Customer Service — An Unsung Hero
It was a long weekend and I had to buy an air conditioner for my farm house in Punjab. I tried to look something on Amazon but they have a very limited delivery in that area. Half of the brands are not available for delivery.
In the evening, I decided to drive to the town market and search for an AC from local shops. First two stops, that I made at local mom and pop shops, were disaster for me in terms of customer experience. Sales people were not aware of pricing and product features. They were looking at their file to figure out the pricing for each and every AC. And their body language was sluggish. Listless body activity suggested that they have wilted under outside hot temperatures. However, to me it was a sheer indifference to customer experience and that put me off. After interacting with these weary and unresponsive sales guys, I was convinced it is a road to irrelevance and I am not going to buy anything from them.
Every retail stores thrives or dies because of its customer service. This is equally true for a multi-billion dollar retail stores which have stores on multiple continents and mom-pop stores in small towns. If a customer is encountered with a sloppy salesman with shoulders drooping and no product knowledge, then you tend to lose a customer for a lifetime. Their knowledge, passion to serve customer and devotion towards creating enhanced customer experience. This can be a number one competitive advantage. However many companies, irrespective of their size, fail to train their staff in right manner which would ensure that a customer is for life.
Regarding my AC search, I checked a local search engine and looked for another electronic shop. And it pointed out one more in other part of the town. I decided to drive down to that shop and try my luck. The shop was spread over two floors and I was guided towards the area where ACs were displaced. The guy started showing me ACs. To my surprise, there were price tags on the ACs and guy was not burying himself in a file to look for prices. “This is a great start.” I muttered to myself. He continued to explain me the features of an AC from one particular brand. He talked about colored back and its benefits. He showed me couple of voltage stabilizers and explained me the benefit for having a copper wired voltage regulator over an aluminum wired. Interaction with him was fruitful as he was not throwing jargon at me. He was making me more knowledgeable by explaining everything in simple terms. And, I felt that I am at a right place.
Many organizations forget that they are not selling products but the value to the customers. Apart from the product, the value is derived by smiling employees delivering customer service to each customer. Quality is always derived by a customer when service delivery meets his/her expectations. If someone can exceed those expectations then you have won a customer for a lifetime.
Like I have become a lifetime customer of this mom and pop electronic retail shop.
_____________________________________________________________
I you liked this, please do press little heart button at the bottom.
