Customer service

From the customer service or customer service means, for a an organizational unit ( department ) in a company, on the other hand the performance or services of this department or the whole company for customers. In the trade are included in customer service Additional services together, which go beyond the already provided major benefits of a trading operation; they can be provided with or without charge. These additional services may consist of goods ( eg sample, additions ), services (such as installation aids, home delivery ) and rights (eg return policy, parking place ) exist. Are particularly interesting from a psychological perspective commercially surprising, not expected by the customer service forms. Customer service is - like all other forms of service - especially retail companies as a major profile -building instrument of trade marketing.

As a result of the progressive Anglicization is customer service often also as a service ( customer service or customer care ) referred to or as after sales service, where it comes to the delivery of client requests that are after the sale of a product or an item or service, performed:

• Complaints: The product does not work properly, is damaged, or does not have the specified characteristics, etc.
• It may be necessary regular servicing and maintenance work, for example, because a defined operating period or the like has been reached. For example, in a vehicle.
• There may be a repair is necessary, because a malfunction has occurred.
• The customer can assist in the use of the product need, or have any questions. In this context, the term " desk " is used.
• He may wish to buy spare parts, accessories, consumables, or the like.

See also after-sales management and service management.

All these requirements have in common that the customer wants to contact a professional, accessible, understood him to continue helping him quickly and eventually finds a solution that the customer is satisfied. Whether the provider can afford it, has a decisive influence on the company's image and customer satisfaction.

It is useful for a company to analyze the requests to customer service in order to learn how the product can be improved, as well as additional revenue can be generated from accessory items, etc..

At a certain volume of customer service requests, it is useful to employ special staff with categorization and channel the requests. See the Trade Articles Support (service).

Departments, which are the first point of contact for customers, also known as call centers, because most requests are made by telephone.

Especially in commercial enterprises correspond (after Schenk) the directed to the sales market customer service or customer service on the procurement market, the supplier offered services ( supplier service ) on the competitive market, the competition offered services ( competitive service ) and internal to the (normal ) market the employees offered services ( service employees ). Raising the level of service at the same time increases the service expectations of the market partners. Therefore, it is often - in analogy to the residual costs - the phenomenon of Serviceremanenz observed, ie without disproportionate loss of customers, suppliers or employees can hardly be reduced to once imported services.