Page 222 - DMGT553_RETAIL_STORE_MANAGEMENT

Unit 12: The Customer Service Desk

Notes
This Case Study shows how
Homebase, one of this
country’s best known retail
chains, places customer
service at the heart of its
values, demonstrating
practical examples of how customer service can be applied to the benefit of shoppers.
Homebase became part of Argos Retail Group (ARG) in November 2002. Homebase is
No. 2 DIY retailer in the UK. It serves 1.5 million customers weekly in nearly 300 stores
countrywide. For more than two decades, consumers – and businesses – have trusted
Argos and Homebase to provide consistently top-quality products at competitive prices.
Today, Homebase offers more than DIY; it is a contemporary home and lifestyle store.
Customers can choose from thousands of products. There is everything you would expect
and more – for example, practical yet stylish furniture and exclusive, designer-led product
lines such as the Linda Barker range of bed linen and wallpapers.
The acquisition of Homebase was an important step for ARG as part of an overall strategy
of growing the business, including building up a bigger customer base through customer
service.
Culture

The culture of an organisation is the way that it and its people behave. For example, when
you enter a Homebase store you should immediately be able to get a feel for this culture
because the people who work there as they create a warm and friendly atmosphere. This
is not surprising because Homebase has deliberately created a customer focused culture.
The culture of an organisation is strongly influenced by senior managers. The culture
developed, is shaped by their attitudes and the systems and patterns of behaviour that
they encourage. When ARG took over Homebase it focussed on developing a senior
management team with the capability to deliver a customer facing culture.

Customer Service
(the business objective)

Actions of Homebase’s employees –
designed to maximise customer satisfaction

Homebase’s business objectives place great importance on providing customer service.
The actions of staff are then aligned (put into line) with meeting this objective by providing
customers with the best possible shopping experience.
An organisation needs to set out and communicate a set of values for its people, so they
know what to do and how to act. Homebase’s values are:

We put the customer first.
We succeed through teamwork.
We make it easy.

I make a difference.
Contd....

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