1.

0 INTRODUCTION

According to John Morris, Customer care has long been a major training requirement for organizations which seek the so-called sustainable competitive advantage. This comes as no surprise when we consider the range of options which we all have available when we come to make a purchase. Most markets are oversupplied and product innovation is the norm rather than the exception. In this environment, non-product benets and customer care is a major example, are essential. Any company which aims to be successful must aim to retain its customers. The value of the lifetime customer cannot be overestimated; the cost of constantly winning new ones frequently is. Reading national newspapers and high circulation magazines, watching television or visiting major sporting events highlight the value which major companies place on advertising. The objectives of the advertising may vary, but generally focus on winning business or establishing a corporate image. It would be interesting to be able to compare the cost of these campaigns to the amounts spent on customer retention. We are frequently told that some of that spend is aimed at customer retention but we are not convinced. After all, the key to customer care is in the way in which you deal with your customers, not in the way in which you say that you deal with them. An interesting example is the prime-time advertising which banks and insurance companies carry out. They go to great extents to tell us how well we are treated as customers. I wonder how well the messages match our own experiences. If they do not align with our personal perceptions, the advertising budget could be working against their interests. Most customercare training is targeted on customer-facing staff. This is understandable, since this is where the majority of transactions occur. The danger in this approach is that customer care becomes a simple tactical issue when, in our opinion, it should be strategic. Customer care is a leadership issue. It should be part of an overall business strategy, not a bolt-on benet which can be won through a short training course. So it has to start at the top, and by top we mean with the leader. Genuine customer care is a by-product of internal relationships and culture. The way customers are treated is closely allied to the way staff feel about their jobs and the situation in which they do them. This atmosphere, which is a feature of every company, is reected at all levels but is cascaded from the top. Hence, as we stated earlier, it is a leadership issue. Customer satisfaction is unlikely to happen by chance. The effective leader ensures that it is never left to chance. Well-led companies commit serious time and resources to clarifying their business mission. Invariably, their mission statements contain reference to customers, with the best ones reinforcing the place of internal, as well as external, ones. While the statement is important, the culture which is required to support it is crucial. Any leader worth their salt focuses on producing a caring culture for all the stakeholders involved in the achievement of
1

mission. And, since culture is a reection of behavior, words are not enough. The leader must be prepared to walk the talk.

2.0 LITTERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Customer Care & the different aspects that make an effective customer care service. Normally, and it is logical, happy customers will become loyal customers who return for more and will spread the good word about your business to their friends and family. Customer Care is not just about having a good customer care team, but includes many other elements. Start with a high quality product or service, which is a good value for money, provided quickly and efficiently by friendly and courteous members of staff, where necessary including a good aftersales service and you already have an excellent grounding for caring effectively for your customers. Customercare, as its name suggests is basically made for satisfying customers. Customer care definition generally stands for the service provided to the customer during or after the purchase of the product. These services can include repairing, servicing, insurance claim etc. There is a great importance of customer care as it fulfils the basics requirements of the customer. One cannot imagine the market without customers. Customercare is normally designed for the customers for providing new information to them related to the products and services. From mobile shops to big firms and banks, there are different companies which provide customercare service. Now days the Customer care definition has changed a lot, people are getting more profit oriented deals rather than satisfactory ones. Importance of customer care has been getting more of consisted as in relation to what it was before, but still there are various companies and banks which provide much better facilities even after the purchase of a good or deal. Importance of customer care has also uplifted the development of different consumer forums and courts where one can easily place complain regarding their rights. These forums solely keep the importance of customer care definition and preserve their rights.

Customercare services are designed to satisfy the customer and to provide them different facilities. Customer care definition is becoming more prominent with the banks facilities. Even different mobile companies also provide variety of customercare services. As customers are the main target of any company or organization, it is important to understand the importance of customer care. Customer care definition has been constantly changing with time. There are certain terms and conditions which are applicable on the services provided to the customer. There is a great importance of customer care services as it makes us aware of what we are buying or dealing with. One can also get different services through net. There are various companies which provide online support and facility to their customers and one can learn about these facilities at the time of dealing with that company. For more information regarding different customer care services and forums one can search the net. According to Ambrosia (2005) Customers know whether or not they can trust you simply by the way you service them, and usually on the small issues.
3

Drucker on the other hand, views customer service as Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or the customer gets out of it. According to Turban et al. (2002), Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation." In her famous article, The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service, Susan A. Friedmann (2001) describes customer service as an integral part of our job and should not be seen as an extension of it. A companys most vital asset is its customers. Without them, we would not and could not exist in business. When you satisfy our customers, they not only help us grow by continuing to do business with you, but recommend you to friends and associates.

2.2 Concept of Customer Care; 1) Answer your phone. Get call forwarding. Or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. (Notice I say "someone". People who call want to talk to a live person, not a fake "recorded robot".) For more on answering the phone, see Phone Answering Tips to Win Business. 2) Don't make promises unless you will keep them. Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, Your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don't say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one. 3) Listen to your customers. Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn't been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer's point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.

4) Deal with complaints. No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, "You can't please all the people all the time". Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service. 5) Be helpful - even if there's no immediate profit in it. The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band and charged me nothing! Where do you think I'll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I've told this story to? 6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be always helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn't) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, "I don't know, but so-and-so will be back at..." 7) Take the extra step. For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, don't just say, "It's in Aisle 3". Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people. 8) Throw in something extra. Whether it's a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And dont think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated.

2.3 Importance of Customer Care policy.

Making reference about an article written by Adrian Willings (2002), copywriter, Assistant Editor and SEO Guru for leading Company Formation Agent, Happy customers will become loyal customers who return for more and will spread the good word about your business to their friends and family. He also put forward many importances about customer care like:

Policies and Values Its important to have customer care policies set-up so staff and employees know the core values and principals, ensuring that customers get the best possible service from your company. Part of this will involve training employees so that they interact with customers in the best possible way, professionally and politely and thus present the best image for the company. It's important to have certain principals in place in order to provide the best service:

Publish clear and help information on the services you offer Respond to any complaints quickly and politely. Make realistic promises Seek and encourage customer feedback Provide a safe and secure environment

Educating staff in certain concepts will help the business no end. Train them to do with customers. Always remaining positive, never giving negative replies or telling customers that they cannot help them (but instead offering to find the answer to their queries). Being Clear and Concise It's important to be clear and concise about the services that you offer to avoid confusion. The reasons are twofold. Firstly, if potential customers know what they are getting they will be more likely to buy a service from you and hopefully become one of your loyal customers. Secondly, things like misleading adverts, badly written web-pages or unclear marketing campaigns might well cause you to be subject to legal action if someone reports you to the Advertising Standards Agency. The Codes on what should and shouldn't be included can be found on their website.

Feedback It is important to regularly contact customers and see what they think of the service and how it can be improved. Ensure a customer service team is in place to deal with complaints and queries. One of the best and most simple methods for encouraging this is by the use of NGN's. Non-Geographical Numbers (or NGN for short) are telephone numbers that are not linked to a location. These numbers are important for various reasons, the most obvious of which is the fact that they give a "national" image to even the smallest company. Generally members of the public are under the impression that national companies are more interested in customer care and have more money devoted to it, so in this area, image is everything, yet it is only half the story. NGN's can be set-up to divert to your standard telephone number or even a mobile number and thus you can keep your standard, local number private where necessary. In the same vein, every modern company needs a web presence. A well designed website can help your business no end. Once again giving the impression of a professional national company it will also allow customers to easily get your details if they need to contact you. A good website also incorporates a contact page with email forwarding facilities, this allows customers to fill out a web form and send you an email automatically without having to open their own email client and risk mistyping your email address. This has the added benefit that you can specify subjects and headings under which the customer is contacting you (e.g. question about deliver or a question on how to return a faulty product) as well as specific other details like the customers phone number and home address (where relevant). For online based companies a contact page is especially important. More and more companies have an online chat system so customers can communicate quickly with members of the customer care team without having to use a phone or wait for a reply to an email. This is preferable to replying to emails within 24 hours, although, even a speedy reply such as that is key. To make the customers life easy it is also a good idea to have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on your website. Work out what the most commonly asked questions are that your customers might ask and compile them into an easy to search page. This will allow customers to help themselves as much as possible and saves any delay in response to their queries. Giving customers the chance to voice their opinion is an important measure. Setting up a customer satisfaction survey or questionnaire can be helpful in finding weaknesses in your company and improving them where possible. Key Performance Indicators It's a good idea to have systems in place to identify how satisfied your customers are. Tracking things like customer complaint levels, product return rates (or refund requests), returning customer orders or levels of marketing material sent out versus revenue generated because of them can help show how well your company is performing in the customer care arena.

Loyalty Schemes Providing your loyal customers with rewards is a good way to strengthen relationships and encourage new ones. Keeping your customers coming back is cheaper and easier than seeking new business so using loyalty discount schemes, recommend-a-friend schemes or other related marketing strategies will only help to improve your business and elevate customer satisfaction. You will have to look at your market and the service/products you offer and consider the best possible options for you.

Security If you have a work place or place of business where members of the public will pass, security is an important part of customer service. CCTV monitoring will hopefully prevent and deter theft while at the same time providing an air of confidence to customers, staff and partners that might be visiting the premises. Other Customers Take care not to be closed-minded when it comes to your customer base. Remember that partners might well be customers too. Depending on your business type, distributors, advertising agencies, suppliers and many others whom you interact with in order to carry out your business will need to be treated with the same level of customer care. Upsetting a supplier or distributor could damage your sales and your business. Even colleagues within your business might well be seen as customers in certain circumstances, especially in larger companies where various teams interact to provide the end result. Hints and Tips For Customer Care Staff

Dealing with difficult customers - If dealing with abusive or rude customers, keep your cool and if you find you cannot, try involving another member of staff in the situation. Telephone calls - Answer telephone calls quickly, being polite and courteous. Letters of complaint - When replying to a letter of complaint keep it short and to the point, but be polite and personal, don't send out standard template letters. Positive Response - Always give positive responses. Even if you don't know personally or cannot help, direct the customer to the right department or let them know that you will find out for them.
8

The Points to Remember It is important to remember that customer complaints are only one end of the spectrum. Provide the best service you can and you will minimize the levels of complaints that will come in. Remember that people who complain will be the minority, but they might well be voicing the thoughts of the masses in general. Take complaints seriously and use them as an opportunity to improve your business. Order a non-geographic number to help give your company a "national" and professional feel, even when you are just starting out. Potential customers will be far more likely to ring a free telephone number both to place orders and to complain. Both sorts of phone call are valuable to your business. Well-designed Logo's, letterheads and other corporate identity items will help give your company a professional feel and appeal to customers. All these elements are part of caring for customers.

3.0 COMPANYS PROFILE

COMPANY PROFILE. Mauritius Telecom (MT) is the leading telecommunications operator and service provider in Mauritius. Incorporated in 1988 as Mauritius Telecommunications Services (MTS), it acquired the assets of Overseas Telecommunications Services (OTS) in 1992 and became Mauritius Telecom. The Company has since enjoyed a phenomenal rate of development and it is now one of the top companies in the country, with revenue of Rs7.4 billion in 2010.

The company, which is ISO 9001:2008 certified, defines its strategies in line with the requirements of good corporate governance, providing fair working conditions and offering secure products and services. Mauritius Telecom is a group of companies comprising Mauritius Telecom Ltd and four subsidiaries namely Cellplus Mobile Communications Ltd, Telecom Plus Ltd, Call Services Ltd and Teleservices Ltd. Mauritius Telecom group has a workforce of some 1,800 staff, headed by Sarat Dutt Lallah, Chief Executive Officer since 8 October 2005.

Mauritius Telecom is also present in the regional telecommunications market through its investments in Orange Madagascar. CALL SERVICES LTD

Call Services Ltd, found at Telecom House, Cassis, Port Louis, is a premier provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services in Mauritius. In 1999, Call Services pioneered the introduction of CTI technology in the first-ever integrated inbound-outbound Call Centre to be set up in the country.

10

It uses the latest technology in the call center applications, it has introduced innovative ways in intelligence collection and solutions development to build up and enhance relationship with customers. It has a pool of knowledgeable customer service agents, and contact management expertise to work hand in hand with its partners to achieve successful CRM campaigns. From help desks to customer service through hot line processing, appointment and order taking, telemarketing and surveys, Call Services offer a comprehensive portfolio of services ensuring a professional and a high level of service delivery in such manner that people at the end of the line will never know it wasnt you on the line! Confidentiality and security are guaranteed.

Vision Mauritius Telecoms strategy for growth is centred on innovation, in line with its vision To be a Premier World-Class Infocom Services Provider, whilst the new commercial strategy is led by the vision Today changes with Orange. Over the years, the Company has invested considerably in restructuring the organisation so that it functions as an integrated operator. MT also endeavours to provide the best conditions for its 1,571 employees, enhancing their skills, to better serve customers. Shareholding The Government of Mauritius, the State Bank of Mauritius and the National Pensions Fund together hold 59% of the shares in the Company. 1% of Mauritius Telecom shares were sold to eligible employees and pensioners in 2007 at a discounted rate under an employee shareparticipation scheme. The remaining 40% are held by France Telecom, through its investment vehicle RIMCOM. Meanwhile, the Company has been preparing itself for a stock-exchange flotation, for which it has already met all listing criteria. Regional presence Mauritius Telecom has a regional presence through its investments in Orange Madagascar.

11

Products and services Mauritius Telecom provides a full spectrum of voice and data services using fixed-line, mobile and internet platforms. Mauritius Telecom also offers convergent services through My.T, its Multiplay-IPTV service. Internet and TV services are also provided for mobile users. The Group is committed to providing its customers with quality ICT services at competitive prices. Since the rebranding of all mobile and internet services in April 2008 to Orange, a strong international brand, there has been a quantum leap in providing customers with innovative services and experiences. Telecommunication services are becoming increasingly convergent and Mauritius Telecom makes every effort to respond to new device and consumption trends in an increasingly competitive market. Today, the Companys real-time technology services and solutions, coupled with its experience and know-how, are providing businesses with a one-stop solution for IP-based services, virtual private networks, and high-speed internet access and application services for improved decision-making anytime, anywhere. Customers By the end of December 2010, the Company had acquired about 1.2 million subscribers for its fixed-line, mobile, internet dial-up, broadband and My.T convergent services. This significant customer-base has enabled Mauritius Telecom to strengthen its position as market leader and preferred end-to-end solutions provider. Access to broadband has been improved through lower tariffs for both business and residential customers, as part of Mauritius Telecoms commitment to aligning its strategy with that of the Governments vision of Broadband Mauritius. Mauritius Telecom is the countrys only telecommunications company that provides universal services and universal access. To meet these responsibilities, the Company is committed to developing its networks throughout the country and to providing effective services to all citizens and residents. In its endeavour to make ICT available and affordable to as many people as possible in Mauritius, the Company launched the NetPC in June 2008.

12

Network Mauritius Telecom is setting the pace in the region in the transition from narrowband to broadband and IP (Internet Protocol) services. The Company is continuously upgrading its IPbased network to offer increasingly mobile and convergent services and provide highperformance voice, data, video and multimedia services. The Company is gradually migrating to the Next Generation Network (NGN). The Company offers global connectivity via the SAFE undersea fibre-optic cable and satellite systems. As the provider of international bandwidth services, Mauritius Telecom continually upgrades available bandwidths on the SAFE cable and invests in new cable projects to meet the increasing demand of call-centre and BPO operators and of customers connecting to bandwidth-hungry services. As for MTs international network, it is based on an advanced globally interconnected infrastructure linked by submarine optical-fibre cable systems like SAFE, LION and EASSy, as well as by satellite. In addition to providing continuous upgrades to these cable systems, the Company is also investing in other submarine optical-fibre cable projects like the Europe-India Gateway (EIG) and the West Africa Cable System (WACS). The two cable landing stations at Baie Jacotet and Le Goulet and the investment in cable projects will further increase the reliability, resiliency and bandwidth capacity of our international connectivity. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Mauritius Telecom is fully engaged in its CSR role and, through the Mauritius Telecom Foundation (MTF), actively participates in funding major national projects promoting social and economic integration and poverty alleviation. Other CSR initiatives include support to community projects in the fields of education, health, sports and environment. As regards the environment, the MTF has pioneered a national campaign in collaboration with relevant authorities and partners to collect used batteries and mobile phones for recycling. Sustainability issues are a growing concern within the Group and this has given birth to several initiatives, with defined targets, to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment in areas like paper usage, energy consumption and carbon emission. Risk Management The Group has developed incident management plans for increased preparedness in such situations as a tsunami, vandalism, or fire or bomb alert. Business Continuity Plans have been prepared by the various departments within the Group. MT has also been allocated 40 workarea recovery seats by BusinessContinuity Mauritius. The objective is to be able to ensure service continuity to customers in the event of an incident. In fact, BusinessContinuity Mauritius
13

is a subsidiary company of Mauritius Telecom, which also provides disaster recovery services to other companies.

14

4.0 RESEARCH DESIGN/METHODOLOGY Step in Research Methodology: Defining the problem & Research Objectives Develop research plan Collect information Analyze the information Present the findings Make the decision

4.1 SOURCES OF DATA A. Primary Data:

This data can be collected through experiment or through survey. The various method of primary data collection is: 1. Observation method 2. Interview method 3. Questionnaire method The methods adopted in this study are: Personal interview through structured questionnaire,

B. Secondary Data:
Secondary data refers to the data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else usually published data are available in form of: 1. Various publication. 2. Books Magazine and Newspapers. 3. Accounting records, sales force reports etc. 4. Websites of Mauritius telecom.

15

4.2 Steps in Research Methodology:

Step 1: Objective of Study of Customer Care of Call Services Ltd. The first step in this study is the defining the objectives of the study and according to that develop the further plan. Step 2: Developing plan for gathering information The second stage calls for developing the most efficient plan for gathering the need information. Decide the methods of data collection and the data sources, sampling method and contact method. Decide the primary and secondary sources for collecting the data. Primary Data: Primary data is a data, which is gathered by the researcher himself. Primary data of this project is collected by the personal visit to Call Services Ltd, Cassis(Orange). Secondary Data: Secondary data is a data which is gathered from the available sources i.e.newspaper, magazine, Internet, financial books. Etc Step 3: Collect the Information This is the most important step in the study. This is up to the individuals ability to gather the information from the selected samples. Step 4: Analyze the Information Step 5: Present the Findings

16

4.3 SAMPLING PLAN: This plan calls for identifying whether the employees are providing all the customer policies available to their client and whether there room for improvement.
1. Sampling Unit: Here we define the target population that will be sampled. Only the responsible of Orange showroom will be interviewed

2. Sample size: How many showrooms would be visited? Large samples give more reliable results than small samples. But here only 1unit (branch) is undertaken for study. 3.Data collection procedure: Here I took all the information needed for this study, by means of personal visits to the branch and by interview. This is the most versatile method. The interviewer can ask more number of question, can record additional observations about the respondents.

17

4.4 Findings and Analysis The customer care Policies of the Company are: 1. Respond to any complaints quickly & politely 2. When we cannot provide exactly what someone wants, be innovative and suggest alternatives

3. Apologize if things goes wrong and do our best to put things right 4. Keep customers informed of new and improved services available

5. Deal with customers honesty, fairly and politely 6. Always record details of a call. This facilitates follow-up

7. We will respond within 24hrs to any contact via email during office hours 8. Give as much information as possible to help you make informed choices

9. Inform respective departments via mail or telephone about repetitive customer dissatisfaction/ customer complaints 10. Always make callback within 24hrs

11. Apologize on behalf of maintenance workers if the latter has wrongly done his work

18

According to Mr. Kris Ellapen, team leader at CSL, customer care is the rudimentary of customer contact. He describes customer care of his organization as the most important thing an employee must have in the organization. He also added that good customer care increases customer fidelity. A good customer care service builds good business relationship and increases company profits. As a call centre that operate 24hours a day and 7days a week, employees should be well trained to be able to deliver a good customer care. Good listening skills and fluency during the talk time is required among employees. It is important to note that the labour force at CSL comprises of mostly young people and sometimes customers tend to be aggressive, irritating or stressful. Therefore patience as a skill among young people has to be developed. Feedbacks on a weekly basis are given to random employee in the organization. This feedback consists of assessing the employees on the level of customer service delivered to the customers. Employees from the quality service department, listens to the agents call and asses them. This is done at random so that employees do not know that they are being listened and a fair result can be obtained. Most of the employees do not know about the customer care policies of the company, but unintentionally, they follow the policies. For example, policy 1 states that, Respond to customer quickly and politely. It is the duty of every employee to welcome the customer first before tackling the problem. 4.5 Technology used at CSL According to Mr. Kris Ellapen, CSL was the first call centre to adopt CTI technology in 1999, but since then there was no major changes in technology, just some modification about some online technical websites and databases. Some new programmes and software were also introduced during the years to facilitate the working condition of employees. But the basic of the CTI technology are still present at the company. There was also some investment done into new PCs in 2002 and in 2005 new IPBX phones were given to employees at their work place.

19

4.6 Training on customer care at CSL. As there are no face to face contact with the customers at CSL, customer care is considered the most important service that each employee must be able to deliver to customers. Each employee at the company must have a training session about customer care before starting working for the company. Training sessions about customer care is comprised in the overall training programme which involves learning about the commercial and technical parts of different products. The training period may last for 2 weeks maximum. During the training process employees are taught the basic of customer care, how to interact with customers on phone, their listening skills are also enhanced. Added to that, role plays and simulation of interaction among the trainees are practiced. To facilitate their learning, trainees are given the opportunity to listen to audio recordings of agents dealing with customers. The aim is to make trainees differentiate between good and bad customer care and how to provide the adequate customer care to these clients so as to make them satisfied. 4.7 Customer complains at CSL There are many types of complaints that CSL receive every day, e.g. complaints about billing, internet, and mobile complaints. These problems are recorded accordingly and are deal with the respective departments. Most of the complaints they receive are mostly concerned with technical problems arising from the products. Concerning customer care, there is no major complaints since the employees are well trained in this field. According to the rules, one is not allowed to misbehave with a customer even if the company is at fault. The only minor complaints that CSL get is from their customer service comes from inexperienced new employees. But with time this also shall be corrected. However some improvement is needed concerning complaints against young employees, Nowadays youth does not have the culture of responsibility and the sense of belonging. The young labor force is only concerned about wages not about the mission and vision of the company. Yet complaints are dealt quickly, politely and in norms with the procedures, most of the employees are not aware that it is one of the most important policy of the organization.

20

5.0 Recommendation and conclusion CSL is providing a good customer care service although not all the employees know the policies well and the mere complaints registered can be easily eradicated if more emphasis is put on the aims and objectives of the company rather that training the employees on the nature of their job that is customer care alone. The employees must also be informed that customers are king and must always respond to their demand with great efficacy. Regarding the customer care policies of the organization, employees only tend to follow it but top management applies it to the greatest extent. During the training programmes, employees are made aware some of the customer care policies of the company, but still some basic policies of the company are taught to the trainers. If employees are communicated the aims and objectives of the company, they will know in which direction they should work. The same applies for the customer care polices. Once well defined, employees will be know what is expected from them and what level of service they are expected to deliver, hence increasing customer satisfaction in the long run. However some employees may not be receptive to change. Since 1999, CSL has been using the same technology (CTI), with minor improvements during the years, yet they are still providing good customer care service. With competition increasing locally investment in some new technology will prove to be efficient. New equipements, programmes and software will enhance labour productivity, thus increasing the level of customer care and customer satisfaction. Moreover, new better applications will help employees to quickly access files of customers, search for information and agents will be able to answer customer queries more promptly. To be able to be more competitive on the market, the companys website should be update more regularly. CSLs website does not show much detail about the service and products provided. Good customer care also means good communication and reliable information. If the customer is given enough information on the website, then the latter will not bother to call the company to get information. As far as possible services that does not need personal assistance, should be published on the website. Some customers like to discover and increase their knowledge by themselves.

21

Appendix
Interview Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. What does customer care mean to you? Why the needs for customer care? What are the customer care policies of the company? How far do you implement these policies? Are there problems while implementing these policies? What are the benefits of customer care to the company? What are the complaints that you receive about customer care? What are the skills required for a good customer care? What can you say on the level of customer care delivered by the actual labour foece? What kind of training employees are given concerning customer care? What qualities are developed through the training?

12. What are the changes that you think should be made in the current customer care service? 13. Are you satisfied with the level of technology, used in the present system?

22