Listen to the iceberg of VOC to acquire customers

Having traveled over 500-Kilometers in a 'bus-to-hell', I requested the agent to "book my return-journey on a bus-service that follows road-safety norms (especially the overtaking related), doesn't honk horn excessively, nor does it overuse brakes."

There was no other convenient alternative mode. A debt-ridden airliner had stopped operating on that (the Mumbai-Hubli) sector.

The travel agent gave me a funny look as if he was booking a ticket for an alien.

Not his fault because he was used to conventional requests like "timeliness, cleanliness, bus-with-video", etc. But someone like an idiosyncratic like me had to do the nasty job of giving customer-feedback. I usually don't hesitate doing so, sometimes even by making unusual requests such as above although unsure of the cognizance of it. 

I'm optimistic that sometime someone will. I think every customer who isn't, deserves to get a shoddy quality if s/he does!

Anyway, whether a customer complains or not, is it difficult for owners/managers of tourist buses to prevent their bus-drivers from overdoing: honking, speeding-up, braking on-and-oft, etc. kind of bad work habits. Now a days even digital technology is available to do so. Drivers, especially the bus-drivers, are constantly in a mood to kiss other speeding vehicles passing by.

Perhaps only on Indian roads the passengers must be getting reduced to a continuously-rattling grain-in-a-sieve. One has to master the art of Napolean-nap (quick nap on horse that he's famous for) to be able to take one in between a couple of sets of honking and braking in buses in India.

Forget feedback or lodging a complaint, hardly anyone even dares to voice such abnormal driving behavior. Surely s/he won't for the fear of the 'boss'-driver particularly if forced to travel frequently in the same bus.

Some companies do have a mechanism to capture such voice-of-customer (VOC). Because they know that, although sounding like 'idiosyncratic' casual remarks, VOC are just a tip of the iceberg (of complaints not voiced by many others for various reasons).

Some of them are sensible and sensitive enough to take next steps that of digging into the iceberg to take corrective and preventive actions treating such voices as 'complaints', although at times they may not be so.

- But having taken actions, how many look at the resulting improved practices as a competitive advantage! 

- How many build upon them and deploy them horizontally as specifications enhancing their own standards over and above their 'core-offering'! 

- How many communicate them (through their marketing promotion programme) in order to differentiate their services from from others!

Those who do, do score over their competition!

What steps do such forward looking companies take?

1/ They educate their staff that hardly over 4-out-of-100 dissatisfied customers might end up complaining. Rest just quit without-telling even as the so-called satisfied customers continue to 'live' with abnormalities until of course they get alternative-options.

2/ They install various mechanisms such as follows to capture VOC.

- They actually travel like a ghost-customer (known as mystery-shopping practice) in order to learn by observing abnormal as also good practices, if any.

- They train their staff to speak and/or 'actively-listen' to customers just as a mother would do with her tiny tots in order to learn their unspoken-unmet needs over and above their 'crying' wants anyway.

3/ They put Kaizen-improvements in place on relevant VOC observations, abnormal as well as good practices of own as also that from customer's gemba, and unspoken-unmet needs as also wants.

4/ They train and re-train their stakeholders on the above for effective implementation.

Actually specifications such as timeliness, cleanliness, video, etc. are a given 'Must-Quality' norms to enter or at the most to be in business.

Additionally it is the satisfaction of VOC: unspoken-unmet needs as well as wants (that's why it is called as 'Quality-that-Delights' the customer) that has the power - to expand the base of customer as also of the business (Ansoff-Matrix) by not only helping to bring out innovative products/services but also - to pull in additional customers (brand-affinity) while retaining the existing ones on existing products/services (brand-loyalty).

Of course, effectively communicating the resultant differentiations among all its stakeholders is part and parcel of the process.

Very few companies actually administer such a conducive mechanism by-design. Imagine the scope to benefit from it in terms of top-line sales and bottom-line profits if they do.

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

No Time? Micro-Meditate!  
Functional-Aesthetics
Listen To The Iceberg Beyond Tip

Overworked? Tension? CPU of the mind hung-up? 
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important? 
Eternally Happy! 
In-a-problem? No-problem! Dwell-a-while! 
I am afraid ! What do I do !! 
Fearful-Of-Death-of-Birth
Take Habits For A Ride 
Happy-Birthday-to-Youooo
Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Are You Good If Others Are Bad?  
Want Need-Or-Want 
How To Make A Difference 
Love is Care.. Care is Love !  
Deity is in the eyes of the beholder 
Success-or-failure! What-do-you-like?
Ball-Basin-Team Combine !  Maketh The Smile Divine !! 

Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation

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.

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.

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?

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 

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?