Customer Service Case Study

Training

Consumers hold purchasing power as there are no switching costs and many alternatives in the market, a dissatisfied customer may choose to take their business elsewhere or take part in harmful word of mouth communication (Chebat, Kerzazi, & Zourrig, 2010; Dinnen & Hassanien, 2011; Gruber, Szmigin, & Voss, 2009). The negative effects associated with not effectively dealing with complaints results in a loss of existing customers as there is a higher cost associated with attaining new ones than there is to keep current ones content (Dinnen & Hassanien, 2011). Dinnen & Hassanien (2011) suggests that a quality work environment is created when employees are trained in their own respective roles, then in the field of customer service and

Employees that come directly into contact with guests must pursue and encourage complaints if a business wishes to retain its customer base (Chebat, Kerzazi, & Zourrig, 2010; Hudson, 2008). The study conducted on 300 customers that had experienced negative incidents from two American universities, indicate that only a few ever express their grievances, thus it is important to note that complaints are a chance to remedy problems, and is form of feedback that should be utilised in order to learn from mistakes (Chebat, Kerzazi, & Zourrig, 2010). On the other hand, Chebat, Kerzazi, & Zourrig (2010) study best demonstrates the causes of dissatisfied customers because individualistic countries such as America, which have similar characteristics to society in New Zealand, where freedom of self-expression and values is common, and customers feel that it is in their right to state their dissatisfaction to the service provider. Hence, comprehensive training into consumer awareness may not be as applicable to New Zealand culture compared to collective societies where it is not customary to voicing concerns. In addition, the conducted research sample only focuses on respondents around the ages of 18-25 and does not consider the varying experiences or perceptions of other age groups thus, discrepancies cause results to be implicated to a specific age