The world of providing a customer care service is very large, ranging through marketing, sales, 'producers', 'deliverers', to after sales support. To describe it in full would need a book so we have provided just one slant for your consideration.

Winning business in the face of increasing competition is a very demanding process, requiring skill and patience as well as having the right product at the right price. Yet that is only half the battle, delivering the service in a way that fully satisfies the customer is the other half, but how many become complacent after taking the order?

To improve the customer care service offered we must start with a simple examination of "How far are we customer oriented?" This simple but powerful examination may reveal a host of issues and questions, for example:

• z How do you see your customers?
• Who are they, outside and inside the organisation?
• What do they want from you?
• Is your provision effective, efficient, economical?
• What do they think about the service?
• Do they know what else you can provide?

But what does customer care mean? For example, is it providing a service FOR rather than TO the customer? Does your organisation have hard facts and figures on what customer needs and wants are? Do you work in partnership with your customer to help them develop and expand their business? After it is a strategic relationship.

In other words, does your organisation listen and note what customers are saying, i.e. do you take your customers seriously? Or is there an attitude that because we are busy we are successful, OR because we are busy our customers must be satisfied, and will come back regardless of how well or poorly they are treated?

A better attitude is because we are busy we should be grateful and look to give an even better customer care service to our most valued customer!

Where does your organisation stand?

Do your people know what standards they aim to achieve? Do they know what standards are actually achieved? Are customer care service objectives clarified? Does every person associated with the organisation, from managers, administrators, producers, to front line staff know what these are? Does the organisation have a mission statement and is it central to the work ethic of everyone in the organisation?

The key thing here is what customer care message do your customers get that convinces them they matter and that your services are worth having?

Is the organisation an Investor in People? (You cannot give a sincere customer care service if you do not care for your staff). If there is one rule for customers and another for staff, then beware for staff who are not:

• cared for, will not care for others
• listened to, will not listen to others
• treated as individuals, will not treat others with respect