Put a Shine in your Service

Productivity Digest - Cover Story,
by Jaime Koh

Service providers beware - don't just pay lip service to customer service. It could cost you loyal customers who buy your premium products/services, or who create positive word-of-mouth for your organisation or give you feedback to help you improve and grow. Mr Ron Kaufman, in an exclusive interview with Productivity Digest , shares his views on Singapore 's service level and how organisations can make their service shine.

PD: Why is good customer service so important?

Ron Kaufman: First of all, there is a commercial reason to it. Customers have many choices these days. With globalisation of products/services, the range and volume of choices have increased. But, customers will go back to a place where they feel they have been well served and appreciated.

And each time they do go back to a certain organisation, the cost of serving them actually goes down. That's because customers understand the company systems better, know how the procedures work and what service to expect etc. It is also easier to take care of them because you already understand them - their preferences, what they like,
what they don't like and you can start to recommend and suggest additional products and services.

Happy customers are those who buy your premium products/services or will come back to you more frequently. And happy customers will tell other people about you and come back with their family/friends. This positive word-of-mouth - which is an unsolicited testimonial - is the most incredibly powerful advertising that any company can ever seek to achieve. You didn't pay for it - it's not advertising space or a television commercial, so it actually has a higher credibility than anything you can purchase on the radio, television, internet or newspapers!

Thus, it makes a lot of sense to invest in customer service. As the expression goes, "What goes around comes around", if you take care of your customers so that they feel well-served, they will also help to take care of you and your staff, by being more appreciative and being the kind of customers who are easy to serve.

PD: What are your views on service standards in Singapore ?

Ron Kaufman: When I talk about service, I talk about the four 'slices' (or elements) that determine good customer service. The first is products. If you don't have the products (that customers want), you can't serve them. For example, in a university, the curriculum is the product. If the curriculum is not up to date, it doesn't matter how good the teachers are. In this aspect, Singapore is doing very well. The market here is very discerning - people travel widely and they know what a good product looks like. The restaurants, hotels etc in Singapore are constantly upgrading and renovating. You see more and more places where you can eat, shop or stay at or go for entertainment etc. Product quality is high and on par with international standards.

The second slice is what I call the 'delivery systems', that is, how easy it is for customers to see what you have, choose what they want, have it delivered to them where, when and how they want it and pay the way they want to. Good examples are Dell and Amazon, who have made use of the Internet as a way of giving customers infinite choice.

I give Singapore a 60 (out of 100) on the report card for this aspect. While the accuracy and speed of delivery is pretty good, Singapore is not really up to standard as far as making use of the Internet is concerned. If you look at many websites, they're not easy to navigate and they can be very confusing when you actually want to execute the purchase. The way people do things has not really been changed. Singapore needs to look forward, to design systems from the customers' point of view and make them convenient and user-friendly for customers.

The third slice of service is the service mindset. This has to do with the character, personality, style, attitude and mood of the service provider. And this is the area where Singapore Airlines took a stand early. They created a beautiful icon - the Singapore girl who embodies warmth, professionalism and friendliness. And this icon has become a distinguishing factor for the organisation in the industry. The Singaporean culture does not naturally teach its people to have a service mindset, not like the Thais (with their gentle and kind nature), Japanese (with their formal and respectful manner) or Australians (with their gregarious and out-going style).

The Singaporean style is choppy, busy, getting the job done. For example, in the area of service recovery, if customers have a problem, just fix it. But just fixing the problem is not good enough - it doesn't consider the emotional experience (disappointment) of the customer. What we should do is to fix the problem and be nice about it - show some concern, a little personal attention, extend an apology. If we can satisfy the customer, it can make the customer forget all about the problem and feel even more positive about the company. Singapore does not have this mindset naturally in its culture yet. It is a necessary challenge for Singapore ; to show that kind of spirit, mood and generosity.

The fourth slice is customer relationship. It is important to do a follow-up, follow through, care about what customers are trying to achieve and not just what they want to buy. There is a difference between a sales person who asks customers, "What's your budget?" and one who asks, "Tell me about what you hope to achieve." If you get customers to open up, you could explore with them and that's the beginning of a good relationship. If you only ask, "What's your budget? How many do you want? When do you need it?", that's only a transaction and when the transaction is over, it's over! But a relationship will continue on and on. The best companies will build not only relationships but partnerships. In a partnership, both partners are committed to the success of both parties - you want customers to win and customers also want your company to win.

PD: Tell me about the best customer experience you had with local service staff.

Ron Kaufman: I have one of the best travel agents in town. This particular travel agent knows all my travel preferences - class of travel, where I sit, what meals I like to request etc. She knows all my credit card numbers, passport requirements, who I travel with, ie my family members and their passport numbers and our frequent flyer numbers. And she is proactive. Not only does she take care of my bookings, she is always thinking two or three steps ahead of me by planning in advance for my next trip and so on. Guess what, you need to pay a fee for that. But I'm delighted to pay the fee for her. I'll refer other people to her and I recommend her highly.

PD: And, your worst experience?

Ron Kaufman: That's the bo-chap (ie "I don't care") attitude. For example, how often have I called up companies to hear the receiver saying, "You hold on huh.". I understand where that comes from. But from the language's standpoint, you can't talk like that if you work in a world-class organisation! There are many people who answer the phone and don't say good morning or good afternoon, don't explain what company it is and don't give their names. I've called some major companies and what you get is, "Hello?" I think this is embarrassing!

PD: What advice can you give our local businesses on how to 'up' their service?

Ron Kaufman: There are eight proven principles you can use to achieve good service. They are to: understand how your customers' expectations are rising and changing over time (by making use of customer surveys, interviews and focus groups), use quality service to differentiate your business from your competition, set and achieve high service standards by going beyond basic and expected levels of service. Learn to manage your customers' expectations - the best way to do this is to first build a reputation for making and keeping clear promises. Once you have established a base of trust, you only need to ask your customers for their patience in the rare circumstances when you cannot meet their requests.

And, bounce back with effective service recovery - when things go wrong for your customers, do everything you can to set things right again. Fix the problem, show sincere concern for any discomfort, frustration or inconvenience, then do a little bit more by giving your customers something positive to remember, such as a token of goodwill or a discount on future orders. Appreciate your complaining customers because they can be your best allies in building and improving your business. They point out where your system is faulty, procedures are weak or problematic etc - insights and conclusions that people pay consultants to provide but you get them free!

Take personal responsibility - finger-pointing doesn't help; instead, make recommendations, propose new ideas and volunteer to help out in problem-solving teams/projects. And finally, see the world from your customers' point of view. Never lose sight of what your customers actually experience. Make time to stand on the other side of the counter or listen on the other end of the phone. What you notice is what your customers experience everyday!

PD: Some local organisations / Singapore brands that you would highly recommend for their great service are.

Ron Kaufman: That would be Singapore Airlines, Raffles Hotel, Diners World Travel, Pontini's Restaurant which is at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and Dr Tay and Partners - a dental firm which is so customer-oriented that I think they provide one of the finest services around!

Copyright, Ron Kaufman. All rights reserved.
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