Sarwar Ahmed
As the bus took a late evening break at a restaurant during our journey to Bogra, we wanted to eat light as dinner wasn’t too far off. We asked the young boy who waited on us, what was available. Off he went reciting rapid-fire, a list of tummy filling, yummy items. Anything light to eat? I asked. A chicken sandwich he suggested with a big smile, though a chicken kebab would be more palatable, he went on. So we settled for the kebab, which was done well and did taste more of spices than of chicken meat. Russel, as he was being called, brought in just the right sized mineral water bottle so there wasn’t any waste. The hot cup of tea followed promptly. All said and done, with Russel’s attention to details, the stoppage was a pleasant experience, quite unlike another experience I had on a similar journey.
It was in the middle of an afternoon as the bus began its journey from Bogra to Dhaka. The bus’ air-conditioning was an apology, as soon enough, the concentrated smell of sweating passengers permeated the enclosed bus interiors. The bus supervisor was spraying an air freshener every so often, but to no avail as the discontented passengers only sweated more in the poorly air-conditioned breathing space. Eventually, the bus stopped at its designated restaurant. As if gasping for fresh air, passengers were literally running over each other to get out in the open. In the cool ambience of the restaurant, I asked for the usual afternoon tea I normally have. Each time I asked the waiter, he would say, coming sir. Waiting for 20 minutes, the tea never arrived. I am sure by now, you too would not like to avail this bus or the restaurant.
This is what I call the ex-factor. It drives your customers away from you. When you treat your customers with disdain, you will be paid in kind.
The other favourite trick I have found companies resort to is warranties. In our Bogra Learning and Development Centre, we put in a home theatre music system of an internationally well-reputed European brand. Before the annual warranty ran out, the system malfunctioned. It has been months now, the system has not been repaired, returned, or replaced. We call this organisation religiously once a week, to no avail. So be careful with warranties.
I had a bitter experience with the same brand when I bought an electric beard trimmer. During a stopover in Dubai, I chose this brand over others and paid a premium, because of its international warranty. Unfortunately the trimmer malfunctioned and, since I had the international warranty, I asked the local representative to help me out. Sorry, they can’t was the prompt reply.
Well, I thought, since this is an international company, I can ask for an online solution. So I went online explaining my problem and asking for a solution. Pat came an automated reply, we will reply within four working days. If you haven’t guessed it, the reply never came.
I happened to be passing through Dubai again before the warranty year was out and I went over to the Dubai International Airport Duty Free warranty desk. I showed the malfunctioning trimmer with the money receipt. The so-called customer services representative quickly retorted, your warranty is over. Showing him the signed, sealed international warranty, he had the same story, no we cannot repair or replace. As a customer, do you think I will ever buy this particular brand again?
So be wary of these ex-factors. If you promise, live and deliver the promise, if you cannot, do not make the promise in the first place.
I usually find businesses very good at selling their stuff but what remains missing is the after sales support. We seem to think this extremely important factor of customer experience to be a bother and as such not to bother about it. There is hardly any process defined of how to handle customer queries or complaints. So who ever unluckily picks up the phone, tries to parry the customer with hems and haws, and the worse case being, blaming the customer for the problem. In Bangladesh of course, you need to find your connections, be it relatives, even distant ones, friends, friends of friends to get anything done.
Each customer contact is a ‘moment of truth’, a phrase made famous by Jan Carlzon, former president of Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS). Carlzon says that any time a passenger comes into contact with an SAS employee is a moment of truth. It can be an online booking, a call to make a reservation, airport check in, in flight experience or luggage handling. As Carlzon explains, “Nothing is more fragile than the fleeting contact between a customer and an employee on the front lines. When you establish contact, that’s when you establish SAS.”
This is true whether it is your employee, product or your service. Each time a customer comes in contact with an employee, your product or service is a moment of truth, whether this will translate into customer satisfaction and continuous business or whether this moment of truth will be the ex-factor, a customer lost forever.
The writer is the managing director of Syngenta Bangladesh Ltd.
