Leadership in Business: Consumer Guarantees and Business Practices

This report provides an overview of the Australian Consumer Law and its implications for businesses. It explains the purpose of the law, which is to protect consumer rights and interests in Australia, covering aspects such as the right to repair, replacement, or refund for defective products or services. The report outlines the consumer guarantees that apply to both products and services, including acceptable quality, fitness for purpose, and matching descriptions. It also addresses illegal practices like 'no refund' signs and discusses consumer entitlements regarding refunds and replacements for change-of-mind scenarios. Furthermore, the report explores effective complaint handling, steps for salespersons, standards of service, best practices in consumer services, and the importance of public relations. It provides practical examples and references to relevant consumer law resources, offering insights into ethical business practices and consumer protection within the Australian market.

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
Leadership in Business
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

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ANSWER
1. The Consumer Law of Australia groups various rights for the customer which is known as
consumer guarantees. The purpose of this law is to protect the rights and interests of the
customers within Australia. It includes the customer’s right to repair, replacement, or refund
and cancel a defective service along with reimbursement for injuries and loss.
2. The consumer guarantees are applicable every time whenever a person purchases products or
services.
In case of purchasing products the seller and manufacturer promises that:
 Products will be available in an satisfactory quality;
 Products will be appropriate for a specific purpose;
 Products will match their depiction.
In case of purchasing services the provider assurances that:
 The services will be provided with proper care and skill;
 It will be provided within a rational time and will be appropriate for a specific purpose.
3. The consumer guarantee covers the following products and services, namely:
 Services which are normally purchased for personal or household use under $ 40,000
or over $ 40,000;
 Products purchased from an online business of Australia;
 Sale products;
 Fresh and second hand products;
 Business vehicles for transportation of products.
4. The term ‘no refund’ displayed in signs and cash receipts are deceptive, as it creates an
impression to the purchaser that no refund is possible under any situation even in case of a

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serious issue related with the products. Due to this reason, the following instances of signs
are illegal, such as:
 No money back on sale products;
 No money back available after 30 days of purchase;
 Altercation or credit note only for return of sale items.
5. Usually, a store does not provide money back or replacement in case of fluctuating mind of a
customer related to a product. However, some stores and businesses offer a money back and
replacement or credit note even in case of a customer changes his/her mind if it has an in-
store policy in this regard. In these cases, the policy must be visibly exhibited to the
customers at the time of sale.
6. Sometimes retailers provide extended warranty to sell products to extend the time of the
manufacturer’s warranty. It will provide extra protections to the purchaser which is usually
not available. However it is not true as the retailers need to comply with the consumer
guarantees.
Example: a customer purchases a refrigerator worth $ 7500 and it stops working after 2.5 years.
The retailer stated that it cannot be replaced as it has only 12 months warranty. The customer has
a legal right to get a remedy on the basis that the product is not of satisfactory quality.
7. The system of an effective complaint handling gives two benefits to an organization, such as:
 It helps to resolve the conflicts elevated by a person who is not satisfied regarding time
of delivery and cost effective way:
 It delivers information which improves the Service delivery system.
The standard steps to deal with efficiently with the complaints of the customer are:
 Listen carefully with the complaints of the customer;

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 Feel for and express regret for the situation;
 Execute a solution
 Follow up whether the disputes resolved or not.
8. The following steps must be followed by a sales person after entering into the sales room,
such as:
 Maintain eye contact, smile, and provide time to observe products;
 Give an introduction;
 Provide information regarding products;
 Tell customer to call whenever they need help;
 Provide information regarding the benefits of membership;
 Make the sale and pack the product;
 Give smile and thank them for purchasing.
However, these steps vary from one business to another.
9. A standard of service stipulates the necessities which must be satisfied by a service to
institute the suitability for purpose. It may give definition, indications regarding value and
intensities of service, specify the reasonable time of delivery and handling customer
grievances. Its importance are:
 Objectives;
 Obligation of organization;
 Sets prospects;
 Constancy in service supply
Two examples of service supply are:
1. A turnaround time, such as we will respond after checking the website within 24 hours;

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2. Greeting the consumer, such as within 1 minute.
10. A company adopts best practice consumer services for the following purposes, such as:
 To observe the activities against criteria;
 To examine the gap;
 To provide review depending upon the performance;
 To get feedback from the employees;
 To decide future plans.
11. Public relation is tactical communication procedure which constructs a jointly advantageous
relationship between the business organization and its individuals. It can also be termed as an
exercise of handling communication.
12. Advertisement, direct marketing
13. Given
14. Set up translation assistances on the computer terminal of customer service and assess the
capacity of linguistic obstacle contacts.
15. Face such a person directly, speak with a clear voice, avoid fast talking, and do not talk from
another room.
16. Adore delivering outstanding customer service, treating the team members as customers,
listen the requirements of the customer carefully and greeting the customers with smile.

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References
Corones, S.G., 2011. The Australian Consumer Law. Thomson Reuters Lawbook Co.
Pearson, G., 2017. Further challenges for Australian consumer law. In Consumer Law and
Socioeconomic Development (pp. 287-305). Springer, Cham.