Customer Service
Updated 4 August 2008

Recent Part 1 past examination questions – Customer Service

Recent Part 2 past examination questions – Customer Service

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Customer Service

Question: So what is the difference between Customer Services and Support Services? How can I find out more to understand the differences if any?

Answer:

Essentially it is to do with the encounter or interface with the end user in the service transaction and the service provider. In other words if the receiver of the service has to be physically present or take part in the transaction for the service to be rendered - eg reception greeting a visitor - then this kind of service is a customer service.

If however, the service can take place without the user or benefactor being there eg evening cleaning, or security guarding - then this comes under the Support Services category.

Actually, it can be quite hard to distinguish between there three categories of services as listed in the syllabus (that is Customer, Support and Building Services), as there are so many overlaps in the provision of FM services. For example, if the heating engineer has to go to the office to visit an occupant to find out the details of a problem, or explain what has or needs to done, then is this service "customer services" or "building services"? Take another example, a security officer greeting and checking staff id cards or passes - is this customer or support services?

So the acid test must be in the question – does the recipient need to be physically present for the service to take place?

Read up on the theory of managing services in Johnson and Clark's book - Service Operations Management