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If
Am I familiar with the sources of information
used at my point of contact?
Do I speak and write clearly and understandably
to the best of my ability?
Do I accept responsibility for doing my job?
Do I show consideration for my coworkers by
what I say or do?
Do I treat each customer as an individual with an
individual need?
Do I treat each customer with equality and
fairness?
Do I always give customers the correct
information?
Am I considerate of each customers time so that
I do not cause delays or inconvenience?
Does my response to the customer show a
willingness to help?
If I were the customer, would I be satisfied with
the service I received?
you did not answer yes to each question, you
should review those questions carefully and make
necessary adjustments to improve yourself.
Physical Aspect
Another way of improving customer service is by
evaluating the contact point. Improving the contact
point is not the sole responsibility of the supervisor.
Management techniques have shown that effective
supervisors delegate responsibilities as soon as
personnel demonstrate their ability to handle them. This
does not lessen the supervisors responsibility but it
frees them from routine matters.
It also gives the
supervisor more time to complete important matters
such as recognizing personnel.
The contact point must accommodate both the
representative and the customer. The physical layout
must provide maximum efficiency for both
representative and the customer. For example, the
chairs, desks, labor-saving devices, counter, and traffic
pattern must be the factors for considering the layout.
When planning the layout, consider the following
factors:
l The waiting line should extend away from
doorways or passageways.
Provide a table or counter if customers have to
fill out forms.
Provide chairs if customers must wait for service.
Provide a measure of privacy when personal
information must be obtained.
In a large contact point, provide an initial place
of contact to direct customers to the proper
representative.
Setting the Tone
The desirable situation is that the atmosphere of the
contact point has a positive influence on the
representative. You, as the supervisor, exert the greatest
amount of influence to the team. It is you that the
members look up to as an example to develop their own
work habits. You must develop the atmosphere in the
contact point that promotes teamwork and the purpose
of the service. As these attitudes develop, you will find
that they become more and more self-sustaining.
The standards for performance and behavior
developed by the team is the combined standards of its
members which is acceptable to the supervisor.
(NOTE: The supervisor must be familiar with and meet
the standards set forth by higher authority.) The team
then exerts its influence on each member to meet the
standards. Any new members will be aware of the
attitude of the team. As the new member develops
knowledge and job skills, it is likely that similar attitudes
will be accepted and developed.
Molding the Team
In the Navy, all jobs are important. They are all part
of the assembly line that accomplishes the mission. The
performance of a particular job is important to the
worker, the contact point representative. The worker
must be able to see some worth in the job to maintain a
sense of personal pride. If the worker is convinced that
the job has little value, it is a reasonable assumption that
the supervisor considered the worker to be of little value.
In some cases, the representative assigned to a job
is over qualified You should provide an adequate
explanation along with the job assignment to the
representative.
Planning job assignments for new members can
stimulate initiative. New members should be assigned
to a job, which is the first step to increasing
responsibility. As the new member becomes proficient,
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