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Ansuya
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Introduction
Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants and needs. Customers and business managers alike like to talk about what good customer service as it is the key factor of an organisation’s success. An excellent customer service can be described as the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectations. "Accepting this definition means expanding our thinking about customer service; if we're going to consistently exceed customers' expectations, we have to recognize that every aspect of our business has an impact on customer service, not just those aspects of our business that involve face-to-face customer contact. Improving customer service involves making a commitment to learning what our customers' needs and wants are, and developing action plans that implement customer friendly processes.
A customer's expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as recommendations, personal needs and past experiences. The expected service and the perceived service sometimes may not be equal, thus leaving a gap.
Competence is the possession of the required skills and knowledge to perform the service. For example, there may be competence in the knowledge and skill of contact personnel, knowledge and skill of operational support personnel and research capabilities of the organization
The following are taken into consideration while delivering an excellent customer service:
Courtesy is the consideration for the customer's property and a clean and neat appearance of contact personnel, manifesting as politeness, respect, and friendliness.
Credibility is the factors such as trustworthiness, belief and honesty. It involves having the customer's best interests at prime position. It may be influenced by company name, company reputation and the personal characteristics of the contact personnel.

Security is the customer feeling free from danger, risk or doubt including physical safety, financial security and confidentiality.
Access is approachability and ease of contact. For example, convenient office operation hours and locations.
Communication means both informing customers in a language they are able to understand and also listening to customers. A company may need to adjust its language for the varying needs of its customers. Information might include for example, explanation of the service and its cost, the relationship between services and costs and assurances as to the way any problems are effectively managed.

Knowing the customer means making an effort to understand the customer's individual needs, providing individualized attention, recognizing the customer when they arrive and so on. This in turn helps in delighting the customers i.e. rising above the expectations of the customer.
Tangibles are the physical evidence of the service, for instance, the appearance of the physical facilities, tools and equipment used to provide the service; the appearance of personnel and communication materials and the presence of other customers in the service facility.
Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service in a dependable and accurate manner. The service is performed correctly on the first occasion, the accounting is correct, records are up to date and schedules are kept.
Responsiveness is to the readiness and willingness of employees to help customers in providing prompt timely services, for example, mailing a transaction slip immediately or setting up appointments quickly.

This assignment is done by gathering information from my current workplace, which are ALDI food stores.
An Aldi supermarket which is a limited partnership company was used as an example:
Company overview:
ALDI is one of the world’s biggest grocery retail chains, offering deeply discounted prices on about 700 popular food items – in contrast to the over-20,000 products stocked by traditional grocers. Selling such a limited selection gives ALDI strong control over its quality and price, as well as simplifying shipping.
The company is owned by brothers and co-founders Theo and Karl Albrecht, the highest-ranked Germans on the Forbes list of billionaires, with a combined fortune of more than $40 billion. The ALDI chain was developed from a single, austere corner store run by the brothers' mother until the end World War II, when strapped customers willingly traded shopping in a fancy store for lower prices.
It is the first Australian store in 2001; ALDI has continued to be one of the fastest growing retailers in the country. Already with 200 stores nationally and a network of 7,000 worldwide, they have set their sights high with many more stores planned for the eastern seaboard over the coming years.
ALDI keeps it cheap so shoppers can afford it too. This food retailer, ALDI Group become one of the world's biggest grocery chains, By offering deeply discounted prices on about 1,400 popular food items (a typical grocery store has 30,000).
ALDI is already one of the top 10 Australian retailers. During a short time they have influenced grocery prices, improved the perception and quality of private label goods with our own exclusive brands philosophy and introduced a number of market-leading initiatives never before seen in Australia.
In 2009, ALDI was awarded the Australian Retail Association’s ‘Australian Retail Innovation of the Year’. They have achieved this enormous success by not only focusing on our systems, but also on our people. It's the dedication, knowledge and experience of their employees that helps the business to constantly evolve.
ALDI (short for "Albrecht Discounts") buys cheap land mostly on city outskirts, builds cheap warehouses, employs a tiny staff, and carries mostly (95%) private-label items, displaying them on pallets rather than shelves. ALDI has more than 1,135 stores in some 30 US states, but Germany (where ALDI has more than 4,000 stores) accounts for about two-thirds of sale.
The company also saves money by putting out tenders for items in which they are interested and allowing suppliers to bid.

Company aims and objectives:
“Its objective is to maintain a competitive advantage, sustain sales growth and to continue the development of an organisation that is extraordinary efficient.” through their efficient operation the company aim is to ensure the competitive advantage and profitability which enables a good financial base, sustained investment and competitive employee salaries.
Aldi’s goal is to offer customers the highest quality products at the lowest possible price.
The focus of the company is their staffs. The fundamental requirement of the cooperative leadership is that all the employees are informed about the company principles leadership and organisation employees are expected to understand the rules of behaviour within the organisation and follow them every day in their relationship with other colleagues. Employer’s jobs are designed to foster team work and creativity which provides all staffs with responsibilities, personal developments, appreciation and job security.

Aldi is committed to recruit, develop, motivate and retain top quality employees. This can be done by managing:
1. the selection and career progression process
2. the training and job skills development process
3. the performance of all employers
4. health and safety process in the work environment
5. the development of positive working relationships
While ALDI has been operating internationally for over 50 years, the first Australian store opened its doors in January 2001. Now with over 300 stores successfully operating across New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and Victoria, it's clear that Australian shoppers have adopted the company's philosophy of great value for all consumers.

ALDI is now employing thousands of Australians and with the constant growth planned for the future; this figure is increasing by the day.
Since opening the doors to its first store in 1913, ALDI has successfully established itself as one of the most reputable retailers in the international business market.

Today, the ALDI name is synonymous with high quality and exceptional value. Our goal is simple: 'to provide our customers with the products they buy regularly and ensure that those products are of the highest possible quality at guaranteed low prices.' To put it simply, we offer our customers a smarter way to shop.
Aldi as Successful organisations of the future rapidly respond and adapt to changes in their business environment.
The six pillars of aldi is