The PJ (poor joke) above might no longer remain a PJ if banana peel is replaced by a typical problematic situation one encounters in daily routine. The question remains unanswered then: Why do some people find it difficult to act beyond cure? They do think 'Prevention is The Best Cure' though! I was no different from them! But now my journey is gathering speed, hopefully in the direction that the blog is supposed to drive towards. Checkout my other blogs and work at http://www.worldOFkaizen.com/

Monday 18 March 2013

Waiting for a fall

Murphy's Law: The tile on foot-over-bridge is looking for an opportunity to fall on vehicle speeding underneath. 

Imagine the magnitude of probable damage in that case.

Is Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ) resulting from potential failures such as above hidden in the picture affordable?

To elaborate on CoPQ concept and the APPROACH to solution over it, you may read Kaizen on Crisis Situations.

Sunday 10 March 2013

Who comes first: Current customer or New customer?

Sometimes companies tend to forget remedying 'lost sales' in the 'current-market-current-product-current-customer' quadrant in their enthusiastic quest to get 'additional sales numbers' by trying to acquire new customers with new offering in current or new market.

It is like pouring in a pot from top that has a hole in the bottom.

I had two cellphone SIM-cards: one from company-A, the other from company-B.

After exercising 'mobile-portability-right' to switch over from company-B, I received not less than 8 calls from them. 

Half the calls received were from their marketing officer with an 'attractive' offer to switch over company-A SIM to (his own) company-B. Perhaps he was ignorant that I had surrendered my other (company-B) card due to their unsatisfactory service. Their market-intelligence' seemed to be smart though to have list of the competitor's clients.

Balance half calls were from their customer-care officer to find out why I had 'switched' from company-B. Calls were backed by an apology letter.

So on one hand marketing was busy working on acquiring new customers while customer-care department was making a failed attempt to 'retain' current one. On the other hand operations department seemed to complacently (mis-)handle existing customers inadvertently forcing them to quit.

No doubt that balancing the act of working on current and new/diversified offering, (for) current and new customers, and (in) current and new markets is really a complex and an intelligent process. 

But retaining a 'current customer' and hence 'current sales' is relatively a far easier and economically more viable strategy that should be perfected by plugging loopholes/deficiencies in services before applying 'Penetration', 'Product/market development', and 'Diversification' strategies.

While the 'current customer' provides cues for loopholes, the later strategies to acquire 'new customer' need at least 10 times more investment (in time, efforts and money) than the former. As a student, I had often felt disgusted when photocopier shop near my college used to keep my 200-pages running-order on hold intermittently in order to service a single-copy customer (jumping the queue).

The former strategy is a play in current known-terrain. A satisfied current customer is more likely to be a brand ambassador providing leads to prospective customers in new terrain (environment).

Doesn't a bird-in-hand need to be cared for before the two in the bush as goes the old saying?

Friday 8 March 2013

Technology in-place, security dis-placed

The picture here-below tells a story.

Beautiful technology: the metal-detector!

People fight for it if it's not there.
"How can you improve if you don't invest", they complain.
No one around it to use it if it's (installed) there.

Can you imagine the magnitude of Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ)? 
And the resulting cost of probable crisis that might erupt from potential failures hidden in the picture?

Yes, you may complete the story by answering questions that come to your mind on situations such as at the railway station in picture: 

The security guard was missing resulting in under use of the technology.

The detector itself was non-functional.

To elaborate on the CoPQ concept, you may read Kaizen on Crisis Situations - World Of Kaizen.

Boom-Barrier Boomed, Country-Doomed http://care-is-cure.blogspot.com/2013/12/boom-barrier-boomed-country-doomed.html 

Saturday 2 March 2013

Does recognition really matter

Message on wall was self-explanatory as in the picture.

So I 'rang the bell'.

A few people looked up. Some gave smile. Others quickly got themselves busy in their work.

The relationship executive who delivered satisfactory experience gave a cute smile full of satisfaction at her personal level.

I said 'thank you' to her. Came back home with my 'instant debit card' and a couple of other pending works completed in the bank.

What did she do differently to deserve the 'bell of satisfaction'?

Like her name, fragrance of her multitasking was clearly evident on a busy Saturday morning in a typical bank: Correcting a wrong entry in the passbook on the spot, issuing  a debit card, helping someone to fill in a form, answering a telephone query, apologising for a waiting-customer, etc. All with a smile and a sense of urgency.

But something was surely missing in the system although the bell gave a feeling like a temple with it's strings in the hands of customer as God.

The mechanism was certainly good with good intent but it could have been better with a little enhanced sensitivity. 

An employee may do everything possible in her individual capacity to satisfy a customer. But if one expects every employee to do so to everyone everytime then in the case such as above, the situation could have been leveraged a bit more.

For instance, a designated member of the top team or boss of the employee who delivered satisfactory performance could have immediately appeared on the scene for a couple of seconds though in order to clap for the employee as well as customer.

It (offering a differentiated service in a uniquely different situation) might matter to an employee if 's/he and her such work' matters to others, to colleagues and superiors in particular. Otherwise it's her duty by rule anyway forcing her to 'service with a smile(-mask).

Alternatively, there should have been a display board just below the bell displaying name and photo of the 'last week's heroes who got the bell'. If involved, employees themselves may suggest innovative ways.

In short, the system fell short of some immediate recognition from insiders that surely has some 'shelf-life' resulting in extended employee engagement and thereby customer satisfaction as a bye product.

Also it may be worth surveying whether most satisfied customers were engaged in using the system in past. How many satisfied customers express their gratitude just as a dissatisfied customer promptly bad-mouths to at least 10 prospective ones?

The doubt is because when I did, some gave me a surprise look indicating 'does it (the acknowledgement of good work) really matter'.

Yes it does. It's like a breath to get motivated human behavior, the lingering fragrance of which can be easily 'smelt, felt and seen' by anyone.

Customer or Custo-Mer?

That's what one is sometimes forced to say in Marathi: Custo-Mer.

Those who know Marathi (language of Maharashtra state in INDIA) know that  'Custo' (कष्ट), as it is pronounced in first part of the word customer, means 'donkey-like-efforts'. The second part 'Mer' (मर) pronunciation in Marathi means 'die'.

So, funny part of customer in colloquial language is: Custo-Mer (कष्ट-मर) is the one who is left to 'die' of his own 'donkey-efforts' in terms of endless followups to get a better service.

Most of us get such experience sometime or the other. Recently I reworked such 'efforts' like many others who were yet to receive their 'Aadhar-card' (a unique-identity-card for Indians), the card that is supposed to provide 'support' to the receiver (in terms of facilities yet to be fully known as of going to the press).

I had undergone through the entire procedure along-with necessary paperwork for 'Aadhar-card', 18-months ago on 13/08/2011 to be specific...Got the proof having done it.

Six of my family members 'enjoyed' a 'forced-leave' from 'work-day'. They stood in a long-queue that is typical of an  inefficient office to get certificates, cards, refunds, etc. 'Enjoyed' because theiIr website was full of entertainment in the form of fun-filled notifications on delays such as traffic-jams, system-failures, staff-shortage, etc.

All my family members received the card except me although going through the procedure bumper-to-bumper one-after-the-other.

I repeatedly checked 'status' of the card on department's website only to receive a message: "Sorry! we could not find Item Number in our System for this EID Number".

Since no one in their brick-n-mortar centers knew 'what to do in such cases', a couple of months ago I wrote to their HELPLINE 'help@uidai.gov.in' with all details for 'the needful'.

I  waited for a reply like waiting for a TOLL-FREE number attendant to answer back. Sometimes I wonder whether the auto-reply, toll-free, etc. kind of technologies are deliberately used to keep a customer away. Or may be waiting is due to staff on-line at both places were busy in attending people in queues at their brick-n-mortar centers. On-line or in-line,  in any case waiting is the common denominator. 

Today as though to compensate for an other extreme  experience (a 'satisfactory customer experience' that I had at other place) I had to stand in a long-queue at one of their brick-n-mortar 'Aadhar-card' centers to inquire my fate.

The girl at the center replied they might have lost the data. An example of how technology can be a 'boon' sometimes and can be a 'curse' sometimes!

She asked me to 'stand in a queue early morning at 7am' after 8-days so as to 'get a token and a date'... Then 'stand in a queue' again 'with token' on the given date alongwith papers for 'rework to get the card reissued. 

The question is why on-line systems do not work (in a country that teaches software to the world)?
Why can't they issue tokens on-line?
Why should the customers 'Mer' (die off extra eefforts) or why 'rework' of the suppliers forced upon them?

Of yes, I got the answer.

I was wrong in presuming myself to be a customer. Actually, I was a supplier of tax money to government. How can a supplier expect better treatment than this one. At most I was a Custo-Mer (कष्ट-मर).

So I nodded to the girl's suggestions agreeing to eagerly wait in their 'fun-filled queues'.

I hope the 'rework' does the 'work' this time.

25th September 2013 dawns! 

On reading the news that "Don't worry, Aadhaar is not mandatory for now" in DNA, I am back again on this blogpost after 5-months. 

In April, I had reworked the procedure as above to obtain the Adhaar-card second time. At the center I was told that the card will be delivered within a couple of weeks. On logging in to check status of my card, I got message on screen saying "Your card is under construction".

So the 'rework' department was yet to do work. While I kept my fingers crossed, I came across a few fuming tweets as in picture herebelow. 

With the "Don't worry" news in DNA, individually I may not be worried. But as an Indian the same news did worry me.

Because although with Aadhar-card, Indians seemed to be happy thinking they got Aadhar (support) Bangla-Paki infiltrators got nir-Aadhar (making availing of illegal benefits difficult to them). The news thus negated the latter. 

Where do we Indians look for Aadhar (support) now? Any tips?