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BS 8477:2007

BS 8477:2007

$102.76

Code of practice for customer service

Published By Publication Date Number of Pages
BSI 2007 22
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PDF Pages PDF Title
3 Contents
Introduction 1
1 Scope 2
2 Normative references 3
3 Customer service principles 3
4 Implementation at a structural level 4
5 Operational recommendations 6
6 Maintenance of customer services principles 12
Annexes
Annex A (normative) Recruitment, competences and training of customer service employees 14
Bibliography 16
4 Foreword
5 Introduction
6 a) aid in setting in place mechanisms to ensure levels of customer service that at least meet the needs and reasonable expectations of customers;
b) assist organizations to be competitive in the marketplace;
c) assist organizations to be able to differentiate their services from competitors through providing and maintaining innovative customer services;
d) assist in increasing levels of customersā€™ positive emotional experience with an organizationā€™s services and, through this, building and maintaining customer loyalty;
e) increase customer retention;
f) attract new customers through positive word of mouth;
g) reduce marketing costs;
h) assist organizations in increasing service efficiency;
i) reduce complaint rates, and therefore less time and cost involved in dealing with such complaints;
j) aid compliance with fair trading and consumer protection laws;
k) assist public sector service providers to maintain and improve services and accountability;
l) help create an organization-wide customer-focused approach to developing and maintaining quality services;
m) improve the capacity of customers to deal with an organization.
1 Scope
COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE 1 In this context ā€œorganizationā€ includes small businesses and consultancies, public or private companies, …
7 2 Normative references
3 Customer service principles
COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE 3 A wide range of initiatives and techniques can be used to realise these principles, such as setting up in…
a) Commitment – a commitment to providing effective customer service by employees at all levels within the organization is an indispensable corporate value. It should start with the board, chief executive officer and top management;
b) Credibility – promises should be kept, service should be delivered at times that suit customers and robust and reliable systems should be in place for every aspect of an organizationā€™s transactions with its customers;
c) Customer service culture – customer service culture should be developed so as to become embedded in all aspects of an organizationā€™s operations;
d) Competences – people with appropriate attributes (skills, knowledge and attitudes) required of customer service professionals should be employed and these should be assessed on an ongoing basis;
e) Responsibility – customer service responsibilities should be identified and assigned, with employees possessing the necessary…
f) Resources – adequate resources should be allocated to allow a customer service culture to thrive;
g) Identification of customer service issues – there should be systematic identification and management of customer service issues relevant to an organizationā€™s operations;
h) Customer service quality – the whole organization should be involved in the development and ongoing review of customer service quality, developed from a customer perspective, relevant to their area of operation;
i) Feedback systems – effective feedback systems for customers and employees should be developed and maintained;
j) Continual improvement – systems should be developed to ensure that the level of customer service is relevant to, or exceeds, current customer expectations;
k) Internal communication – the concept of the internal customer should be fostered as it is an important element in developing a customer service culture.
8 4 Implementation at a structural level
COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE 4 The responsibilities listed in this clause have been divided to reflect the structure typically found in …
4.1 Obligations of top management
a) ensuring that a customer service focused culture is embedded within the organization and that all managers demonstrate understanding of the customer service values;
b) ensuring there are sufficient resources to deliver effective and efficient customer service outcomes;
c) designating a senior manager (see 4.2) as being responsible for the development and maintenance of a customer service culture;
d) ensuring adequate reporting systems (see 6.1);
e) empowering front-line employees with the information, resources, and authority to meet customer needs and to own and solve customersā€™ problems;
f) ensuring that there is a process requiring the conduct and performance of any subcontractors to support the organizationā€™s customer service culture;
g) ensuring that an effective procedure is in place for the regular review of all customer service related processes on at least an annual basis.
9 4.2 Obligations of customer service management
COMMENTARY ON 4.2 The organization should consider the use of a customer service steering group to coordinate, facilitate, and implement customer service in an efficient and integrated fashion throughout the organization.
a) establishing a process for performance monitoring, evaluation and reporting of customer service;
b) identifying and allocating finance and resources to deliver effective and efficient customer service;
c) reporting to top management on the customer service outcomes, with recommendations for improvement;
d) maintaining the effective and efficient operation of the customer service process, including the recruitment and training of …
e) assigning a complaints-handling manager to take responsibility for problems experienced by customers, in accordance with BS ISO 10002;
f) ensuring that effective procedures are place for the escalation of complaints to senior management level;
g) ensuring employee awareness of any relevant legal obligations concerning customer service employees.
4.3 Obligations of employees
a) their role and responsibilities and the implications for them of their organizationā€™s customer service culture;
b) the benefits for them of working within and supporting that culture, and the consequences of not doing so.
4.4 Obligations of customer service employees
a) have had the necessary training and have developed the appropriate competences for customer service outlined in Annex A;
b) be aware of, and carry out their roles, responsibilities and authorities in respect of customer service;
c) be subject to ongoing assessment and professional development.
10 5 Operational recommendations
5.1 Timelines/responsiveness
NOTE Customersā€™ ā€œreasonable expectationsā€ will be dependent on the product or service that they are purchasing, e.g. a ticket bo…
a) dealing with customer enquiries;
b) processing customersā€™ orders;
c) delivering goods and services;
d) meeting appointment times;
e) dealing with complaints.
5.2 Provision of information to customers
5.2.1 General
a) provided promptly, or an interim response should be made to explain any unavoidable delay;
b) comprehensible (e.g. plain language, formatting and diagrams appropriate to the customer) and the use of complex and technical language, abbreviations and jargon avoided;
c) easily accessible (e.g. opening hours, website, helpline number, email helpdesk, website);
d) clear in providing contact details for any further enquiries;
e) in formats readily available to customers (e.g. large print, audio cassettes), and capable of being easily sent to or accessed by them;
f) tailored to the specific needs of customers to ensure that it is useful to them;
g) accurate, clear and concise in conveying details about the scope of the service or product provided;
h) up-to-date, including information about when it was last updated;
i) clear in specifying whether it is only relevant to certain situations, such as:
2) specific geographic areas;
3) certain types of customers;
j) capable of being easily stored by the customer;
k) specifically provided to customers where it forms part of any contractual agreement.
11 5.2.2 Pre-purchase
a) adequate information about the service provided by the organization to allow customers to make decisions, in terms of price, …
b) details of internal redress mechanisms.
5.2.3 Purchase and delivery
a) explanations – and associated costs, if relevant – where there is more than one option of service delivery;
b) explanations about different payment options – and associated costs – and processes available (such as e-payments, deductions from account);
c) details of internal and external redress mechanisms;
d) what the customer is to do if he/she needs assistance (e.g. helplines).
5.3 Customer interaction
5.3.1 Accessibility
COMMENTARY ON 5.3.1 Customer service quality for accessibility is concerned with what is convenient for the customer rather than for the organization (within reasonable cost constraints).
12 COMMENTARY For example, information should be written in clear and unambiguous language. It should be available in alternative f…
5.3.2 Counter service
a) systems should be in place (e.g. signage, helpdesks, opening hours) to help customers meet their needs;
b) service areas should be easy for customers to find and access, and be clean and well maintained;
c) the queuing arrangements should be prompt and fair;
d) employees should be appropriately dressed and readily identifiable by customers;
e) customers should be attended to in a reasonable time (e.g. additional staffing arrangements might need to be place for predictable peak periods).
5.3.3 Telephone service
COMMENTARY ON 5.3.3 Convenience and immediate accessibility are features of telephone contact that often dictate why customers choose to use telephone rather than deal with a business face-to-face.
a) The contact number for enquiries should be easy for customers to find (e.g. in phone books, websites, handout material).
b) Contact hours should be convenient for customers.
c) Calls should be answered (picked up) within a reasonable time.
d) Customer service staff should give relevant information in response to customersā€™ enquiries.
e) Processes should be in place to ensure quick and effective follow- up action.
f) Where calls are to be answered by an answering service or voicemail that requires the customer to leave a message, timelines should be set in which to return the calls.
13 g) Customers should have the option to speak to a person rather than an electronic answering service.
h) The voicemail should give an optional phone number to call, if feasible.
5.3.4 Web-based service
COMMENTARY ON 5.3.4 At the time of publication, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 indicate a reliable set of benchmarks for industry good practice .
a) provide adequate information for a customer to make an informed decision (e.g. whether it has been ā€œroad testedā€ with customers);
b) have a search engine;
c) give alternative contact details (e.g. helpline phone numbers);
d) have mechanisms in place to ensure that information is kept up-to-date;
e) conform to current industry good practice.
5.3.5 Customer appointment service
5.3.5.1 Before an appointment
5.3.5.2 The appointment
14 5.3.5.3 Service appointments
5.3.6 After-sales service
5.3.6.1 General
5.3.6.2 Repairs
COMMENTARY ON 5.3.6.2 Things customers value in any repair situation include: a) having confidence in what is being done; b) the…
a) clearly empathize with the customer;
b) advise the customer what needs to be done next, if anything at all;
c) advise the customer that the repairer will take responsibility for investigating and fixing the problem;
d) give the customer:
2) an estimate of the cost;
e) gain the customersā€™ approval before commencement to ensure there are no misunderstandings;
f) keep the customer informed of progress during the investigation and repair process;
g) fix the problem quickly and fully – first time and on time;
h) confirm and explain clearly to the customer the cause of the problem, and the work that was done and suggest to the customer what could be done to prevent the problem occurring again;
i) leave the customer with a written record of the repair work that was done, and all relevant documentation and receipts.
15 5.4 Customer service documentation
5.4.1 Registering an order
COMMENTARY ON 5.4.1 Reasonable practice in respect of confirming orders will vary according to the type of business and the mean…
a) what has been ordered;
b) who and where it being sent to, including any special delivery arrangements;
c) what it will cost;
d) when it will be available;
e) contact details for queries or complaints.
5.4.2 Billing practices
5.4.3 Service delivery
5.5 Records systems
16 5.6 Correction and corrective action
COMMENTARY ON 5.6 Further information on control of non-conformity and corrective action can be found in BS EN ISO 9001.
a) correction by immediate resolution of the reported problem; and
b) corrective action taken to prevent recurrence of similar problems in the future.
6 Maintenance of customer services principles
6.1 Feedback systems
6.1.1 General
a) customers;
b) employees;
c) regular management checks/monitoring;
d) audits;
e) complaints;
f) redress mechanisms, including ombudsmen, etc.
6.1.2 Customer feedback
6.1.3 Employee feedback
6.1.4 Audits
COMMENTARY ON 6.1.4 The audit could be undertaken as part of a quality management system audit where such a system is in place.
17 6.1.5 Benchmarking
6.1.6 Complaints
18 Annex A (normative) Recruitment, competences and training of customer service employees
A.1 General
A.2 Competences
a) good interpersonal skills, including the ability to empathize with the customer;
b) effective communication skills;
c) handling stress;
d) listening actively;
e) working as part of a team;
f) problem solving and complaints handling;
g) a thorough knowledge of the organizationā€™s products and structure or the capacity to quickly acquire this knowledge; and
h) commitment to the companyā€™s mission and values.
19 A.3 Employee motivation
COMMENTARY ON A.3 Effective customer service is a ā€œwhole of organizationā€ approach. It relies not only on front office performance but how the back office and suppliers perform as well.
a) the incorporation of customer service performance in every job description;
b) a consistency in reward and penalty for similar actions regardless of position;
c) incentives (monetary and non-monetary) to reward employees who demonstrate commitment to the organizationā€™s customer service ideals;
d) the linking of performance pay to achievement of customer service obligations;
e) employees understanding their personal customer service responsibilities and those of their business unit;
f) responsibility for customer service and the remediation of shortcomings being ā€œownedā€ by employees;
g) empowerment of individuals to be flexible in their handling of customer relationships outside a standard framework;
h) the availability to employees of avenues for alleviating stress and burnout.
A.4 Conduct
A.5 Behavioural mechanisms
a) selection processes that factor in a customer service ethos;
b) ongoing training and regular customer service updates;
c) mentoring, coaching and leading by example;
d) performance appraisal systems that assess customer service behaviour;
e) highly visible rewarding of customer-focused behaviour.
20 Bibliography
[1] Donovan, N., Brown, J. and Bellulo, L., Satisfaction with public services – A discussion paper, Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office, London, November 2001 (http://www.strategy.gov.uk/downloads/files/satisfaction.pdf)
[2] GREAT BRITAIN. Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). London: The Stationery Office.

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BS 8477:2007
$102.76