1. When it comes to service, people make the difference
2. Hearing is not the same as listening; in other words, receiving sounds is not the same as paying attention to them.
A study conducted in the United States and published in the book “Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It†(Jill Griffin, Jossey-Bass, 2002) reported that 87% of customers feel that the companies they have contact with don’t listen to them good enough.
Keep the focus positive with making sure the students are aware they are important and understand their needs
We have multiple customers in our business. First, there is the student customer and second the industry customer. Both are critical to our success. We should constantly be looking at how we can "serve" our customer and keep their needs at the forefront of everything we do. The difference is in the focus. Do you simply offer solutions or do you offer solutions that fit your specific customer?
I believe the difference is in being aware, always, that the students needs come first. From enrollment to graduation and then placement, customer first service should be consistent.
Hi Krystall! Thanks for your response. I think you have captured it; customer first service is specific and targeted, timely, and goes beyond the given expectation that a customer will get the core service; I think most of our institutions provide some form of customer service, but the "first" approach changes the emphasis a bit.
Jay Hollowell
Facilitator
In my opinion this statement suggests that the best customer service requires consideration of the customer needs first. In education, students retention, graduation and placement in their area of study is priority number one.
"Customer first service" would consider momentarily placing the immediate needs of a student before the fiscal goals of the school while trying to solve an issue regarding student dissatisfaction, or administration issues and the like.
"Customer Service" i would consider to be an overall environment of how we communicate with our students, and how our processes serve the educational needs of the student body.
Thanks, James, our student customers are top priority as are our employer customers - I would contend that we have to educate and guide them too regarding our students and programs, and how they are a match to employer needs.
Jay Hollowell
ML107
Customer First would mean just that ... the customer comes first. Customer Service is part of Customer First and together make up what the school is all about. Our school's Mission Statement is: "To sucessfully prepare our graduates for new career opportunities." I take this to mean that we "educate" them and "guide" them toward correct career decisions. They are our customers and helping them first understand what they really want is our top priority.
