Customers’ services are services rendered free of charge by the seller to his customers in order to convince them to buy or to retain their patronage.
Customer services can be divided into two categories. They are:
- Pre-sales services
- After sales services
Pre-Sales Services:
These are services provided to the customers before the goods are bought. They include:
- Granting of credit or hire purchase sales facilities
- Sorting of goods
- Labeling of goods
- Pre-packaging the goods
- Dispatching of price list and quotation
- Blending the goods
- Granting of discounts
- Assisting the prospective buyer to set up facilities for storage.
After sales Services:
These are extra services sometimes made available to a customer sometimes made available to a customer after he has purchased the product in order to ensure his continuous patronage. These include:
- Home delivery i.e. Free transportation of goods to the home/shop of customer
- Free installation services
- Free servicing, repairs and maintenance
- Ensuring adequate / regular supply of spare parts
- Provision of free advice on use
- Granting guarantee/warrantee to the buyer