home › Inheritance and donation › After-sales customer service in the bank. After-sales service. Goods distribution scheme

After-sales customer service in the bank. After-sales service. Goods distribution scheme

After-sales service- a set of trading services that ensure the preservation of goods by the consumer in the process of their delivery, storage, operation and use. The purpose of these services is to create a positive after-sales attitude of consumers towards the product and the manufacturer and / or seller at the expense of

Chapter 7

After-sales service

Better satisfaction of needs in the use or operation of goods due to the long-term preservation of functionality, safety and other consumer properties that are significant to the consumer.

After-sales service includes the following operations: delivery of goods, installation (assembly), commissioning and Maintenance complex technical goods, cutting fabrics, fitting and altering ready-made clothes, warranty repair, replacement or acceptance of low-quality goods with hidden or obvious defects, as well as high-quality goods that did not suit the buyer for certain reasons and are subject to return in accordance with the Federal Law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights" ". These operations have a different impact on ensuring the quantity and quality of goods.

Goods delivery- trade service for the transportation of purchased goods to the address specified by the consumer. Its purpose is to ensure the preservation of goods during transportation. To do this, goods are either additionally packaged in shipping containers, or special devices, vehicles and workers trained for this purpose are used.

When delivering goods transport organizations are responsible for the preservation of goods during loading and unloading operations and on the way, and the seller - for the release of goods of proper quality, quantity and completeness.

Delivery of goods can be carried out from the manufacturer to intermediaries (wholesalers or retailers) or directly to end consumers. During transportation, goods are stored regardless of the time of transportation, so the conditions and terms of delivery must comply with the conditions and terms of storage of specific goods. Transportation of goods is not allowed if the delivery time is longer than the expiration date.

Installation (assembly), adjustment of complex technical goods, cutting of fabrics, fitting and alteration of finished clothes- trading services that form new or changed consumer properties of goods that more fully meet the real needs of buyers.

During installation and adjustment, household appliances, prefabricated furniture, etc. acquire the ability to perform a functional purpose. So, automatic type washing machines cannot be used without connecting

to the electricity, water and sewer systems. Adjustment or alteration of clothing provides the consumer with the necessary ergonomic and aesthetic properties of the product, taking into account his requests.

Maintenance- a set of services provided by the seller or special service organizations and designed to preserve and / or restore the quality of goods during their operation.

The list of such services depends on the characteristics of complex technical goods. Thus, car maintenance includes the following services: painting, installation of wheels, anti-theft agents, wheel balancing, etc.

Warranty repair-- a service provided to the consumer by the manufacturer and / or the seller, and / or special service organizations to restore the functionality of repairable goods for which the manufacturer's (or supplier's) warranties are established.

Consequently, the main purpose of warranty repair is to restore the quality of consumer goods that have partially lost it within the established warranty periods.

If the detected defects related to the gradation of critical and unrecoverable occurred through the fault of the manufacturer or the seller, then the goods are subject to acceptance with its subsequent replacement with a similar one for its intended purpose. If there is no analogue product or the consumer refuses to replace the delivered low-quality product, the manufacturer or seller is obliged to return the purchase amount, taking into account price indexation.

The specified service - acceptance of low-quality goods does not affect the quality and quantity of goods, therefore, does not apply to factors that form or maintain quality. However, in the course of providing this service, a commodity assessment of low-quality goods is extremely important in order to identify the causes of the detected defects and present claims to the persons responsible for their appearance.

In case of refusal to accept low-quality goods, the merchandiser must expertly argue his decision and bring it to the attention of the consumer, and, if necessary, to government agencies or public organizations involved in the protection of consumer rights.

212 Chapter 7 Ensuring the quality and quantity of goods

Consumption

Consumption - a set of operations that ensure the use of goods for a functional and / or social purpose.

There are two types of consumption of goods: short-term with a complete or partial loss of goods and long-term without visible signs of loss of goods for a sufficiently long period.

Short term consumption With total or partial loss of goods typical for all food products, perfumes and cosmetics, household chemicals, pharmaceuticals. These goods, according to the nature of use, are divided into goods for internal or external human consumption.

The first group includes all food products, some medicines, as well as tobacco products. They are characterized by the fact that the components that make up their composition have a fairly high degree of assimilation. Therefore, safety is extremely important to them. Indigestible substances, along with other waste products, are excreted from the body.

The second group of goods for external human consumption is represented by perfumes and cosmetics, as well as some medicines. The safety of these goods is also important, but less than the goods of the first group. So, pharmacopoeial alcohol, suitable for external use, cannot be used as food. There are known cases of poisoning when using it as a food product.

Short-term consumption of goods may alternate with periods of more or less long-term storage if the goods are only partially lost during use. For example, food products bought for the future can be consumed in parts, and the rest of the mass can be stored until it is completely used. Perfumery and cosmetic products are also used in small portions (perfumes, creams, soaps, shampoos, varnishes), and the rest of the time they are stored. At the same time, goods may undergo significant changes that worsen their quality. In some cases, there is a complete loss of the most important consumer properties, including safety.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that when storing partially consumed goods at home, it is extremely difficult to create optimal conditions. Relatively close to them are the conditions created by domestic cold

Consumption

dilniks, but even in them it is impossible to provide a stable climate regime. The features of the mode in home refrigerators are significant temperature drops - from 0 ° C to freezer up to 5°C on the lower shelves, reduced RH, frequent temperature changes due to door opening, lack of forced air exchange. In addition, perishable products that are sometimes incompatible with each other are often stored in a home refrigerator.

Even more unfavourable conditions stack when storing goods with a limited shelf life at room temperature. As a result, the shelf life of goods is reduced and their good quality may be lost.

In connection with the foregoing, it becomes clear how necessary the consumer is for information about the possible expiration dates of goods at home.

Thus, the first type of consumption can be characterized as a single partial or full use of the goods, followed by storage of the remainder.

The second type of long-term and repeated consumption without visible signs of loss of goods commonly called exploitation.

During operation, the goods are used for their intended purpose, while visible signs of their partial loss are most often not detected. However, each period of operation is necessarily associated with the loss of certain resources of goods. For example, clothes and shoes wear out, individual parts wear out in household appliances, and resources for their operation are developed.

Operation is typical for many product groups food products long-term use. A feature of this stage of the technological cycle of the goods are two stages:

work - for example, wearing clothes, shoes, work of household appliances, etc.;

non-working - rest and storage. For last stage characterized by partial recovery (relaxation) of consumed resources, which increases the durability of the products in use.

Thus, operation is a stage of the technological cycle, characterized by the alternation of working stages with the stages of rest and storage, which affects the quality of the goods at the consumer.

Chapter 7

The persistence of consumer properties of goods during operation is expressed through their durability, the indicators of which are the service life. In some cases, for household appliances the operational documents indicate the maximum duration of continuous operation and the duration of the rest stage when the devices are inoperative.

Durability is significantly affected by the duration of the working and non-working stages. The longer the duration of the working stage and the loads experienced by the product, the lower the durability and reliability of the goods.

Important for ensuring the quality and quantity of goods at the stage of consumption is the observance by the consumer of the conditions for the use of the product for its intended purpose, of which he must be informed.

Commodity losses

At various stages of the technological cycle of commodity circulation, there are various losses of raw materials, semi-finished products, energy carriers, finished products and then goods. These losses can be measured in kind and monetary terms, depending on what are divided into two groups - commodity and material.

Commodity losses- losses caused by partial or complete loss of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the goods in physical terms.

Material losses- losses caused by partial or complete loss of value characteristics in monetary terms.

These two groups of losses are interrelated, but commodity losses are primary, and material - - secondary, consequence commodity losses.

The objects of merchandising are only commodity losses, and those that are caused by the processes occurring during storage and pre-sales processing of goods. Commodity science does not consider commodity losses due to subjective reasons (theft, incorrect accounting, etc.). This part of commodity losses, as well as all material losses, are subject to accounting and administrative law.

Commodity losses are divided according to the type of lost characteristics of the goods into two subgroups - quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative (normalized) losses

quantitative losses- reduction of mass, volume, length and other quantitative characteristics of goods.

The losses of this subgroup are caused by natural processes inherent in a particular product that occur during storage and commodity processing. Therefore, in a number of regulatory documents they are also called natural, and in the order of write-off - normalized.

Quantitative or natural losses are inevitable. They can be reduced or changed the place of their occurrence by purposefully regulating the factors of the external or internal environment of the product, but it is impossible to eliminate completely. This explains the establishment of norms of natural losses.

Quantitative losses, depending on the causes of occurrence, are divided into two types - natural decline and pre-sale losses (Fig. 21).

Natural decline- quantitative losses caused by processes that are inherent in goods and occur during their transportation and storage.

Causes of occurrence natural loss the following processes serve: evaporation of water or shrinkage; spray (disease, spray); bottling (smearing); volatilization of substances; imbibing the liquid fraction of the food product into the package; breathing (only for goods that are living objects); breakage of glass or crushing of polymer containers.

Let's take a closer look stated reasons occurrence of natural loss.

Shrinkage- one of the main reasons for the natural loss of consumer goods containing water, even in small quantities. This process causes 50-100% of all natural loss. Shrinkage occurs even if the product is hermetically sealed (canned food, drinks, etc.). Another thing is that the evaporated water is not lost to the environment, but remains in the part of the container free from the product. Both packaged and piece goods dry out, but the norms of natural loss do not apply to them, therefore the consumer actually pays for the natural loss of these goods. Shrinkage causes a natural loss of not only food, but also non-food products. These processes are practically the only ones that cause the natural loss of both meat, fish, dairy and confectionery products during storage, as well as fabrics, leather, creams, etc.

Chapter 7 Ensuring the quality and quantity of goods

Commodity losses - types, write-off procedure

Rice. 21. Classification of commodity losses

The more water in the product, the lower its water-holding capacity and the less reliable packaging, the higher the natural loss due to shrinkage.

Spray(utruska, spraying) is characteristic only of finely ground products and occurs due to the removal of part of the product in the form of light dust particles during repacking, packaging and weighing, as well as due to the adhesion of particles to the walls of the container. Utruska is most typical for flour, starch, powdered sugar and sand, table salt, cereals, powdered products (powdered milk, bulk concentrates, washing powders, chalk, cement, etc.).

Bottling (smearing)- quantitative losses of liquid and viscous, ointment-like products due to the adhesion of particles to the walls of the container, as well as to auxiliary media;

stvam to move goods from one type of container to another. This process causes the loss of drinks, honey, paints, drying oil, etc.

Volatilization of substances- quantitative losses of goods due to the transfer of part of the volatile substances into the environment. The greatest losses due to volatilization of substances are observed in alcoholic beverages (volatilization of ethyl alcohol), perfumery and cosmetic products (alcohol, aromatic substances), paints and drying oils.

Absorption of the liquid fraction of the product into the packaging characteristic of goods containing easily mobile water or fat fraction, while not only reducing the mass, but also changing other consumer properties of goods. Products for the natural loss of which this process is essential include pickled vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers, etc.), salted fish, flour confectionery, halvah, chilled meat, fish, etc.

Breath- the biological process of the breakdown of energy substances and the release of energy, partially used to ensure the vital activity of living objects (fresh fruits and vegetables, flour, unsteamed cereals, eggs, live fish). Losses due to respiration account for 10-50% of all natural loss of food products. This process is unusual for most non-food products.

Fight of glass containers it is standardized only for alcoholic, low-alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks, perfumes and cosmetics, drying oils in glass containers, as well as dishes, mirrors, etc. Breakage of glass containers occurs due to the impact of dynamic and static loads that exceed its mechanical strength. For other types of containers, including plastic bottles, losses from breaking and crushing are not standardized, although cases of their crushing are quite common.

Presale commodity losses, or waste, cause processes (operations) associated with the preparation of goods for sale. These losses are liquid and illiquid. Waste includes:

removal of low-value parts of the product that can be sold at a lower price or sent for industrial processing fabrics;

218 Chapter 7 Ensuring the quality and quantity of goods

The separation of the component parts of the product that do not have its functional purpose or have lost it. Thus, non-liquid waste occurs due to packaging and dressing materials, removal of containers, filling liquids, rejection of specimens with critical irreparable defects - decay, mold, etc.;

crumbling of goods during division into parts (chopping meat, cutting cheeses, smoked meats, etc.) or during transportation, storage, weighing (biscuits, crackers, pasta, halva, etc.);

separation from the bulk of the product of its constituent components - water, fats and others (separation of broth from boiled sausages, buttermilk - from butter, cheese whey - from cheeses, glaze sprinkling - from gingerbread, sweets, paraffin - from cheese heads and other protective shells ).

Qualitative (activated) losses

Unlike quantitative, qualitative losses are written off not according to the norms, but according to the acts, therefore they are also called activated.

Quality loss- losses caused by microbiological, biological, biochemical, chemical, physical and physico-chemical processes. The list of these process groups is ranked in descending order according to their importance.

Microbiological processes cause damage to goods, significantly reduce their quality, make it impossible to use them for their intended purpose, or reduce reliability. Food spoilage occurs due to different kind fermentation (butyric, propionic, alcohol, acetic, lactic acid), decay, mucus, mold, development of toxic bacterioses (botulinum, salmonellosis, etc.). For non-food products (fabrics, leather, furs and products from them), only mold is characteristic.

Microbiological processes are one of the causes of biodamages.

Biological processes- damage (processes) caused by insects: moth (clothes, fruit, barn, etc.), beetles (hrushchak, weevil, etc.), caterpillars (codling moth apple, plum, walnut), larvae (moths, wireworms, flies cheese, chocolate, carrot).

Commodity losses - types, write-off procedure

During storage, mouse-like rodents cause significant damage to consumer goods, which eat and contaminate not only food products, but also damage furs, leather, fabrics and products made from them.

Biochemical processes are characteristic mainly of food products, as well as non-food products that are biological objects (for example, fresh flowers and animals). They occur with the participation of various enzymes.

Violation of the natural course of these processes can cause various physiological disorders, which ultimately can lead to the death of biological objects. As a result, their further use for their intended purpose becomes impossible.

The most common biochemical process, the violation of which can lead to death, is breathing. In fresh fruits and vegetables, respiratory failure causes anaerobiosis (suffocation), in grain, flour and cereals - self-heating and even spontaneous combustion, in flowers and animals - death due to anaerobiosis.

Chemical processes lead to deterioration of goods due to changes in substances. For example, rancidity of fat in fat-containing products - flour, cereals, nuts, flour confectionery, butter, margarine products, animal fats, meat and fish products, cosmetic products (creams, lotions, etc.), darkening of dried fruits and vegetables, canned food, etc.; oxidation of aromatic substances, which worsens the aroma of perfumery and cosmetic products.

Physical and physico-chemical processes due to mechanical damage or deformation of the goods. These include: deformation of bakery products, crushing fruits and vegetables, complete crumbling confectionery, egg fight, severe deformation, fight, chipping of enamel on dishes, deformation or destruction of individual component parts of household appliances, deformation of goods packaging household chemicals etc.

Physical processes also include shrinkage, which causes wilting and drying out of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh flowers, cheeses, meat, sausages, fish, including frozen, dried, etc. Shrinkage of some goods provokes physical and chemical processes, as a result of which goods become of poor quality. For example, shrinkage of bread accelerates its staleness.

Chapter 7 Ensuring quality and quantity

Commodity losses - types, write-off procedure

The procedure for writing off quantitative and qualitative losses

As noted above, quantitative, or natural, losses are normalized and written off on the basis of approved norms, and qualitative losses - to actuated and written off on the basis of acts. For many food and non-food products, norms of natural losses have been established.

The norms of natural wastage of food products were approved by order of the USSR Ministry of Trade and the USSR Ministry of Finance No. 88 of April 2, 1987. In 1996, their validity was extended (Appendix - Letter of Roskomtorg and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of April 11, 1996 No. 1-458 / 32-5)1 .

The procedure for writing off natural losses is determined by the Methodological Recommendations for accounting costs included in distribution and production costs, and financial results at trade and public catering enterprises approved by Roskomtorg and the Ministry of Finance (Order of Roskomtorg dated April 20, 1995 No. 1-550 / 32-2).

According to clause 2.13 of these recommendations, the article “Losses of goods and technological waste” reflects: losses of goods and products during rail, water, air, road and horse-drawn transportation, storage and sale within the limits of the current norms of natural loss, approved in the prescribed manner.

The approved norms of natural loss during the transportation, storage and sale of goods and products are limiting. Write-off of goods and products within the limits of natural wastage is carried out in cases where an actual shortage is revealed during acceptance or inventory.

In order to evenly reflect future expenses in the costs of distribution and production at refrigerators, cold storage facilities, depots of vegetable and food products, trading enterprises with warehouses, a reserve is accrued monthly for writing off the natural loss of goods within the limits of the current norms of natural loss:

standardized waste generated during preparation for retail sausages, smoked meats and fish in net weight (weight);

losses from stripping butter, crumbling caramel and refined sugar.

1 Currently, the procedure for reducing natural losses is being reviewed.

The norms of technological waste are approved by the Committee Russian Federation for Trade (since 1996 - Ministry foreign economic relations and trade).

This article also covers:

losses from shortages and losses from damage to goods, products and raw materials in excess of the norms of natural loss in cases where specific perpetrators have not been identified;

losses from writing off debts due to shortages of inventory items, Money and other property, the recovery of which was denied by the court due to the groundlessness of the claims.

Losses and shortages of goods and products are reflected
on this article at purchase prices. *

The basis for writing off losses from shortages, damage in excess of the norms of natural loss, when the perpetrators are not identified or the recovery of which is denied by the court, is a reasonable conclusion approved by the head of the trade enterprise.

The documents submitted for registration of write-offs of shortages and damage to valuables in excess of the norms of natural loss must contain decisions of the investigating or judicial authorities confirming the absence of the perpetrators, or refusal to recover damages from the perpetrators, or a conclusion on the fact of damage to valuables received from the relevant specialized organizations (quality inspections, etc.).

The norms of technological waste of food raw materials in public catering are approved by Roskomtorg and are given in the Collection of recipes for dishes and culinary products for enterprises Catering(edition 1994 and 1996).

Normalized technological waste occurs during the preparation of food raw materials for cooking. They are also inevitable and belong to the natural.

Activated quality losses are written off at the expense of the profit of the trade organization, and normalized natural losses - at the expense of distribution or production costs.

Measures to prevent and reduce losses

These measures are divided into organizational, technological and informational.

Organizational arrangements aimed at identifying the causes of losses in order to prevent them or

8 M. A. Nikolaeva

Chapter 7 Ensuring the quality and quantity of goods

Commodity losses - types, write-off procedure

Reductions. They can be preventive or ongoing.

Preventive measures are associated with acceptance quality control, which, already at the first stage of placing goods for storage, makes it possible to predict their shelf life, possible shelf life, regardless of whether or not there are expiration dates for specific goods.

Organizational current measures include measures to ensure the timely delivery of goods on time, moral and material incentives for employees to reduce losses, as well as the current procedure for accounting and write-off, forms of responsibility for the preservation of goods.

Technological measures- measures to take into account the factors of the internal environment - and the regulation of factors external environment to prevent or reduce product losses.

The classification of internal and external factors influencing losses is shown in fig. 22.

Internal factors due to the chemical composition and structure (structure) of consumer goods. All substances of chemical composition according to the effect on losses can be divided into two groups:

substances that increase losses;

substances that reduce losses.

Substances that increase losses. Of the first group of substances, water and volatile substances have the greatest influence on quality losses. When they evaporate or volatilize, the mass of the product is lost. In addition, the quality of the goods deteriorates, up to the loss of good quality or functionality.

To prevent the loss of water and aromatic substances, hermetic packaging is used (canned food, perfumery products, etc.). To slow down the shrinkage of goods in non-hermetic packaging, it is recommended to store at low temperatures and high relative humidity. Increased humidity is achieved when goods are stored in polymer packages that limit air exchange. At the same time, the evaporating moisture partially remains in the package, due to which a microclimate with high humidity is created.

Please note that not all products can be stored in plastic bags, as high humidity can cause microbiological spoilage through mold and contamination.

Rice. 22. Classification of internal and external factors affecting losses

The magnitude of quality losses can also be affected by structural changes in substances, hydrolysis of proteins, starch, etc., which cause changes in organoleptic properties (softening of pickled vegetables, stale bread, puffiness of apples, etc.), and sometimes loss of safety (deep hydrolysis of proteins to amines and amides, some of which are poisonous).

Substances that reduce losses. This group is represented by substances that reduce losses. These include substances with water-retaining capacity (proteins, starch, pectins, etc.) or bactericidal properties (polyphenols, organic acids, fatty oils, glycosides, etc.). The latter prevent microbiological spoilage of goods and reduce the loss of their quality.

Product structure. Of no small importance for the amount of losses is the structure (structure) of consumer goods. So, many processes that cause natural loss are due precisely to the structure of the goods (spray - goods with a finely ground structure, bottling - liquid and viscous, etc.).

Chapter 7. Ensuring the quality and quantity of goods

Commodity losses - types, write-off procedure

Pre-sales losses are entirely determined by the structure of the goods. Since the value of its individual parts is unequal, parts of the product that are of little value or unsuitable for their intended use are removed.

The structure of goods, their mechanical properties significantly affect the crumbling of goods during cutting, chopping and other operations related to the division of the whole into parts.

External factors - a set of environmental influences, as well as means of protection against it, affecting the size of losses. These are conditions, terms of storage (or transportation), packaging and operations of pre-sale commodity processing.

These external factors, which preserve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of goods, have the most significant impact on the amount of losses in trade and public catering organizations.

At the commodity stage, internal factors can only be taken into account, since they are formed at the pre-commodity stages of the technological cycle of commodity circulation. External factors(or environmental factors) in the process of transportation, storage and commodity processing are regulated. The methods of their regulation are discussed earlier on p. 185-191.

Information measures- measures to provide the working personnel with the necessary information about the rules, norms and requirements established by regulatory and technological documents that make it possible to prevent or reduce product losses.

To regulatory documents, regulating the norms and rules of storage, include product standards (general technical conditions, sections "Packaging", "Storage"), storage methods, as well as SanPiNs and norms of natural loss.

Technological documents are presented with instructions for the storage of goods of certain assortment groups, as well as instructions for writing off attrition rates. In addition, the conditions and terms of transportation are established in the Rules for the carriage of goods or the codes of the relevant transport authorities.

The information carrier is also special commodity and technological literature on storage issues.

An important role in information support of working personnel are vocational training, retraining and advanced training.

Thus, measures to prevent or reduce losses should be comprehensive, due to the complexity and importance of the problem of commodity losses, which is of current national economic importance.

. The national economic significance of the problem of preventing and reducing losses due to a number of reasons.

1. The solution to this problem, even partial, is interconnected
but on the other global problem- rational use
use of natural resources. For the production of goods
moat, which can then be lost for consumption
in accordance with the purpose, land is used,
energy, labor and other resources. Decline then
cooking losses by 10-20% allows you to save up to 40-^ 60%
natural resources.

2. Loss of goods, regardless of the place of their occurrence
niya (manufacturer, seller or consumer) apply
great economic damage, not only legal or
individuals whose fault these losses occurred,
but also to society as a whole.

To maintain consumption at the proper level, it is necessary to increase the production of goods to replace those lost. If for some reason it is impossible to increase production, then consumption decreases, there is an increased demand and prices rise.

3. Commodity losses are integral part from
production or distribution costs, so they can
affect price increases. On the other hand, price increases
reduces the competitiveness of goods, even if other
some competitiveness criteria remain the same
him level. Reducing the competitiveness of goods
inevitably entails a decrease in demand and a slowdown in
sale. If the firm allocates losses to profits,
rather than distribution costs, then profitability decreases
enterprises.

Thus, commodity losses worsen the results of the financial and economic activities of an organization that produces or sells goods. Therefore, it is extremely important for each organization to develop a set of measures to prevent or reduce product losses, taking into account the factors of the internal and external environment of goods.

Similar information.

Pre-sale service involves preparing the goods for purchase and operation and making it as easy as possible for the sales staff to sell it, and for the buyer to purchase it. The various types of elementary services that make up pre-sales services can be grouped into two main activities:

Informing clients is an important activity that consists in the collection and dissemination of technical and economic information related to the promotion of goods on the market, including information on the features of operation and repair. Services such as equipment demonstrations and especially consumer education are also essential. For enterprises that use the latest technology, user training is an essential part of maintenance, without which the full functionality of the product cannot be realized.

Preparation for operation includes activities to help the customer purchase a fully functioning product, adapt it to the existing work environment, and then put it into service correctly.

Each of listed species has its own strategy and is associated with other activities, resulting in a range of new services that form a kind of ordered set called pre-sales mixed service.

Types of after-sales service

After-sales service has often been associated with equipment failure, so much so that it has been labeled a "necessary evil" after all. However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that improving the quality of products in no way leads to a decrease in the role of service and, in particular, in the after-sales period. On the contrary, it is precisely thanks to the simultaneous deployment of activities in two directions (improving the quality of products and the level of its service) that the most highly efficient enterprises manage to put into practice the thesis of "total (general) quality management" - TQM.

As noted earlier, after-sales service is divided into warranty and post-warranty. However, some types of after-sales service are called Maintenance(THEN). As a rule, these are various kinds of inspections, repairs, checks in the necessary combinations, determined by the time that has passed since the start of operation of the product and / or the last maintenance of this type. Maintenance is a source of significant permanent income in the most technically equipped industries and transport. In terms of profitability, maintenance can even surpass the trade in the equipment itself. The provision of aftermarket services for durable household goods also generates income for businesses and retailers. However, the expansion of warranties, which have become widespread in the US automotive industry, is forcing manufacturers to provide significant expenses for current repairs, including them in the sale price of equipment. On the contrary, the development of maintenance contracts at predetermined rates allows enterprises to secure regular income for the duration of the relationship between the customer and the supplier.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

After-sales strategy

The company should develop a strategy for after-sales service for products (eg maintenance, repair, staff training). Most firms create departments for customer service, but the tasks that are assigned to them can vary significantly. On the one hand, such departments simply distribute customer calls to specific employees or departments, without monitoring the fulfillment of customer requirements. On the other hand, they take orders, suggestions and even consumer complaints and monitor their implementation.

Stages of the after-sales service strategy

Most companies consistently move to different stages of service promotion as they expand their market share. The first stage is the organization of customer service departments. Companies need to be informed about problems that arise when using their products. Usually, the management organizes its own repair service, believing that the training of dealer personnel is too expensive and time consuming. In addition, it is soon discovered that the company has the opportunity to make good money on the sale of spare parts and repairs. Taking advantage of the fact that the company is the only supplier of spare parts for its equipment, it practices underpricing for the main equipment, compensating for this high cost spare parts and service.

Over time, manufacturers outsource most of the after-sales service and repair official distributors and dealers, concentrating on the production of spare parts. Intermediaries communicate directly with consumers and offer, if not better, then faster service.

The next stage is the emergence of service firms. In the US, more than 40% of car maintenance work is performed not by authorized dealers, but by independent service stations or networks such as MidasMuffler, Saersvi. S. Penney. Independent organizations have emerged to serve users of computers, telecommunications, and other equipment, typically offering lower prices and/or faster service than manufacturers or authorized dealers.

Finally, some large customers take on the responsibility of maintaining and repairing their own equipment. For example, a company with several hundred personal computers, printers, and networking equipment may find it cheaper to have its own maintenance staff. Such companies usually require significant discounts from manufacturers, since they service the equipment themselves. Marketers note the following main trends in the development of after-sales service:

1. Equipment manufacturers are creating more and more reliable, easily adaptable equipment to different conditions. One of the reasons for this progress is the replacement of electromechanical equipment with electronic equipment, which is less disruptive and more maintainable. In addition, companies are expanding the production of stand-alone and disposable equipment.
2. Today's consumers are well versed in after-sales service and require an individual approach. They want to pay separately for each item of service and choose their own service firms.
3. Consumers are increasingly reluctant to deal with service providers who service different types of equipment.
4. The feature of service contracts (also called extended warranties) is that the seller provides maintenance and repairs within a certain period of time at a price agreed in the contract. Increasing the use of disposable and never-failing equipment reduces the propensity of consumers to pay 2 to 10% of the purchase price for warranty service.
5. The number of services provided is growing rapidly, which reduces their prices and profits. Equipment manufacturers have to find new ways to profit from selling equipment at a price that does not include the cost of after-sales service.

The desire of the manufacturer to form and constantly expand the market for its product requires a developed service. In addition to the fact that in a competitive environment, a developed service is an important means of fighting for potential buyers, if it is well organized, it can be a significant source of income for the manufacturer.

Service is a set of services that are associated with the sale and operation of products. It assumes that the manufacturer certain conditions must take responsibility for ensuring the performance of its products throughout its life cycle. For certain types product service can be quite insignificant. For manufacturers of machines, equipment, complex

household appliances quality service is an essential part of the product policy. Services provided to the buyer in the sale of goods may be different and depend on the type of product, but they can be divided into pre-sales and after-sales.

The pre-sale service is always free and aims to attract the buyer, facilitate the purchase process, prepare the product, and teach the rules for handling it. Pre-sales service may include the following operations:

preparation of goods for sale and giving it a presentation;

adjustment, regulation and bringing the parameters to the required level;

elimination of minor damage to the goods received during transportation and storage;

demonstration of the product in action and training in the rules for handling it;

small adjustment of clothes in size;

food tasting, etc.

Thus, as a result of pre-sale services, the buyer is shown the “goods in person”, and the result largely depends on how this is done.

After-sales service includes all services that are provided to the buyer from the moment of sale of the goods during the entire period of its operation, namely:

delivery, installation and preparation of the product for operation;

instructing the buyer and training him in the rules of operation;

sale of assistive devices and devices;

warranty and post-warranty service;

provision of spare units, assemblies and spare parts;

provision of similar equipment for the period of repair of the purchased one.

Some of these services are provided on a paid basis, and some are free. In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Protection of Consumer Rights" and the current civil legislation, the manufacturer is obliged to guarantee the uninterrupted operation of the sold goods for certain period. The warranty period can be from several months to several years. In accordance with this, after-sales service is divided into warranty and post-warranty.

Warranty service includes the entire list of works on which the uninterrupted operation of the sold products depends.

Warranty service is provided free of charge, although it is quite obvious that the real cost of the work performed, as well as spare parts and materials used, is already included in the sale price of the goods.

Post-warranty service is carried out for a fee on a contractual basis and includes the entire list of the above services. In other words, it differs from the warranty only in that it is performed on a paid basis.

In the process of organizing a service, the manufacturer determines the list of services provided and regulates their quality, as well as determines in what form and who will provide these services. Services can be provided by the service departments of the manufacturers themselves, sellers of goods, as well as special enterprises either under an agreement with the manufacturer before the expiration of the warranty period, or for payment by consumers after the expiration of the warranty period. Regardless of who provides services, the manufacturer must be responsible for their quality and provide the necessary assistance to all service departments.

Popular in category: