Page 226 - DMGT522_SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Unit 10: Service Quality

companies, while also featuring Central Bazaar’s exclusive offers. Thus, when a customer Notes
calls up the call centre, he/she is given all the information, right from the product quantities
available, prices, offers and also the amount of money that the customer saves.
The call centre agents have all the knowledge about the product, i.e. the product features,
its quality, its uses, etc. Thus, they are in a position to inform the customers correctly about
the various aspects of the products that are being ordered. In case of any product not being
in stock, the call centre agents are immediately informed about it, so that they can suggest
alternative products to the customer. The order is delivered at the customer’s house at the
time convenient to the customer, free of cost. Not only does this process put the customer
at ease, it gives her the much-needed convenience as regards both of time and place.

The Processing of the Order: Once the order is confirmed and the customer decides the
time of delivery, the order is forwarded to the warehouse department. This department is
responsible for getting the order ready for dispatch. This department prepares a list of the
items in the product and gives it to a person who does the “shopping”. The warehouse is
very methodically designed. There are different markings for different racks for easy
identification of the items. So the “shopper” moves around the warehouse picking up the
items in the list. At the end, an invoice is prepared and the items are packed in totes and
then sealed.
Dispatch Operations: Once the list is given to the “shopper”, the orders are sorted according
to the area of delivery and by the time of delivery. Once the totes are packed and sealed, they
are arranged in the dispatch centre according to the different areas of delivery. The dispatch
centre is very well organised, by way of separate markings for different areas of delivery.
Central Bazaar has an efficient team of delivery vans and drivers at their disposal and also
a very efficient team of delivery boys. They are provided with proper training as to how
to deal with customers, the different modes of payment, and the different coupons
acceptable by Central Bazaar, etc. They are regularly evaluated on various parameters
like politeness towards the customer, cleanliness of merchandise and service delivery,
consent to keep the items, the ability to satisfactorily respond to the queries of the customers,
etc.
Delivery Operations: The orders are loaded in the vans according to the knowledge of the
drivers about the respective areas. This saves a considerable amount of time required to
search for the correct address. Thus the delivery reaches the customer’s house on time. The
mode of payment is either by cash or credit cards and that too only at the time of delivery.
The Advantages of Central Bazaar: The format had many apparent advantages:
For customers:
24x7: It was designed to be a genuine 24 hours, seven days-a-week shopping
experience. This gave the customers a unique option – especially those who did not
want to be tied to the commercial establishments’ framework. It was a promise of
genuine empowerment.

Impersonal: Shoppers, especially women, were embarrassed to ask the kirana store
keeper for personal hygiene products like sanitary napkins, contraceptives, and
inner wear. The Central Bazaar format of ordering on the phone or through the web
made it impersonal and avoided embarrassment for the shoppers.

Shopping Assistance: The call centre had agents who were trained to provide all
assistance to buyers. To help deal with any first time apprehensions, Central Bazaar
can also send a customer service agent to a customer’s house to help set up an online
shopping service facility that was fully customised to their individual needs.
Contd...

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