Customer Service: Meaning & After-Sales in Manufacturing
Definition
Customer service is the help a business gives its customers before, during and after a sale — answering questions, fixing problems and keeping promises. For a manufacturer the larger part is after-sales service: complaints, repairs, warranty, maintenance and spares.
| Term | Customer service (after-sales) |
|---|---|
| In Hindi | ग्राहक सेवा (आफ़्टर-सेल्स सर्विस) |
| Area | Business |
| Search phrase | customer service |
| Try it | Service & AMC management |
ग्राहक सेवा (आफ़्टर-सेल्स सर्विस) — हिंदी में अर्थ
ग्राहक सेवा वह मदद है जो कोई व्यापार बिक्री से पहले, बिक्री के समय और बाद में अपने ग्राहकों को देता है — सवालों के जवाब, समस्याएँ ठीक करना और वादे निभाना। निर्माता के लिए इसका बड़ा हिस्सा आफ़्टर-सेल्स सर्विस है: शिकायत, मरम्मत, वारंटी, मेंटेनेंस और स्पेयर।
After-sales service for manufacturers
A machine, panel or HVAC system is used for years, so the relationship continues after the invoice. Good after-sales service registers every complaint with a number, sends the right engineer with the right spares, checks warranty cover, schedules preventive maintenance under AMC, and closes the complaint only when the customer confirms.
Service level agreements (SLAs)
An SLA is a promised response and resolution time, often by priority — for example a breakdown attended within 24 hours, a minor fault within 72. It turns 'we will come soon' into a measurable commitment and shows where the team is overloaded.
Measures that matter
First response time, time to resolve, first-visit fix rate, repeat complaints on the same machine, SLA breaches, and AMC renewal rate. In CRE8Rx ERP the Service menu holds Tickets, Visits and the PM Schedule, with AMC (contracts and visits) and Warranty (warranties and claims) alongside.
Related tools and guides
Frequently asked questions
What is customer service?
The help a business gives customers before, during and after a sale — answering questions, fixing problems and keeping its promises.
What is after-sales service?
Support after delivery: installation, complaints, repairs, warranty, maintenance and spares.
What is an SLA in customer service?
A service level agreement — the promised time to respond to and resolve a complaint, usually set by priority.
How do you measure customer service?
Response time, resolution time, first-visit fix rate, repeat complaints, SLA breaches and contract renewals.
Related terms
- Capex vs opexCapex (capital expenditure) is money spent on long-term assets such as machinery or buildings; it is capitalised and depreciated. Opex (operating expenditure) is the day-to-day cost of running the business — wages, power, rent — and is charged to profit in the year.
- Cost-based pricing (cost-plus pricing)Cost-based pricing sets the selling price by working out the full cost of a product or job and adding a fixed percentage or amount for profit. The best-known form is cost-plus pricing: price = cost × (1 + markup %).
- Customer relationship management (CRM)Customer relationship management (CRM) is the practice — and the software — of recording every interaction with leads and customers in one place, so that enquiries are followed up, deals are tracked to an order and customers are kept.
- EPF payment online (EPFO portal)EPF payment online is the monthly process in which an employer uploads the Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) for its employees on the EPFO Unified Portal, generates a challan and pays the PF contributions by net banking — due by the 15th of the following month.
- ESIC payment onlineESIC payment online is the monthly process in which an employer files each covered employee's days worked and wages on the ESIC employer portal, generates a challan and pays the ESI contributions — employee 0.75% and employer 3.25% of gross wages — by the 15th of the following month.
- Incoterms (EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP)Incoterms are standard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that set out, for a sale of goods, who arranges and pays for transport, insurance and customs, and the point at which risk passes from seller to buyer.