A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality!

A Customer Complaint made to a reputed taxi service in Mumbai was: 

1/ The taxi booked was not found until few minutes after the appointed time. So the driver was called (by customer) to find out his 'whereabouts'.

Taxi was found to be parked away on road. The driver refused to go to customer's colony when requested. He threatened to go away if the customer did not go where the taxi was parked.

2/ Nor had he informed his arrival although he said that he had. In fact, customer called him up a few minutes after 'no-show'. Attached screen-shot of the customer's cell shows 'outgoing' to driver's number but not incoming from his number.

3/ On telephone as well as in person, when the driver was asked 'why he did not come inside the colony' he arrogantly replied: "Our Taxi-Service-Provider gives too much importance to Customer. (In his vernacular language: "Ye Taxi-Service-waleney Customer ko aisa, implying 'chadhake', banaya hai''...and so on).

Supplier's response after over a week of registering the complaint was:

"Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you."

Where does the above real-life practice fit into business principles?

How should, a service provider wanting to stay and flourish in business, look at a typical customer complaint?

The above transaction is a typical case-study of INDIFFERENCE that should be avoided at all the touch-points with all stakeholders especially with customers by both the front-liners as well as the rear-end officers. (Reference 'world of Kaizen' book).

What is a customer's rightful 'expect'ation after a typical complaint (that hardly 4% of the dissatisfied customers choose to make):

1/ First of all the first-aid so that s/he gets quick relief. (In addition, apology is anyway expected but it's of no use without the First-aid.)

2/ Right to know specific details of what exact action was taken to prevent the situation from occurring in future.

How does a typical supplier respond. What INDIFFERENCE do most suppliers engage into:

1/ First of all they deny the complaint then they defend.

2/ They express dry apology without taking preventive action. Such an apology is like rubbing the wound. (The taxi service in above case fell in this category.)

3/ They don't keep customer informed about specific details of what exact action (if at all) was taken to prevent the situation.

4/ They expect customers to forget service-errors s/he had faced during the year in lieu of a yearly-gift-packet and/or sweets. While the gift 'dry-of-emotions' reinforces their vow to quit, most customers shamelessly accept it in exchange of an unexpressed abuse (to the supplier).

Funnily, a typical supplier doesn't mind recruiting a well-paid customer-care officer who is well-trained in handling an errate customer, and further training him in writing flowery letters so that 'issues' are taken 'care' of.

Result:  Customer continues the service provider only until s/he finds another option so that s/he can QUIT. Meanwhile, s/he plays the role of a devil-publicity-officer 'bad-mouth'ing the supplier's services among not less than a dozen prospective customers.

As someone says, it takes 10 times more money and efforts to acquire a new customer.

Isn't it wiser instead to invest this money in training associates on what the customer 'expects' rather than spending wastefully on reactively 'managing' the effects of indifference.

Should a customer bother about such 'small' issues?:

If s/he wants a change in such careless attitude, then yes!

S/he must play her small-bit-a-role though. Else, s/he should not blame suppliers for shoddy quality of service. S/he must help to get service-error out of the system which otherwise anyway will keep popping up above the carpet exactly when unwanted.

If and when it eventually does pop-up then the corresponding customer got what s/he deserved. Also s/he makes herself deserving to what s/he will get in future.

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? 

That's how some business partnerships work

Take-care Take-care 

Free-pack could be a Curse-pack Dear customer

That you may murmur later

These Maiku (My Haiku) poetic lines got shaped while I was on a flight.

Seat pocket in front of me was stuffed with reading material and 'offers-on-board' for 'captive target market'.

Here is a picture of one of that about 'business partnerships' and that of an 'air-pillow' kind of pack received free-of-cost (courtesy a partner). It was a delight.

I photographed them both ignoring embarrassing look by my co-passenger. That's how I behave: an idiosyncratic fellow taking odd pictures such as around even a wash-basin, catching 'innovative styles' of someone blowing nose.

My so-called delight was short-lived as I found only four biscuits inside, against expectations that the inflated 'air-pillow' size pack seemed to raise. The innovative shape of the biscuits made them 'look bigger' that actually were 'smaller in weight'. 

The pack itself was a 'bag full of gas': A near-empty ppromise! 

Isn't it too much that a miser customer like me expects on a budget-airline. No wonder that the co-passenger was embarrassed.

Anyway, coming back to business of this blog-post, that's how some business partnerships work if not most.

The other day someone asked my opinion on an offer that came his way: "Indigo diesel available for 2.5 lacs. 2012-model."

I told him what an old car dealer often suggests. Price may be good but mechanic should check out engine condition. Check if it's an accident-car (changed-color remark on RC book is one clue); Kilometers ran (check if the dial is changed); Single-owner (and a known owner is good); Clear papers, etc.

My friend appeared insistent: "It is available from Maruti's second-hand dealer. So the offer should be reliable."

I shared with him my learning "from reliable sources" that there do exist 'partnerships' as a part of a typical 'business strategy'. Sometimes they are in the interest of customer. Sometimes they are Cozy-Nexus solely in the interest of the supply-chain itself as in following example:

- A typical 'second-hand-dealer' (let's call him a SCD), for instance, has an arm's length connection with a 'new-car-dealer' (let's call him a NCD) who makes an 'exchange offer'.

- NCD sends a valuer of SCD while offering a test-drive of a new vehicle.

- After exchange-deal is through, the SCD takes away old car and sells it on demand-supply criterion or with a mark-up of 30% margin whichever is higher. 

- So both the SCD as well as NCD do have vested interests in trying to push through the respective deals. Rightly so for them although not for customer! They are in business!!

In such cases the marketeer tends to oversell. But a prospective customer should behave business-like when s/he comes across an 'attractive-offer' like "Indigo diesel available for 2.5 lacs. 2012-model". After all her money is 'hard-earned'.  

The old-car dealer's suggestions referred earlier need to be viewed in light of this. That's also a reason why a single owner, a known owner as a direct-seller (without a middle-man) in-for a 'distress-sale' is more likely to be a good value-deal. Provided of course a reliable mechanic certifies condition even if it means paying his fees to inspect for 'some strings attached', if any.

Is it a value-deal then you need to ask every-time someone claims it to be a 'Unique-offer'?

Is it a value-deal when you go to buy biscuits that 'look-bigger'? or
Is it a short-term value on offer when so-called 'partners' offer you something FOC (free-of-cost) with a pack that looks disproportionately bigger? Are there any strings attached to the offer? or
Is it a value-deal when a telephone subscriber gets a movie-ticket free if s/he buys one on Tuesdays?

Is it a value-deal when you get 'Buy-2-Get-3' kind of free-offers?

Sometimes yes! Other-times no!!

Make checklists your friends

For some reason I wanted to close savings account operated by three-joint-holders; me,  my wife and my son based more than 500 kilometers away from us.

Bank officer checked our account and advised that all the three holders must sign an account-closing form. Accordingly, my son collected a blank form locally and couriered it to me. We signed it and went to submit it to the bank.

The bank officer says: You should have closed the fixed deposits linked with the account before closing the savings account.

How can you expect customer to know this technical procedure?

"I am sorry madam, but I should have told you about this", apologizes the officer.

Damage is already done: rework, delay, etc.
Real apology could have been the officer going beyond first-aid that of giving additional form in above case.

Why can't people use simple checklists associated with a given step in a process or a procedure such as (titled) 'Checklist items to check before closing a savings account' in above case.

But yes! This is what happened in a leading private sector bank in India. In fact, the technology they already had with them could have been harnessed to create a mistake-proof pop-up (as a Pokayoke Kaizen as in Japanese-Management or rather The Toyota-Way to work). It should have reminded the user to 'check' the items in-lieu of the manual 'checklist' as above.

Why do people over-depend on their memory? Why can't they reserve it as a ram (in computer) for processing rather than to memorize?

Same was the case in a leading telephone company. The customer attendant asked me to wait because he didn't know exact details of the 'plan on offer'.

After 10-minutes waiting, a spiky-hair-styled man walked in, 'smelling' cigarette as he explained the plan without even looking at computer or a paper. "Leaflet stock-out" was the reply when asked.

He was touted as a 'memory-freak'. Perhaps he too seemed to enjoy it taking it as a pride.
A false pride seemed to got nurtured by himself or by people surrounding him at home or at work.

While writing this blogpost, a service mechanic from the above telephone company enters my home with 'smelling socks'. Had the smell been little stronger, I would have vomited if not fainted.

An excellent company would keep and train their visiting staff on a 'Do-Don't Checklist such as follows:

Before entering Indian homes 

Don't gate-crash. Take appointment and be on time (not in-time). 
Press door bell just once. Don't keep it pressed too long. 
Gently knock the door if bell is non-functional. Don't hammer it impatiently (treating it like a nail). 
Wear identity card and show it. 

Remove shoes. Remove smelling socks. 

Greet before entering.
Don't keep your bags, tools, etc. on furniture.
Take permission before sitting on sofa.

Actively and completely listen to customer complaints. 
Check if job is completed to the customer's satisfaction.

I would like to add visual-aids in support of checklists wherever possible & in particular in support of the last point above.

Visual-aids such as in picture depict certain principles that can be practised to benefit in various situations. A typical visual-aid might contain a sketch sequencing a job to be done in order to prevent forgetfulness or might color-code wires to be connected in order to prevent wrong connections or might provide PEEP slots in a frequent-travelers bag, etc.

When there is a Place-(SLOT)-for-Everything and if Everything-is-(NOT)-in-Place (PEEP), the empty SLOT, if any, reminds user of the 'missing things'. This idea is a part of Five-S (Seiton) practice for continual improvement.

At individual level, a person with a passion to excel (and wishing not to regret the result of forgetfulness later) would keep an individualized 'Do-Don't Checklist & visual-aids' on him as and when needed, be it while going to the market or while going to work or play. He does this although others may consider this as an idiosyncratic practice.

At individual level, a person with a passion to excel (and wishing not to regret the result of forgetfulness later) would keep an individualized 'Do-Don't Checklist on him as and when needed, be it while going to the market or while going to work or play.

Like an enemy, memory behaves funny exactly when you are in need 

Like a friend-in-need, checklists make you productive indeed

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-1)

Aesthetics Spills-Over Function, Want Spills-Over Need (Part-2)

Should one care for value? 

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

What You See Isn't What's Made

You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable

Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 

Less With More And More Gets Sore

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

That's How Morons Work

Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass 

WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling

Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 

How To Make A Difference 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!! 
That's How Morons Work 
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Technology in-place, security dis-placed
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Customer or Custo-Mer?  
Experienced A Delightful Payment ! 
Less With More And More Gets Sore 
Should one care for value?  
Hoarders Of Filthy Hoardings

Less With More And More Gets Sore

Yesterday, I was supposed to take a 9 a.m. fight on a leading airline. I was cutting it too fine to reach Mumbai airport after an overnight travel from Hospet.....

Do you keep curing your brand?

I requested telephone company to shift one of my landlines to my old house. It took one week for them to respond.

On 'the' day of shifting, I told their lineman about the instrument being defective: "Sometimes outgoing calls couldn't be made". As usual the reply was "instruments in short-supply". Having heard similar replies in past, I had installed a cordless anyway.

"I would appreciate if you please try (to test) a few from your go-down  You might get a good one in the dump there if I am lucky": without any expectations very politely I made a request to the govt employee.

Next day I was 'awestruck'. I saw the lineman in front of me with the instrument without any followup.

When did you last have a WOW experience like that?

For me it was 'one of it's kind delight' experienced over a past few months.

In a high-mistrust society, where "I will meet you at 9'O-clock" promise might mean 9 a.m. or 9 p.m. or whatever the '9' means to the parties concerned, there are more chances of you getting 'awfully struck' than 'awestruck with a WOW'.

Although spiritual person in you may look for a positive awe even in an awful experience, in practical business sense what does one expect: A product to perform to it's specifications just as one would expect a person to perform his duty and fulfill his promise.

In real life, past experience about a product or a person does stay in mind making one knowledgeable about what/who does or do not fulfill a promise consistently and reliably.

To me such an 'experience' full of intangible feelings and associations created along-with it's delivered-tangibles is the 'brand experience'. And corresponding 'expectations' created in the mind of customer that linger longer is the 'brand image'.

Conventionally, a brand is recognized by a bundle of it's tangibles and intangibles delivered consistently over a period of time. The American Marketing Association defines brand as a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers ... A brand may identify one item, a family of items, or all items of that seller.

Companies do spend a lot of money and efforts on 'building a brand' but most of it on building it 'externally'. They spend a fortune on choosing 'right' name for the brand , an 'attractive' logo, 'look and feel' of the offering itself and that of the POS (point-of-sale) outfits.

Above all, apart from 'being' on multimedia and on eye-catching hoardings, etc., 'the brand ambassador as well as CEO' spends precious time on promoting it. Companies also ensure appointment of a consultant, a dedicated team, a marketing plan and budget for it.

Coming back to my experience in the telephone case, 'brand image of the person' who delivered telephone service appeared to be good at least on that particular day. Brand image of the telephone/service/company however was in general far below-standard. May be so because a system was not in place to make such 'good' experience repeatable in their day-to-day operations. In fact, the damage is so severe that it's beyond cure although it is still above water with gas-supply from 'motherly' government.

In short, with the help of marketing-efforts a brand may get born in the mind-space of a current and/or prospective customer. But in order that it 'lives (there) happily ever after', operations discipline plays a major role in maintaining it without which 'external marketing' to augment it's 'look and feel' stays superficial. Without improved-operations-combined-with-hearty-smile at each of it's touch-points in the process of delivery internal as well as external, it is like being indifferent to deliver customer's real needs, expectations on quality and differentiated experience.

I had not tried an augmented food-dish until the counter-boy at a fast-food-joint educated me on it the other day with a genuine smile. It was 'available' on the menu-card all these days. But it was not well-communicated. So it did not result into business due to ineffective communication. The dish did not go beyond staying on the shelf just as it did not go beyond at-most staying in the peripheral vision of the customer.

Marketing may move an offer to customer's mind-shelf but operations must move it off-the-shelf. Indifference by anyone in the chain thus is a sure way to 'kill a brand' each moment a customer is in 'touch' with it's unsatisfactory experience.

If you go by a finding that "every dissatisfied customer 'bad-mouths' a brand to at least ten prospective buyers", you will know for yourself whose speed will be higher; that of  the CEO promoting/building the brand or that of the dissatisfied customer destroying it.

Satisfying customer's eye-balls may bring him to water once but not often and surely not force him to drink it. Brand is not about 'showing' to his eye senses a couple of times & 'leaving' it at that. Brand is about 'leaving a lovely and lively experience pleasing customer's senses' and 'living it each-day-each-time throughout it's lifetime' at 'each of it's touch-points' right from the moment a prospective customer conceives a need and begins researching for purchase and then finally disposing it off post-it's-use.

I still remember the first Indian 3-D movie: Chotta-Chetan, for the snake that I felt 'touching' my feet forcing me to fearfully coil in the seat. Hundreds of other people in the theater wearing an embarrassed smile with special 3-D spectacles on them 'experienced' the same. Not only production and marketing of the film was excellent, but also the operations that perhaps blew an air-draft under the seat that created a lasting 'touch' effect. Anyway, the success was evident in terms of huge box office collection of around Rs 60 crore during 1984-85 and 50 crore on it's re-release (1998). The film that won President's Gold Medal created a no-disposal 'recall'.

Brand is about a customer feeling it, smelling-eating-drinking it, talking about it, dreaming it, and in-short breathing it with a lasting 'recall' as an advocate in front of other prospective customers.

Successful brand building is perhaps more about doing creative 'internal marketing' so that 'internal customers' as suppliers 'live it': smell-eat-drink it, feel it, talk about it, dream it. In fact, they even 'breath it' in terms of putting their 'heart and soul' while 'caring to make' the corresponding offering 'lovely and lively' for the external customers to truly experience it like done by the 3-D movie.

Branding is about 'Living' it, not 'Show'ing & 'Leaving' it at that!