In this piece of coursework in section 1 I have been asked to study the importance of customer service within a variety of business contexts. I will need to gain an understanding of the wide variety of customers that a business has, and to consider each of their different needs and their expectations.
In section 2 of this piece of coursework, I have been asked to gain knowledge on what effective customer service is. I will need to understand what customer service includes, studying the appearance and reliability of staff, the layout of the premises and providing high quality products/services
In section 3 of this piece of coursework I have been asked to look at the importance of maintaining the quality of customer service. The main focus will be looking to improve and maintain customer service and how to keep customers loyal to my set business.
In the final section of this piece of coursework I have been asked to look at the legislation on customer service. I will need to understand how important legislation is, to learn the key concepts of EU legislation and understand the implications of business organisations.
The first business I am going to be studying as part of investigating customer service is Marks & Spencer. This business is in the private sector and is a public limited company, which means that members of the public can buy shares into this business on the stock exchange. Marks & Spencer has 703 stores in the UK and 361 stores spread across over 40 countries. M&S was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds in 1884, beginning as a partnership business. The first M&S shop was situated in Central Asia of Afghanistan in the 1960’s, and in 1973 Marks & Spencer expanded into Canada and had 47 stores. This business has three main sections of what their main products/services are, M&S sells clothing, food and also provide credit cards for customers to use.
The second business I am going to be studying as a part of the investigation of customer service is Matalan. The full name of this business is Matalan Retail Limited, and this business likewise to Marks and Spencer is also in the private sector and is a private limited company, meaning only close family and friends would be able to buy shares into the business. Matalan is a British retailer, and their main products are shoes and clothes. The company was founded in 1985 by John Hargreaves, and has 200 stores across the UK. Croydon was the place at which the 200th Matalan store was situated in 2006. The chairman of Matalan is John Mills and the Chief Executive is Darren Blackhurst. As well as