CS-Skills for Success Ch.01

Refers to a business-to-business customer service.

Term adopted in the early days of customer service when many people started small businesses in their homes or cottages and bartered products or services with neighbors.

Concept of identifying customer needs: understanding and influencing customer behavior through ongoing communication strategies in an effort to acquire, retain, and satisfy the customer. The ultimate goal is customer loyalty.

The feeling of a person whose needs have been met by an organization.

The ability of knowledgeable, capable, and enthusiastic employees to deliver products and services to their internal and external customers in a manner that satisfies identified and unidentified needs and ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth publicity and return business.

An environment made up of and influenced by various elements of an organization. Examples are delivery systems, human resources, service, products, and organizational culture.

A company that spends energy and effort on satisfying internal and external customers by first identifying customer needs, then establishing policies, procedures, and management and reward systems to support excellence in service delivery.

Products or services provided by an organization.

The method(s) used by an organization to provide services and products to its customers.

Occurs when governments remove legislative or regulatory guidelines that inhibit and control an industry (e.g., transportation, natural gas, and telecommunications).

Term applied to the situation in which employees are terminated.

An entire spectrum of companies that market products and services on the Internet and through other technology, and the process of accessing them by consumers.

Those people outside the organization who purchase or lease products and services. This group includes vendors, suppliers, and people on the telephone, and others not from the organization.

The term applied to an ongoing trend of information, knowledge, and resource sharing around the world. As a result of a more mobile society and easier access to transportation and technology, more people are traveling and accessing products and ser vices from international sources than ever before.

Refers to the employees of an organization.

People within the organization who either require support and service or provide information, products, and services to service providers. Such customers include peers, coworkers, bosses, subordinates, and people from other areas of the organization.

A term used by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline to describe organizations that value knowledge, education, and employee training. They also learn from their competition, industry trends, and other sources, and they develop systems to support continued growth and development in order to remain competitive.

Active process of building relationships inside and outside the organization through meetings, interactions, and activities that lead to sound interpersonal relationships and sharing of resources.

A trade agreement entered into by the United States, Canada, and Mexico among other things to help eliminate barriers to trade, promote conditions of fair trade across borders, increase investment opportunities, and promote and protect intellectual property rights.

Refers to the relocation of business services from one country to another (e.g. services, production, and manufacturing).

Includes an element of an organization that a customer encounters.

Refers to the practice of contracting with third-party companies or vendors outside the organization (usually in another country) to deliver products and services to customers or produce products.

Something produced or an output by an individual or organization. In the service environment, products are created to satisfy customer needs or wants.

A term used to describe the trend in which businesses have shifted from primarily production and manufacturing to more service delivery. As part of this evolution, many organizations have developed specifically to provide services to customers.

A term used to describe businesses and organizations that are engaged primarily in service delivery. Service sector is a more accurate term, since many organizations provide some form of service to their customers even though they are primarily engaged in research, development, and manufacture of products.

The process of righting a wrong or correcting something that has gone wrong involving provision of a product or service to a customer. The concept involves not only replacing defective products, but also going the extra step of providing compensation for the customer's inconvenience.

Refers to organizations and individuals involved in delivering service as a primary product.

United States governmental agency established to assist small business owners.

A trend seen in many congested metropolitan areas and government offices. To reduce traffic, pollution, and save resources (e.g., rent, telephone, and technology systems) many organizations allow employees to set up home offices and from there electronically communicate and forward information to their corporate offices.

A period of military, economic, and political tension and competition between the United Dtates and the former Soviet Union that lasted from the 1940s through the 1990s.

The term applied to a programming error made in many software packages that would cause a computer to fail to recognize the year 2000 at midnight on December 31, 1999. In instances where the oversight occured, computers would cease to fuction at that hour. Billions of dollars were spent to correct the error worldwide.