Author: Nzita-Mak, Gladys

Communication methods

Telephone
Via telephone, clients call in and request for some technical support expecting to receive advice and guidance to the problem that they are calling in for. As this communication method is available, this means that if a customer has a query on software that they have installed they are able to communicate via telephone with a member from the organisations’ call centre, which will then provide them with the best advice and guidance to solving their technical problem. This is an advantage because it means that instead of going online and finding solutions, or reading from a manual, the client is able to have a verbal conversation, which they can use to their advantage as they are able to explain their issues clearly. A disadvantage is that the client or technician cannot see the person they are talking to on the other line, meaning that they cannot see their body languages if the person is showing poor body language and bad attitude during the conversation.

Face-to-face communication
This communication technique allows the user to discuss their issues directly to a member of staff from the organisation, which means they can get direct feedback and maybe even demonstrations of how to solve their issues. An advantage and disadvantage could be that the technician that solves issues gets to see how the body language of their client unlike whilst on the telephone they wouldn’t have a clue if the helper is bothered with them, and by analysing it they to respond in a formal manner which shows that they care and are actually helping their clients.

Internet forums
An internet forum for an organisation would be a way that technicians are able to communicate directly to a clients, or in a group chat for clients with the same problem, being able to not only reach out to one client, but more than one. An advantage would be that they are able to answer queries for multiple clients at once, providing all sorts of advice and guidance to a large number of clients in the chatrooms. A disadvantage would be that this means they would have to hire technicians to deal with the online forums, costing the company money on new staff.

Email
Requests for solutions to a clients’ issue can be done by email. Clients are able to use this communication method to email in their issues in detail, and receive a response from technicians for the organisation aiding them. This can be an advantage as it means that the company are able to log these issues and solve them, respond to their clients and even post the issue on the FAQs they have for their clients if it becomes a frequent issue. For the customer it’ll be an advantage as they will receive detailed feedback on their issue hopefully solving it. It can also be a major disadvantage as it means that the customer would receive an automated response informing them that their request is being dealt with, meaning that the client would have to wait an amount of days just to get a response. Also it could be a disadvantage as they may not receive the solutions that they were asking for, and would have to again wait for some days to receive another response.

Letters
By communicating through the use of letters, clients can write down exactly what issues they are having thoroughly, and once received by the organisation, they can use the this method as a way to provide guidance and advice in a personal way, both providing help and ensuring that they care about their clients’ issues. The advantages of this communication method for a client is that receiving an official letter from the organisation they sent it to secures the validity of the solution they need, as it has come directly from the manufacturers. For the organisation, the letter will be recorded and paired with its solution for later use (if the issue comes up again they can send out the exact solution to the next client). A disadvantage would be that when sending out letters, they are processed and feedback is given in numerous amounts of days, which can frustrate the client as they would have to wait a certain amount of days for a response.

Unit 12—P5—Gladys Nzita-Mak