MAZ Certificate in Retail, Sales, and Marketing

Customer Service Excellence Module Assignment Questions

Section A (20 Marks)

1. What is the primary goal of customer service?

a) Increase profits

b) Resolve customer complaints

c) Improve product quality

d) Provide exceptional service and support

2. Which skill is essential for active listening during customer interactions?

a) Interrupting customers to offer quick solutions

b) Asking multiple questions simultaneously

c) Responding promptly without understanding the issue

d) Focusing on the customer’s words and emotions

3. How should customer complaints be handled?

a) Dismiss the complaint as insignificant

b) Listen actively, empathize, and offer a suitable solution

c) Blame the customer for the issue

d) Escalate the complaint to a supervisor immediately

4. What is the purpose of a knowledge base in customer service?

a) Store customer information for marketing purposes

b) Provide self-service resources for customers

c) Streamline internal communication between employees

d) Monitor customer behaviour on the company’s website

5. What is the best way to handle an angry customer?

a) Raise your voice to match theirs and assert dominance

b) Listen actively, show empathy, and remain calm

c) Ignore their complaints and let them cool down

d) Dismiss their concerns as unfounded

6. What is the best approach to handle a customer who wants a refund for a non-refundable
product?

a) Refuse the refund and end the conversation promptly

b) Offer alternative products of equal value

c) Explain the company’s refund policy and provide additional benefits or compensation

d) Suggest the customer contacts their bank for chargeback assistance

7. What is the purpose of establishing service level targets in customer service?

a) Increase the workload for customer service representatives

b) Set expectations for response and resolution times

c) Encourage customers to request additional services

d) Restrict customer access to support channels

8. What does it mean to “under promise and overdeliver” in customer service?

a) Set low expectations and exceed them to impress customers

b) Make unrealistic promises to win customer loyalty

c) Avoid making any promises to customers

d) Provide subpar service to meet expectations

9. Which of the following is an example of proactive customer service?

a) Waiting for customers to contact support before offering assistance

b) Sending personalized follow-up emails after resolving customer issues

c) Placing customers on hold for extended periods of time

d) Providing limited support options on the company website

10. How can customer service representatives handle confidential customer information?

a) Share customer information with colleagues for better service collaboration

b) Store customer information in an unsecured location for easy access

c) Follow data protection guidelines and ensure customer privacy

d) Disclose customer information to third parties for marketing purposes

11. Which skill is crucial for effective written communication in customer service?

a) Using complex technical jargon to impress customers

b) Ignoring grammar and spelling errors for quicker responses

c) Using clear and concise language to convey information

d) Including personal opinions and biases in written responses

12. How can customer service representatives display empathy towards customers?

a) Ignore or downplay customer emotions

b) Offer sincere apologies for any inconveniences

c) Blame the customer for the issues they are facing

d) Provide robotic and scripted responses

13. What is the purpose of providing self-service options to customers?

a) Reduce the workload for customer service representatives

b) Avoid any human interaction with customers

c) Increase response and resolution times for issues

d) Discourage customers from seeking support

14. What is the role of feedback in improving customer service?

a) Ignoring customer feedback to maintain the status quo

b) Implementing necessary changes based on customer feedback

c) Discouraging customers from providing feedback to avoid criticism

d) Dismissing all customer feedback as irrelevant

15. How can customer service representatives demonstrate professionalism?

a) Responding rudely and using offensive language

b) Ignoring customer inquiries and complaints

c) Maintaining a calm and respectful demeanour

d) Sharing personal opinions and biases with customers

16. What is the purpose of a customer service script?

a) Restricting the freedom of customer service representatives

b) Providing guidelines for consistent and accurate responses

c) Encouraging representatives to use robotic and impersonal language

d) Avoiding any direct interaction with customers

17. How can customer service representatives handle difficult customers?

a) Argue with the customers to prove their point

b) Transfer the customers to another department without notice

c) Remain calm, empathize, and offer solutions to resolve issues

d) Hang up the call or end the conversation abruptly

18. What is the importance of product knowledge in customer service?

a) It allows representatives to avoid customer inquiries about products

b) It helps representatives upsell and cross-sell additional products

c) It enables representatives to provide accurate information and support

d) It encourages representatives to make up information to impress customers

19. What is the role of customer service in building customer loyalty?

a) Ignoring customer needs and concerns to save time

b) Providing inconsistent and unreliable support

c) Offering exceptional service and personalized experiences

d) Avoiding any direct interaction with customers

20. How can customer service representatives handle a high volume of customer inquiries?

a) Ignore customer inquiries to focus on other tasks

b) Prioritize urgent inquiries and respond promptly

c) Respond with generic and pre-written responses

d) Redirect all inquiries to a single representative

Section B (40)
1. A complaining customer is...always the customer! What does this statement mean? (5)

Yes, speaking customer's language means getting into customers shoes and understand the issue
from customer's perspective and then give the right solution.

The short answer is no, but it’s important to remember that customer satisfaction is your ultimate
goal. The phrase ‘the customer is always right’ shouldn’t imply that the customer is never wrong.
Instead, your business should use this philosophy to ensure that the customer — and their needs
— are always your first priority.

2. Customers who complain are doing your business a favour. Can you qualify this statement.
(4)
Complaints provide easy feedback. They identify faulty products and challenge the
status quo. They also test internal systems and processes thus ultimately providing
the opportunity for service recovery.

check

3. How can you improve a dissatisfied customer's experience? (5)

To improve a dissatisfied customer's experience, you can:

Ensure that everyone understands the importance of keeping good relations with the customers.

Be prepared to make changes in policies and procedures whenever necessary.

Keep records on every complaint received and the corrective actions to avoid such complaints in
the future.

Establish a system to measure and analyse the level of customer satisfaction.

Let the customer voice their opinion and acknowledge their feedback.

4. Why are the values of professionalism, people-first and patience considered the 3
elements of customer service? (6)

The Three P’s of High-Quality Customer Service

To get an idea of why the three “P”s matter, first, let’s break down what they are. The first “P,”
professionalism, refers to the attitude you take towards your customers. Even when a customer is
upset or behaving immaturely, it’s up to you to diffuse the situation, if possible, and do what you
can to represent your brand in a positive light.
Three Ps Graphic for The 3 Important Qualities of Customer Service - Brittany Hodak

The second “P,” patience, means remembering that every customer is different. Even though there
are obviously some common “do”s and “don’t”s, each customer learns at a different pace and may
respond to a common practice in a way you didn’t expect. Consequently, providing high-quality
service means being creative and flexible.

Finally, the third “P,” a people-first attitude, builds off of professionalism and patience. With this
attitude in mind, your customer service strategy should reinforce the idea of human connection. In
other words, exceptional service means remembering that, even though cash is changing hands,
the money isn’t the most important part of the transaction. It’s the relationship you make with the
customer.

We’ll discuss each of these 3 important qualities of customer service below, in more detail. That
way, you won’t just know what you “should” do. You’ll also know how to confidently turn each
insight into action.

5. What must a company do to be considered customer service-oriented? (10)

What does it mean to be customer service orientated?

Being customer service orientated means having a positive attitude and being eager to help when
working with a customer. It also means demonstrating a willingness to provide the customer with
the best service possible. This might include things like:

 Listening to the customer to better understand their needs

 Understanding the available services and products and making recommendations
 Understanding the customer's rights and working to protect them
 Completing all necessary steps to improve the customer experience
 Proactively engaging with customers to understand their future needs
 Communicating with customers in a way that matches their needs
 Developing relationships with previous and future customers
 Continuing the development of certain skills to better help customers

A business that is customer service orientated focuses on the needs and wants of the customer
before the needs and wants of the business. This means that customer experience takes priority
over profit.

Characteristics of a customer service-orientated team

A customer service-orientated team possesses the following characteristics:

Understanding

Proactive

Communicative
Skilled in project management

Helpful

Ability to problem-solve

Dedication

Customer service-orientated employees are also dedicated. In addition to a dedication to the

customer, they are also dedicated to their company and its mission. This means that they are
always making recommendations to improve the company and the customer experience. They are
also always increasing their knowledge of the products or services that the company offers in order
to use this knowledge when interacting with the customer.

6. Elaborate on any 5 customer service techniques that you know. (10)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/
1ur8YKYsQzn_q0pBDhf3MCyYHb61ZSNRV/edit?
usp=sharing&ouid=103554960987664981450&rtpof=true&sd=true

Total Marks (60)

1. Nomatter
2. Ancakaria 51
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3. Divine 51
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4. Prince 54
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1IKgjIPV25WPqoxwrCFCa4_RkpLcFyLrp_u9XGy-la_A/edit?
usp=sharing
5. Joy 31
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1w5Qc0hJYk6LzU6U2TLvJR_CxMcQRhwzx4rUi-Ugut9A/edit?
usp=sharing
6. Sasha 43

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1BKAXD95NRRny3FXl9bvlnoCG1ajq1x3wEWML9E6Ypk4/edit?
usp=sharing
7. Simbarashe Dakwa 58

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1T9BCYndYYmIrtkAuOrNKjnbheGQ8axYtnIdQeDBlpS0/edit?
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8. Blessing Chijaka 59
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1GBwKWXcBHzcT8rxcVHbGP2yZiAyA-ta_ZFxY3PlTdIE/edit?
usp=sharing
9. Faith moyo50
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njldvwS_JaktAx0xVa55ib8QRiYI460X6de8nm5Tw/edit?
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10.Panashe 46
11. Rumbi Mafaka 35
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1IdHUo5FA0qF1XmRfxkFr40LR4M1XWvdulQyqX1n6PIc/edit?
usp=sharing
12. Causemore 50
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Mwkdiqc0qzS11LSpArHNX0hfMCjRwkocoK8/edit?usp=sharing
13. Danai 55
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1ny_XPyTJdGxxOvU1M8Sv2Szj_aaT87atpjzNr3hqiGw/edit?
usp=sharing

14. Jedidiah 49
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1B6qs9ZUW7U3GuD3jMVaDJ2SHpxotn1YHMIlL-NScXzg/edit?
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15. Taffy
16. Virginia 53
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1kB2xI1LFhZ_gKT_6ZsFzQURr95pfU_P1iB47eKotPpU/edit?
usp=sharing
17Shingisai 48
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1F9Wj0X3lO2kKOJ30ByEHIzEfjwG0mivnaX4NGmrl3OI/edit?
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18. Esther 55
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1BnwgmcbV_VTSGDizGlw5aT8YbSwgpzWWDXZbjyUHh-Q/edit?
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19. Yollanda 49
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nyYlvnvI3lsKkKGfHecOq86v07cE/edit?usp=sharing
20. Trudy 55
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cSQ-
tE7qKLCRlZWRyrYBrt0iaKL8Y0YxKXfQqjRteC4/edit?usp=sharing
21 Getrude Zimonte 52
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1GKpXw0FrHKYXiweP1gSRtiv930o_YuO0/edit?
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22 Charlene