SITXCCS007 Enhance Customer Service Experiences Assessment Task 5

Information for Student:

· All work is to be entirely of the student.

General Information for this assessment:

· Read the instructions for each question very carefully.

· Be sure to PRINT your FIRST name & LAST name in every place that is provided.

· Short questions must be answered in the spaces provided.

· For those activities requesting extra evidence such as: research reports, essay reports, etc. The student must attach its own work formatted in double space, Arial 12 pts.

· All activities must be addressed correctly in order to obtain a competence for the unit of competency.

· If the student doesn’t understand the assessment, they can request help from the assessor to interpret the assessment.

Assessment Task 5: Role plays

During the role plays, your assessor will be looking to see that you can:

§  Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving complaints and conflict.

§  Assess the impact of complaints and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation.

§  Proactively compensate for service difficulty in line with your level of responsibility set out in the policies and procedures (situations which apply to external customers).

§  Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict.

§  Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action.

§  Turn customer complaints into opportunities to demonstrate high quality customer service.

§  Complete required reports and/or registers.

Role play 1 – Wrong order

While managing the shift this service period you notice that one of your staff, Susan, is looking very red faced and flustered at one of her tables and a man sitting at the table does not look impressed. You discreetly motion for her with a hand signal to come over.

Role play 2 – Negative post

You are working the same service period about an hour later and another employee, Bryan who is one of the supervisors, calls you over with an alarmed look on his face.

Role play 3 – Roster dispute

One of your employees named Chris tells you that he was rostered to work this Saturday night but he swapped with Melissa two weeks ago as he has an important family gathering to attend to. He has already filled in for Melissa’s Friday night shift last week and the roster was updated when the request was made and approved. Chris however tells you that Melissa has told him this morning that she can no longer fill his shift for him and he is very upset. It is now Thursday evening.

This is an extract from the employee’s handbook:

“All employees are required to give at least five days’ notice of not being able to work their rostered shift so it can be assigned to another employee, unless the employee is affected by an emergency situation in which case the employee is required to notify their manager as soon as is reasonably possible. Failure to notify the manager within a reasonable timeframe without a valid reason or not turning up for a shift may result in disciplinary action.”

Role play 4 – Incorrect bill

While you are busy chatting to a table of customers Melissa motions to you that she needs to speak with you.

Role play 5 – Friday night blues

One of the kitchen staff, Muhammed, always leaves early on a Friday. He follows the Islam faith and can never work a Friday afternoon or evening shift as he has told you privately before that he goes to the mosque to pray. You agreed to this arrangement when you employed him but he does not speak much to the other employees and he is a very private person. You overhear Vivian, another kitchen staff member, complaining that she is tired of always getting the Friday afternoon and evening shifts and it’s not fair that Muhammed never works them. You then overhear her complaining to the bar staff about it an hour or so later. The other staff member said that she think his religion requires that he attend prayers at a certain time. Vivian says “why can’t he just pray anytime like other religions.” You have called Vivian in to your office to handle the situation before it escalates.

Role play 6 – Boys’ night out

It is 10pm and you and two of your team members are tending the bar tonight. The kitchen has just closed and the bar is at about 50% occupancy. A rowdy group of young men stagger into the bar announcing in very slurred voices that it is Will’s 21^st birthday today and order a round of shots. You can clearly see that most of them are intoxicated.

You tell your team that you will handle this one, and in a very friendly but firm tone tell the group that you are sorry you won’t be able to serve them tonight due to responsible service of alcohol legislation and the kitchen has just closed.

One of the group members turns nasty and calls you a rude name and spits on the floor. You politely ask them to leave and suggest they call it a night. The majority of the men say “Okay, okay we are leaving now”, but two of the group refuse to leave and swear at you again. The other customers in the bar have all stopped their conversations and are looking on.

Role play 7 – Knock out

It is a quiet lunchtime shift and there are not many people in the bar. There are only a few staff on as the busy period will only be later in the evening. You are tending the bar yourself.

While managing the shift this service period you notice that one of your staff, Susan, is looking very red faced and flustered at one of her tables and a man sitting at the table does not look impressed. You discreetly motion for her with a hand signal to come over.

Set up instructions

This role play requires someone to play the role of Susan, and someone to play the role of the upset customer. It is advised that you play the role of the upset customer if possible. The role play must begin with Susan approaching the student in the role of the manager using the script below.

Instructions for the person playing the role of Susan

You have taken the order at table 9 and you are very sure they ordered three steak and kidney pies and two chicken parmas with chips; but the customer has informed you when you brought the meals that he ordered two steak and kidney pies and three chicken parmas. You have apologised to the customer and told him that you will correct the order right away and went to remove the extra steak and kidney pie, but he told you that his group is in a hurry to get to a concert and he doesn’t have time to wait another 20 minutes for the extra meal to arrive. You have offered that the customer the steak and kidney pie at no cost, and a beer or house wine at no extra cost to apologise for the inconvenience of the wrong meal being brought to the table; but he replied that he is offended that you would only offer the one meal and drink for free and he would like to speak with your manager immediately.

You are flustered as you are very sure that you heard the order correctly. Explain all of this to your manager and the fact that the man at the table has requested to speak to them directly.

Instructions for the person playing the role of the upset customer

You are upset as your waiter has gotten your order wrong and one of the meals is incorrect. You ordered two steak and kidney pies and three chicken parmas but received three steak and kidney pies and two chicken parmas. You are unhappy with your waiter’s offer of a free meal and drink and have demanded to speak to the manager. You need to be rather pushy and demand your entire bill for free as you are in a rush for a concert and this is a big inconvenience to you. Take your lead from the student and decline their first offer but act annoyed for a while and calm down eventually as the student demonstrates their ability to handle the situation skilfully and calmly. Settle on what they offer you the second time and act as if you are satisfied with the outcome.

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the complaint?

Demonstrating their ability to put the customer’s needs and satisfaction first by demonstrating empathy, tact and providing an apology.

Assess the impact of complaints on the customers and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation?

The impact is that the customers will be late for their event if they have to wait for the correct meal. Escalation can be prevented by compensating for their discomfort with a discount and complimentary drinks.

Proactively compensate for service difficulty in line with their level of responsibility set out in the policies and procedures?

Authority is limited to a 25% discount on the total bill as the customer is extremely dissatisfied; and a free round of drinks (not spirits) to the table, and /or a 20% discount voucher off their next visit.

Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict?

Using active listening skills and non-verbal communication – nodding, understanding the situation and asking questions to clarify and confirm understanding of the problem.

Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action?

The student has a few options available as mentioned in the policy to choose from: a 25% discount on the total bill as the customer is extremely dissatisfied; and a free round of drinks (not spirits) to the table, and /or a 20% discount voucher off their next visit.

Turn customer complaints into opportunities to demonstrate high quality customer service?

Demonstrating their professionalism, their commitment to excellent customer service and reaching a positive outcome.

Complete required reports and/or registers?

Filling out the Customer Complaints Register.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability in written reflections?

Impact – negative impact as customer may spread bad report to other customers or potential customers resulting in a loss of business.

Legal liability – It is the responsibility of the business to provide the customer with the correct product/service they requested of make compensation for lack of according to the consumer protection laws.

Discuss satisfactory follow-up arrangements in their written reflections?

This could vary but may include a follow up phone call or email within a certain period of time.

You are working the same service period about an hour later and another employee, Bryan who is one of the supervisors, calls you over with an alarmed look on his face.

Instructions for the person playing the role of Bryan

Explain to your manager that you have just received a social media comment saying “FYI, give Champion’s Sports Bar a miss –incompetent waiter brought the wrong meal tonight and my husband had to argue to even get a discount. My meal was also of sub-standard quality and wasn’t hot. Won’t be visiting your bar again, that’s for sure.” Tell your manager that the procedure says this needs to be reported to you immediately – which you have just done – and ask them what you should reply, or if they would like to handle it.

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the complaint?

Demonstrating their ability to put the customer’s needs and satisfaction first by demonstrating empathy, tact and providing an apology.

Assess the impact of complaints on customers and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation?

The impact is that the post may gain momentum if not dealt with satisfactorily and may have a negative lasting impact on the business for quite some time. Action should be taken swiftly to prevent further escalation.

Proactively compensate for service difficulty in line with their level of responsibility set out in the policies and procedures?

As they have already dealt with the first problem earlier in the night (incorrect order) they may apologise to the customer and inform them they were not aware that there was a problem with her meal; and rectify the problem over social media by offering her something as an apology– such as a discount on her next bill or a discounted offer to a special event.

Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict?

This will be effective online communication in response to the situation.

Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action?

This will vary according to the student’s policy and procedure they have developed but must be in line with these documents.

Turn customer complaints into opportunities to demonstrate high quality customer service?

Demonstrating their professionalism, their commitment to excellent customer service and reaching a positive outcome.

Complete required reports and/or registers?

Logging this in to the Customer Complaints Register and referencing it with the earlier complaint logged.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability in written reflections?

Impact – negative report about the business that may be shared many times over on social media. Business’s response or lack of response will impact current and future customer’s opinion of the business and how they treat customers.

Legal liability – Business needs to be responsible in the way they use social media and not be liable for harassment, bullying or discrimination when using it. Privacy issues may also apply.

Discuss satisfactory follow-up arrangements in their written reflections?

This could vary but may include a follow up phone call or email within a certain period of time.

One of your employees named Chris tells you that he was rostered to work this Saturday night but he swapped with Melissa two weeks ago as he has an important family gathering to attend to. He has already filled in for Melissa’s Friday night shift last week and the roster was updated when the request was made and approved. Chris however tells you that Melissa has told him this morning that she can no longer fill his shift for him and he is very upset. It is now Thursday evening.

This is an extract from the employee’s handbook:

“All employees are required to give at least five days’ notice of not being able to work their rostered shift so it can be assigned to another employee, unless the employee is affected by an emergency situation in which case the employee is required to notify their manager as soon as is reasonably possible. Failure to notify the manager within a reasonable timeframe without a valid reason or not turning up for a shift may result in disciplinary action.”

Instructions for the person playing the role of Chris

You are extremely upset with Melissa as you had an arrangement. Express how upset you are with Melissa to your manager and say “It is irresponsible for her to do this – I worked her shift already on Friday – and the rosters have been updated – that means it is her shift and her responsibility! I am not missing my grandmother’s 80^th birthday party because of her lack of organisation!”

When you find out that Melissa says she can’t work because her boyfriend is going to be in town, start laughing and say “What! It’s my grandmother’s 80^th birthday! Which is far more important than a concert!”

After acting upset and irritated for a while, take your lead from the student and calm down eventually. Do not back down however as you have done the correct thing by making arrangements early on.

Instructions for the person playing the role of Melissa

You were planning on working the shift this Saturday and you did agree with Chris and swap shifts. Tell your manager that your boyfriend has surprised you at the last minute and has just arrived in town this weekend and wants to take you to a concert on Saturday night.

Act as if you don’t really see the seriousness of the situation and you are not really bothered by Chris being so upset. Say things like “Can’t you just get someone else to do it?” and “I don’t see what the big deal is.” Begin to come around as your manager helps you to see that it is your responsibility and it is serious if you miss your shift without proper notice. You need to agree at the end of the role play that you will work it as it is your responsibility.

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the complaint?

Act as an intermediary in the conflict by detailing the facts, referring to the employee handbook and the highlighting responsibility that Melissa has to uphold her agreement to Chris while also empathising with her situation; and helping Chris to remain calm about the situation and also empathising with him.

Assess the impact of the situation and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation?

Effectively mediate the situation informally so as to prevent a formal complaint being lodged if an outcome is not settled upon. Discuss the steps involved in the policy if this can’t be resolved here today.

Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict?

Displaying active listening, questioning, confirming of information and appropriate non-verbal communication such as eye contact and nodding.

Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action?

This will be negotiating with Melissa and helping her see the seriousness of not upholding her end of the bargain. Her reason is not valid, nor an emergency, and she has been rostered on the shift therefore it is her duty to work that shift. Action should be to help Melissa see her responsibility in this regard.

Complete required reports and registers?

This is not necessary in this regard as it is an informal situation and a formal complaint has not yet been made.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability in written reflections?

Impact – this may sour relationships between employees and lead to negativity at work which is not conducive to a productive work environment.

Legal liabilities – if not handled properly this could lead to an escalated situation with a formal complaint being made by Chris if he was made to work against his manager and it could lead to employee disciplinary action if Melissa refuses to work her shift.

While you are busy chatting to a table of customers Melissa motions to you that she needs to speak with you.

Instructions for the person playing the role of Melissa

Go up to your manager (the student) and tell him that you have a customer who has requested to see you. The customer at table 12 is upset as the bill you brought her was incorrect – she was not given the two glasses of wine she ordered between 5 and 6 at happy hour prices, but was charged full price instead along with the other glasses of wine she ordered post happy hour. When you tried to apologise and rectify the situation she immediately said “I want to speak to your manager!”

Instructions for the person playing the role of the customer

Act slightly annoyed (but not aggressive) that you have a problem with the bill and say “I asked her when I ordered the wine if I should pay for it now as it is happy hour and it might get confusing on the bill, and he told me that it’s fine and that he would keep track of it on the bill and now I have been overcharged! So typical. You know, I wasn’t even greeted properly when I walked in here – I had to wait for such a long time before anyone came to my table!”

Accept the student’s offer of whatever he decides is an appropriate way to deal with the situation and calm down but provide the following feedback: I noticed that most of your waiters are quite friendly – mine however was not very friendly and didn’t smile at me once tonight! Perhaps she needs some lessons in customer service.”

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the complaint?

Demonstrating their ability to put the customer’s needs and satisfaction first by demonstrating empathy, tact and providing an apology.

Assess the impact of complaints on the customers and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation?

The impact is the customer’s inconvenience and negative opinion on the business. So swift action should be taken to satisfy the customer and compensate her to turn the image of the business around.

Proactively compensate for service difficulty in line with their level of responsibility set out in the policies and procedures?

There is room for discretion here – the customer is leaving so wouldn’t want another round of free drinks. The student could however offer her those happy hour drinks at no cost to apologise for the inconvenience – or let her just pay for the happy hour drinks at happy hour prices and void the regular priced glasses of wine in apology. She could also be offered a 20% discount voucher off her next visit.

Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict?

Using active listening skills and non-verbal communication – nodding, understanding the situation and asking questions to clarify and confirm understanding of the problem.

Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action?

Determine appropriate discount to the bill in line with policy and procedure.

Turn customer complaints into opportunities to demonstrate high quality customer service?

Demonstrating their professionalism, their commitment to excellent customer service and reaching a positive outcome.

Complete required reports and registers?

Logging this into the complaints register.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability in written reflections?

Impact – negative impact as customer may spread bad report to other customers or potential customers resulting in a loss of business.

Legal liability – It is the responsibility of the business to provide the customer the product/service at the advertised price.

Discuss satisfactory follow-up arrangements in their written reflections?

This could vary but may include a follow up phone call or email within a certain period of time.

One of the kitchen staff, Muhammed, always leaves early on a Friday. He follows the Islam faith and can never work a Friday afternoon or evening shift as he has told you privately before that he goes to the mosque to pray. You agreed to this arrangement when you employed him but he does not speak much to the other employees and he is a very private person. You overhear Vivian, another kitchen staff member, complaining that she is tired of always getting the Friday afternoon and evening shifts and it’s not fair that Muhammed never works them. You then overhear her complaining to the bar staff about it an hour or so later. You have called Vivian in to your office to handle the situation before it escalates.

Instructions for the person playing the role of Vivian – best played by the assessor

When your manager asks say “It’s not fair that Mohammed doesn’t work on Friday afternoon and nights! Everybody else does and with him not doing it, it’s one less person to rotate it.”

Take your lead from the student and listen and answer his questions but in the end you should be satisfied and part his office on good terms.

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the issue?

Speak kindly to Vivian, not give away private or personal information about Muhammed but help Vivian to see that every employee’s situation is different and Muhammed’s employment arrangements are different to hers. Reason with Vivian and help her to see positives and be kind to all co-workers.

Assess the impact of the issue and act swiftly and tactfully so as to prevent further escalation?

The impact is that Muhammed may feel upset, complaining may gain momentum and spread throughout the staff so it’s important to reason with Vivian effectively. Let Vivian know that it would be an unfortunate incident if a formal complaint was made against her and you want to help her.

Use effective communication to establish nature, cause and details of complaints/conflict?

Using active listening skills and non-verbal communication – nodding, understanding the situation and asking questions to clarify and confirm understanding of the problem. Displaying empathy with Vivian.

Determine options to resolve complaints and decide on appropriate action?

Helping Vivian to see the outcome of the situation if Muhammed is made to feel discriminated against or if he knows people are complaining about him when he has done nothing wrong

Complete required reports and registers?

Not necessary as this is an informal chat.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability?

Impact – Muhammed may resign if the situation escalates and he becomes aware of the negativity towards him; the workforce may become less productive as gossip and negativity spreads and gains momentum.

Legal liabilities – Muhammed may make a claim of discrimination if he feels that he is being unfairly treated due to his religious practices.

It is 10pm and you and two of your team members are tending the bar tonight. The kitchen has just closed and the bar is at about 50% occupancy. A rowdy group of young men stagger into the bar announcing in very slurred voices that it is Will’s 21st birthday today and order a round of shots. You can clearly see that most of them are intoxicated.

Instructions for the person playing the role of the intoxicated man

Be very rowdy, keep demanding a drink and refuse a soft drink if offered. After being rowdy for a while and making a few jokes pretend to spit and say you can’t be made to leave. Start to become threatening and say “What are you going to do about it, huh, huh” and things like this. Act drunk and disorderly and uncooperatively and do not let the student negotiate you out of the building. Then begin to threaten violence.

Act professionally and take responsibility for resolving the situation to prevent further escalation according to the steps set out in the procedure?

Following all of the steps in the Refusing Service to Intoxicated Patron’s Procedure. Being firm but polite and respectful. Being the one who realises the situation is getting worse and the one who makes the call to alert security when the situation turns violent.

Complete required reports and registers?

Complete incident report correctly.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability?

Impact – This could result in a negative image for the business if not dealt with properly. Other customers may become frightened if the bar has a reputation for trouble. The intoxicated person could become physically violent with employees or other patrons and injury could result.

Legal liabilities – The bar could be closed down if alcohol is served to intoxicated patrons, if the physical threat is not dealt with correctly then the bar may be liable for a civil or criminal case.

It is a quiet lunchtime shift and there are not many people in the bar. There are only a few staff on as the busy period will only be later in the evening. You are tending the bar yourself.

Instructions for the person playing the role of the customer 1

Walk into the bar with customer 2 and be arguing as you walk in but so that it is quietly and not disruptive. Order a drink and engage in small talk with your customer 2. Order another drink when yours is finished and then start yelling. Pretend to throw punches at him. When he falls on the floor start panicking and saying “I’m so sorry my friend, I am so sorry” and behaving regretful and panicky.

Instructions for the person playing the role of customer 2

Walk into the bar with customer 1 and engage in conversation with customer 2 arguing quietly. Be quieter than customer 1. When he pretends to punch you throw one back and then act as if you have fallen down unconscious onto the floor. Act completely unresponsive and then after a minute or so open your eyes and start mumbling. Try to get up and fall back down again. The student should try and prevent you from getting up or moving around. Follow their lead and do as they say. 

Act professionally and take responsibility for the issue by calling security and an ambulance, talking to both customer 1 and customer 2 and trying to calm customer 1 down while assisting customer 2, not allowing customer 2 to get up as they were unconscious. Speaking comfortingly to customer 2 and staying with them the whole time. Explaining to the ambulance workers the situation and what has occurred. Keeping calm and managing the situation and conflict professionally and responsibly displaying empathy.

Complete required reports and registers?

Complete an incident report correctly.

Evaluate the impact of the issue on the business’s reputation and legal liability?

Impact –injury to customer 2, people seeing or hearing about the incident and forming opinions over the way it was managed. Then police becoming involved if an assault charge is filed.

Liability – the police may investigate the incident and it may later end up in court. The business needs to keep records and have dealt with the incident in a satisfactory way. It may need to be proven that the customers were not intoxicated as the business may be investigated under RSA legislation.