India is waking up to customer service.
Take today for instance. First I get a call from Esselworld, as a follow up to the feedback I had given during my last visit there. The person asked for details of the issue I had, said sorry for the inconvenience, and promised to look into the matter. May not make a difference to me right now, but then he did not really have to call me back either! Yesterday I got a call from Ford India (though I could not answer it at that time), and today my mailbox contained a greeting card from Ford wishing me a happy first anniversary with Reona. At 7:15 pm on a Saturday, my bank was open. I logged a request, and 10 mins later, the request had been processed, and I had an ack on my cellphone, along with the request number for future reference.
Yes, things can still get better. One of the things we really need to do better in India is "be present" and "welcome" the customer. One of the biggest mistakes you can do is to not acknowledge the customer as soon as he comes in. No matter how busy you are, you need to look up, smile, and engage him - even if you just tell him you will be with him presently. And once you are talking to him, you really need to be present and in the moment. Trying to do two things at one time is a dead giveaway of your lack of interest in the customer. Even if you are talking to your customer on the phone, be present and in the moment, and the customer will feel the difference.
Most of the big malls in India, including my favourite Shoppers Stop, fails in both the key tests. The worst is definitely the Nokia Service Center in Pune. Planet Ford comes pretty close to being bad! The best service I have got is at my local grocery store and the laundry!
1 comment:
I relate very much with the last statement on this post. The "welcome" aspect- very well covered by my waiter at my regular breakfast place and the roadside books vendor on MG road!!
I like the Westside ad where one of the "shopping helpers" is actually doing his job and peps his customer up by offering help and then playing the music to suit her mood... Reality however, is quite different!
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