By definition customer service is defined
as the process which starts before purchase and becomes critical post purchase
when the customer has a problem.
Anil Garg posted on FB, poor
service by bigbasket.com (the online grocery in which SRK says ‘I am a big
basketeer, are you?’); this was followed up by the bigbasket delivery chap
attempting to steal Rs. 200 by sleight of hand. He was of course caught and
fessed up saying ‘mistake zhala’. Many
days post the event, the company has not come online, called, or done anything
reasonable to keep this customer. And thereby hangs a tale.
It is true, that new
companies, especially in e-retail have innovated in pricing, distribution and
technology. The Economist has written
their praise. They are strong on acquisition process, fast distribution,
money/cash collection and very sales focused.
On the other hand, they lack
respect or care for their customers. In fact customer service/care is limited
to mentions in their websites and company PR handouts. All FMCG companies have a phone number printed
in the smallest possible typeface on the packaging. In most cases, this telephone
number is manned by informal call centers with equally informal telephone call
receivers who haven’t the foggiest about customers or care.
CEOs have long forgotten what
a customer looks like. The distance between their office and the customer is
about a light year. When they do ‘market visits’, it is reported in the press,
especially the ET. This should change. That a CEO should go incognito to
understand customers’ problems is a historical concept, which has receded into
history.
The next rung of people
around the CEO are involved in elbowing their cohort to be as near to the imperial
ear as possible. The next rung apes the one on top and so on. The only people
left holding the customer service bag are on the lowest rung or at outsourced
call centers.
Apart from the above, six contributory
factors are at work:
1. ‘Shortage’ in our DNA
2. Non-service orientation.
3. Self-righteousness.
4. Suspicion.
5. Lack of training/awareness creation.
6. Lack of empowerment at customer interaction
points.
Prior to the 1990s, we were
in a perpetual shortage economy. Rationing, queues, long wait times and shoddy
goods were part of life. Acceptance was the norm. This situation is far behind
us; but it seems to have left a footprint in our DNA – be glad for what is
given.
We somehow equate ‘service’
with ‘servitude’. We dislike being asked to serve. Having gone to college
somehow ingrains in us a sense of haq/divine
right that listening to and resolving a customer’s problem is below one’s
dignity. Maybe we should become waiters for a week? (Refer to Author’s advice
in my review Lata’s Book)
We are deeply suspicious of
motives of and untrusting of others. Supermarkets across India routinely have
uniformed guards roaming aisles, manning entries and exits – especially exits where
they demand the bill, to ensure you carry out what you have paid for. This is
mostly in plain eye-shot of the transaction having taken place. Management’s explain
this as protection against shop lifting. They should know better than that;
their own employees contribute more to ‘unexplained contraction of stock’ than
do shoppers. In my experience, only Marks & Spencer does not ask that bags
be kept outside and check bags on departure.
If customers have a problem,
they must be wrong. How can ‘our’ product or ‘our’ service be flawed or
faulted? Arguments ensue; ending with the customer losing out. There is a
campaign titled ‘jaago grahak jaago’,
which is all good but its implementation is so stretched that it becomes an
almost useless exercise.
The way forward is to create
Service orientation through focused training, conferences and incentives on par
with sales conferences, dealer conferences and celebratory conferences for
meeting or fixing targets.
If the customer’s complaint then
falls on receptive ears and there is nothing they can do – it’s because they
are simply not empowered to act. They have to refer upstairs through a
bureaucratic process which gets lost in the labyrinth.
The solution lies in
Management shedding their command/control outlook to one of trust. At a minimum
this empowerment of the front line will create a sense of purpose for the employee
help in employee retention and create an espirit
d’corps which a minimum increase in wages can’t. It will also mean an
increase in customer loyalty which no loyalty card can achieve.
Peter Drucker observed that
the whole purpose of a business is to create and recreate customers. It’s the
latter part which matters. To be purposeful in business, we should rediscover the
definition we started off with, especially the emphasis:
By
definition customer service is defined as the process which starts before
purchase and becomes critical post purchase when the customer has a problem.
Rajesh Pant,
Pune,
20 April 2016