beyond classroom

Customer Care Comes With Commitment

The writer highlights the importance of customer care, which is a continuous process and is required from both, management and employees

Ipurchased a new two wheeler for my The reality these aspects and practicing excellent daughter last November. The first free The reality in most organizations, customer care all the time. They forget servicing was done at the end of 30 days, whether small, medium or large, is that employees are human beings with though the bike had run for just 140 more or less the same. To my mind, natural behaviours and not all are trained kms in this period. By the last week of there are three distinct categories of top to be sensitive towards customers. This December, I noticed that there was oil management and their approach towards is the category that believes money and leakage from the front shock absorber customer care; First category thoroughly time spent on customer care efforts is a of the bike. I booked an appointment for understands the significance of customer waste. yet some others in this category service and took the bike to the service care for their business, they drive it understand the importance of customer centre. After the initial paper work, I was and ensure that every member of the care and want to drive it, but are hesitant told to come in the evening to collect the organisation believes in this philosophy to take efforts and invest in this activity. bike. It was only on my insistence that of the organisation and has boarded They expect their employees to be this is not a regular service and that only onto the customer management flight. experts in customer service delivery after the leakage is to be rectified, I was told They build organisational culture around attending just one day training session on to wait. But the wait itself was too long. customer engagement. Such organisations customer management. And that’s highly After about three hours I was told that are the most successful organisations in impossible. the oil seal of the front shock absorber all respects. In the second category, the To cite an example, recently I was in a is faulty and needs to be replaced. But, top management may have the inner meeting with the HRM team of a reputed the required seal is not in the stores and feeling and desire that they should give company based at Verna Industrial hence it cannot be replaced now, and the best customer service, so that their Estate. This was about their requirement that an order needs to be placed for the customers are happy and retained. for training their employees on customer same and the store will procure it, which They understand the importance of care, as they felt that their employees are will take about a weeks’ time. I placed customer care very clearly, and they insensitive towards customers. I gave an the order and came back with the bike. I also take actions towards implementing elaborate training proposal spreading was told that I would be informed over the customer care philosophy and across all levels within the organization, phone as soon as the seal arrives at the building an environment that’s customer- each having specific objectives and stores. A week passed and there was no friendly. They also take actions in this spread over a period of time. But the HR information. Thus, I called the service direction, spend on this activity and also team was just not able to understand the centre inquiring about the oil seal. ‘It has concentrate on customer care. But for a essence of what I was proposing. They not come yet, it will take a weeks’ time’, short while; somewhere down the line, just wanted a one-day training session, was the reply. A week later I called back their priorities change, and the focus gets where about 60 employees would attend and I was not surprised to hear the same shifted. The fizz, for customer care, gets the training program together and they reply. It’s more than a month now and the out of the top management, percolating it expected them to be experts in ‘customer reply still is same. My advance placing of down to the employees. The efforts taken care’. And that was just not going to the order as well as repeated requests has and the money spent goes waste and the happen! They were expecting magic to fallen on deaf ears. The oil seal is still not natural human behaviour (most of the happen, either created by me or their replaced. times customer unfriendly) dominates employees.

This is how customers are treated at every employees’ actions. The ‘customer dealerships, doing brisk business on sales care’ goes for a spin. The displays and The right approach and service, with absolutely no concern the posters and all customer care quotes The right approach to ensure customer for customer care. What really is amusing remain a silent gratification only to care and retention within organisations is the fact that the organization displays customers. Such organizations will find is to ensure that every employee of the bold displays and posters of ‘commitment their customer base eroding slowly. organisation is adequately trained in to customer care’ and ‘quality service’ in The third category is the management customer management and there is work area. Now, are these posters with that does not understand the real commitment from the top management the intention to reinforce customer care importance of customer care. To them, to drive this activity. Secondly, there feelings among their employees, or is customer is just another entity that they has to be continuous reinforcement of it to manipulate customers’ emotions have to deal with. Some even believe what is learned by the employees and by acting as a feel-good factor? The that the customer is at their mercy. Some this has to be guided and monitored by employees seem to be not giving a heed to others do understand the influence of the top management or an expert hired any of these essential aspects of customer customer care and retention on their for this task, so that the efforts taken are management. So, what could be the root business, but really do not bother about driven in the right direction and in spirit. cause for this type of culture within the same. They want the best customer Customer management is a continuous organizations? Is something not right? Is care to be given by their employees process and needs high commitment, the leadership intent for customer care without any investment or efforts from equally from the management and missing? Or is it the problem of lack of the management side. They expect the employees, and is best done through commitment? employees to be inherently tuned to sustained training and facilitation