It’s been said that in businesses and services ‘Customers may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel’. That said, somehow the bad experiences (such as the recent ‘Indigo’ fracas) are often highlighted but happy ones are glossed over – marked ‘satisfactory’ if a feedback is so desired. Why not also recognise those few who stand for the four human Cs that matter so much in today’s mechanical service delivery – care, competence, convenience and communication !
Employers /managers continue to replicate plethora of study material, hold training seminars, workshops, panel discussions, award points on on performance parameters and so on, all directed to improving service quality, yet customers rarely look happy, leave alone delighted ! What’s not understood is people don’t expect immediate solutions or a set-up free from all technical, administrative or regulatory glitches – but for sincere redressal to problems, some courtesy and transparency in deals.
A shining example of good service presented itself to us when we, as customers, interacted in his cabin with Amit Pradhan, General Manager with Hyundai and Head of its plush showroom in Kandivili (West), Mumbai. In a departure from the standard official defensive stance, he pleasantly acknowledged us, patiently listened to the issues raised ( with no furtive glances at his watch, mobile phone or laptop !), immediately understood the case from the concerned staff, accepted the deficiencies in office communication and promised to fix our problems in a clear time-frame of three days ! This took place in a space of 30 minutes. His parting lines were ‘It’s so important that we deliver what we promised’ !
In our next meeting a few days later, not only were the promises kept but we as customers were made to feel special with token gifts, snacks and request to participate in a small event organised for customers and their children. Amit Pradhan, in many ways, did remind me of our days as Branch Managers in the Bank when we all worked together as a team to go beyond merely communicating and really ‘connecting’ with people !
Working on Living 