Dr Pradeep Salgaonkar highlights the importance of customer care, which is a continuous process and is required from both, management and employees
I purchased a new two wheeler for my daughter last November. The first free servicing was done at the end of 30 days, though the bike had run for just 140 kms in this period. By the last week of December, I noticed that there was oil leakage from the front shock absorber of the bike. I booked an appointment for service and took the bike to the service centre. After the initial paper work, I was told to come in the evening to collect the bike. It was only on my insistence that this is not a regular service and that only the leakage is to be rectified, I was told to wait. But the wait itself was too long. After about three hours I was told that the oil seal of the front shock absorber is faulty and needs to be replaced. But, the required seal is not in the stores and hence it cannot be replaced now, and that an order needs to be placed for the same and the store will procure it, which will take about a weeks’ time. I placed the order and came back with the bike. I was told that I would be informed over phone as soon as the seal arrives at the stores. A week passed and there was no information. Thus, I called the service centre inquiring about the oil seal. ‘It has not come yet, it will take a weeks’ time’, was the reply. A week later I called back and I was not surprised to hear the same reply. It’s more than a month now and the reply still is same. My advance placing of the order as well as repeated requests has fallen on deaf ears. The oil seal is still not replaced.
This is how customers are treated at dealerships, doing brisk business on sales and service, with absolutely no concern for customer care. What really is amusing is the fact that the organization displays bold displays and posters of ‘commitment to customer care’ and ‘quality service’ in work area. Now, are these posters with the intention to reinforce customer care feelings among their employees, or is it to manipulate customers’ emotions by acting as a feel-good factor? The employees seem to be not giving a heed to any of these essential aspects of customer management. So, what could be the root cause for this type of culture within organizations? Is something not right? Is the leadership intent for customer care missing? Or is it the problem of lack of commitment?
The reality
The reality in most organizations, whether small, medium or large, is more or less the same. To my mind, there are three distinct categories of top management and their approach towards customer care; First category thoroughly understands the significance of customer care for their business, they drive it and ensure that every member of the organisation believes in this philosophy of the organisation and has boarded onto the customer management flight. They build organisational culture around customer engagement. Such organisations are the most successful organisations in all respects. In the second category, the top management may have the inner feeling and desire that they should give the best customer service, so that their customers are happy and retained. They understand the importance of customer care very clearly, and they also take actions towards implementing the customer care philosophy and building an environment that’s customer-friendly. They also take actions in this direction, spend on this activity and also concentrate on customer care. But for a short while; somewhere down the line, their priorities change, and the focus gets shifted. The fizz, for customer care, gets out of the top management, percolating it down to the employees. The efforts taken and the money spent goes waste and the natural human behaviour (most of the times customer unfriendly) dominates every employees’ actions. The ‘customer care’ goes for a spin. The displays and the posters and all customer care quotes remain a silent gratification only to customers. Such organizations will find their customer base eroding slowly.
The third category is the management that does not understand the real importance of customer care. To them, customer is just another entity that they have to deal with. Some even believe that the customer is at their mercy. Some others do understand the influence of customer care and retention on their business, but really do not bother about the same. They want the best customer care to be given by their employees without any investment or efforts from the management side. They expect the employees to be inherently tuned to these aspects and practicing excellent customer care all the time. They forget that employees are human beings with natural behaviours and not all are trained to be sensitive towards customers. This is the category that believes money and time spent on customer care efforts is a waste. Yet some others in this category understand the importance of customer care and want to drive it, but are hesitant to take efforts and invest in this activity. They expect their employees to be experts in customer service delivery after attending just one day training session on customer management. And that’s highly impossible.
To cite an example, recently I was in a meeting with the HRM team of a reputed company based at Verna Industrial Estate. This was about their requirement for training their employees on customer care, as they felt that their employees are insensitive towards customers. I gave an elaborate training proposal spreading across all levels within the organization, each having specific objectives and spread over a period of time. But the HR team was just not able to understand the essence of what I was proposing. They just wanted a one-day training session, where about 60 employees would attend the training program together and they expected them to be experts in ‘customer care’. And that was just not going to happen! They were expecting magic to happen, either created by me or their employees.
The right approach
The right approach to ensure customer care and retention within organisations is to ensure that every employee of the organisation is adequately trained in customer management and there is commitment from the top management to drive this activity. Secondly, there has to be continuous reinforcement of what is learned by the employees and this has to be guided and monitored by the top management or an expert hired for this task, so that the efforts taken are driven in the right direction and in spirit. Customer management is a continuous process and needs high commitment, equally from the management and employees, and is best done through sustained training and facilitation
The writer is a Founder Director, Saldots Academy; corporate trainer and facilitator; former chairman of Goa Management Association. Email: pradeepsalgaonkar@gmail.com
