Till graduation, I barely knew that there existed a formal
meaning of the term “Customer” and then came Kotler & Co. with jargons that
basically form the staple diet for Management students. “Customer Service” is
one such term that had been injected into our systems as a cure for all
epidemics out there in the market. Back then, I was a fool like many of my
classmates. We never realised the power of being THE CUSTOMER and instead
walked into that trap of higher studies which turned our entire world upside
down. We now find ourselves on the opposite side holding an invisible signboard
“Ready to Serve”. Well I agree that the role reversal happens every time I walk
out of my office but I just can’t seem to sustain my anger whenever I am at the
receiving end of shoddy service. The inner voice somehow cajoles me down with
these words…"Beta kal Tu bhi toh office jaayega…kisiki bad-dua kyun leta
hain????" And the face of an angry old shrewd pensioner starts floating before
my eyes. As the image vanishes, my heart beat comes back to normal in baby
steps of Chi Chi….I AM OK…I AM FINE!!!
We professionals hear this phrase on a daily basis from
either our superiors or we ourselves send this message down. In the academic
world though, “Customer Service” is already passé and the classroom discussions
now-a-days center around a more ruthless phrase called “Customer Delight”. My personal opinion is that these guys have
jumped the gun in their quest for new case studies. While the discussions
within the classrooms and in corridors have been spiced up further, there is a
world outside where we mortals labour day in and day out trying to sell a
product or service while in pursuit of that elusive target. The reality is that the service providers are
still struggling with consistently providing the basic service that their
customers expect. Apart from the very intangibility and immeasurability
intrinsic to service expectations, the other major reason is the narrow interpretation
of the term itself at organisational levels. And that is the focus of this yet
another epic post today.
If I were to break down the evolution of Customer service
into ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL & MODERN eras like my history textbook back in the
school days, the ancient view would be that Customer service is limited to the TRANSACTION that happens at the interface. The medieval view is that it is an
ATTITUDE while the Modern view ought to be much broader keeping in mind the
technological impact on the service industry. To me, Customer Service is
CULTURE. Well some Management Guru might have already said so long time back
and those of you who are aware, can actually avoid getting bored by moving to
Candy Crush or Farm Heroes at this point. I do not prefer reading unless I am
forced to and so what I am writing, according to me, is a piece of INSPIRED
WRITING & DEEP THINKING (activities stated in actual order of occurrence)…hehehe!!
Now to somehow convince you or confuse you, I have got an
example ready as well. See I have been a loyal customer of Airtel for almost a
decade now. And they enjoy absolute monopoly in my house starting with phone
network to DTH and now even Broadband. But am I DELIGHTED??? NO WAY. Have my
expectations been met ??? NO WAY. Am I DISAPPOINTED with their service??? OF COURSE
YES. Then WHY??? Am I a Fool??? NO NOT REALLY or well YES to some extent. I was
fooled by an act that I interpreted as Customer Service. Now, it is simply
the case of “Andho mein kaana Raja”. The first time I took an Airtel
Connection…I knew the ancient interpretation and went gaga over the first impression.
Then I bought their DTH service and faced issues with installation. My medieval
interpretation took shape there as one of their executives took it upon himself
to set things right. Now after taking a Broadband connection and wasting my
time and energy with their utterly indifferent Customer Care team, I have been
enlightened with the modern view of the phrase Customer Service. The good work by customer acquisition team is
undone by the Customer Care team put in place to actually take care of the
customers’ needs. They have a fourth view on customer it seems…CUST-SE-MARR!!!
I say Customer Service is a culture because it has to be all
pervasive. Today most of the organisations are structured in such a manner that
information flow is seamless and so the spirit of customer service should match
that. From the policy makers in the Board Room to the field executive; from the
decision takers to the housekeeping staff, everyone should remain tuned in. Not
only the Supply Chain but even the Service Chain should get backward
integrated. Escalation is reactive, Culture is proactive. I have seen so many initiatives fall through because the front end
soldiers were not backed up by the support functions. Management takes
decisions keeping in view the organizational objectives and it is crucial for
the front end team to be aware of those objectives. Similarly, the efforts at
providing best customer service should be complemented by internal feedback
mechanism and pro-active decision making. It is unfortunate when the very
measures announced for better customer service turn into hurdles instead; for
want of customer orientation back at the Head Office or strategy desks. They
decide, they dictate and then they desert. THAT IS SUICIDAL FOR ANY
ORGANISATION IN THIS COMPETITIVE MARKET.
As a Banker in the retail banking segment, I have seen so
many times that the customer service initiatives, once launched, are not
reviewed for necessary modifications. The Branch staff members have to be
empathetic to the customers but more importantly the Back office has to look
forward to the feedback from the front end staff for they are eyes and ears of
the organisation. Whether the customer actually likes the initiatives??? Are
these serving their purpose??? Is that man/woman at the front desk well
equipped and well supported for executing those initiatives??? Are there any
unattended service gaps??? All these questions have to be answered in time or else
what would happen is the standard practice. The carrots are stashed away again;
out comes the stick and the rears are exposed at every level as the pain gets
delegated.
There is no need to specially make efforts towards Customer
Delight for it is imminent once everyone in the organisation does his or her
work in true spirit of Customer Service and in line with organizational goals.
As a culture, it has to be embraced at every level for Moments of Truth now go
far beyond the shopfloor/counters in this information age and the top
executives should not begin to enjoy their glass of fine scotch till their
decision is green flagged by both the ground staff and the customers.
