Customer Service & its critical importance in today’s competitive times! (Part One)
Mayur Kalbag is a Leadership Coach, Corporate Trainer & Author who regulalry does corporate training in Fiji. This will be his regular column in our Jobs section on Saturdays providing readers some useful tips. He can be contacted via email: mayurkalbag@ hotmail.com
I quite clearly remember visiting a departmental shop to buy a washing machine for my home. I was standing at the counter. Fortunately, being afternoon time there was no crowd and I felt happy that I will be able to but the washing machine without delay. However, for almost six minutes I was kept waiting by the customer service executive.He seemed extremely busy on his phone. I looked around and waited for this person to complete his conversation. I thought, may be, he had some urgent call to attend and hence empathized with him and took it in the right spirit. But what happened next unpleasantly surprised me.“Can you suggest a good but affordable washing machine for my house?” I asked him politely. “Sir! All of them are good” he replied almost in a very casual tone, more like he was getting irritated with my question. Pointing at a particular and a rather famous brand I asked him specifically how it was compared to the others.“I am not aware about the details but I am sure it will be very good” he replied.To be honest, I was expecting a more enthusiastic or rather a sincere response rather than a lackluster one! I thanked him and walked closer towards the place where all the washing machines were kept and started looking at all of them. The prices were already mentioned on each of them and that was a great help but I still was not able to get the specific details about them. I walked away and just as I was about to leave that shop I saw another customer service person standing near the exit door. He was speaking to another customer. Just as I passed by he wished me. “Have a nice day Sir” “I would have with better service from your colleague.I came to this shop because I was keen to buy a washing machine but the disinterest with which your colleague interacted with me was disappointing to say the least” I told him in a rather firm tone.“Oh! I am really sorry about this. Can
I please help you with your requirement? He asked. “Not at this moment. I feel like I have already wasted fifteen minutes in this shop and now have to return to my office” I replied. “Sir, I assure you I will take of this situation and you will surely get the best service in your next visit.We are really sorry for this but I do hope you will visit us next time” he assured me.To be honest, a few days later when I was having dinner with a few friends, one of them asked if I finally bought the washing machine. It was at that point I told them about my ‘bad’ experience at that shop and a couple of friends told me about similar experiences they too had in the same shop.“This shop although new in the town and despite their advertisements on television have the worst service. Some of the customer service executives are more on their phones than with the customers.