CONSUMER AFFAIRS Managing Customer Expectations Legal Responsibilities

The Zappos Story – Return Policy Options (a) not accept the return, their policy is clear that it must be done in 15 days; (b) accept the return late given the circumstances; (c) do something really remarkable. Zappos chose option (c) - do something remarkable. Not only did Zappos go the extra mile and schedule a UPS pickup for the customer and notify her just to leave the shoes outside her door and UPS would take care of it for her, but they even sent her flowers as well. The result? a) The customer wrote about it in her blog; b) She got over 100 comments from others echoing her experience. Lots of other blogged about it; c)The ROI on the UPS pickup fee and the flowers is probably 10,000 times the cost.

Expectations Do what you say you will When you say you will How you say you will At the price you promised Reward go customers Go the extra mile "I appreciate your business."

Expectations Reliability – deliver what is promised in a dependable & accurate way Responsiveness – respond to your customers; do it quickly and professionally Assurance – know what you are doing Empathy – do it with respect & understanding

What’s Important? Reliability is the most important thing in meeting customer expectations. Assurance, Responsiveness and Empathy are most important in exceeding customer expectations.

Find Out What Your Customers Want Communications play an important role in customer satisfaction. Investigate what they want and how they see you. Do periodic reviews of your customers' satisfaction and make sure to give them feedback.

Educate Your Customers Make sure that customers are aware and understand your policies regarding returns, refunds, gift certificates and warranties before they buy the product.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive Things do wrong. A good strategy is to have a structured complaint management system that will deal with customer complaints effectively, efficiently and promptly.

Customer Service? Customer Satisfaction? Customer service is provider-defined rather than customer-defined. Customer satisfaction must always be defined by the customer. Customers are satisfied when their expectations, not yours, are met or exceeded.

Legal Responsibilities The three main laws in Bermuda that govern businesses and service providers in how they conduct business with consumers are the;  Consumer Protection Act 1999  Sale of Goods Act 1978 (as amended in 2002)  Supply of Services Act 2003

The Consumer Protection Act 1999 The Consumer Protection Act 1999 protects consumers from unfair business practices, unconscionable acts and unsafe consumer goods; Violation of the Act can impose a maximum of $15,000 fine and/or imprisonment for up to 12 months.

Sale of Goods Act 1978 (as amended 2002) Whenever goods are bought they must conform to contract (in other words, they should meet the standards that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory); It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract; If goods do not conform to contract at the time of sale (i.e. are faulty), purchasers can request their money back ‘within a reasonable time’. (This is unspecified and will depend on circumstances); If a part of the goods does not conform to contract, then the consumer can reject those goods that do not conform and keep those that do, and thus be entitled to compensation for those goods that don’t.

Supply of Services Act 2003 Services supplied on the island should be… o Done with reasonable care and skill; o Carried out within a reasonable time; o Completed for a reasonable charge.

Remedies If a customer justifiably believes reasonable care and skill has not been done, the work must be put right at NO EXTRA COST to the customer. If you charge a customer more for the service than was agreed, the customer is only obliged to pay the price you quoted them. If no price was agreed, they must pay you a reasonable price. If you do not complete the work by an agreed deadline then you are in breach of contract. The customer can claim compensation for ANY losses.