screen shot of your folder and files.

Ensure that you have an overall folder for your work for this unit, as well as sub folders if necessary. All of the documents that you have submitted for this assessment task should be correctly named and filed. Folders must be logical and well-organised, and you will be assessed on this. The screen shot should show all the folders and documents using the naming conventions shown below.

7. Send an email to the management team (your assessor).

The text of the email should be in grammatically correct English, written in an appropriate (polite, business-like) style. It should summarise the meeting's outcomes and introduce and summarise the contents of the attachment. Attach your revised customer service strategy and screen shot to the email.