My Grandmother knows more about customer service than I do.
My grandmother, now touching 90, lost most of her family during the partition of India in 1947. Her sight and hearing lasted till about a couple of years ago. Post which she relies on aids of different kinds to decipher most of her world. Her mind however is like an old bullet motorcycle. Takes a couple of kicks , but once on the road, goes all the way.
I spent a considerable time in my career on the retail floor, selling shoes (Reebok) and later sound systems (Bose), and then managing ‘on the phone’ teams dealing with people who own credit cards (GE). After years of so called ‘world-class training’ in customer service from both ‘goreÉ’ and ‘desi’ trainers, I can stand and talk about creating great experiences for your customers for hours at length. Here’s where the dilemma starts.
Part of every trainers struggle with people, are the ones who aren’t made for customer service. So you go to HR and try and explain the attitudes to look for and the communication skills. Some people still filter through and irrespective of how many times you try, these people will never make great customer service personnel. My Dadi (Grandmother) knows why. She has a very simple thumb rule that she applies while choosing prospective brides for the boys in the family. Either the girl cares or she doesn’t. Period.
Here is how she checks for niceness in a person.
1. Does the person offer you water when you enter the house?
2. Does the person give her seat to you?
3. Does the person show respect to guests?
4. Does the person raise her voice when irritated?
5. Does the person pay attention when you say something?
6. Does the person acknowledge what you say and really listen?
7. Does the person understand ‘unsaid’ things and act on them?
A yes to most of these questions will qualify any girl for the best boys in the family. No reasonable boy wants to get married in this fashion, is a separate discussion.
Coming back to Customer Service… One is either built for great customer service or not. A lot of cultures bring up people in ways considered aggressive by the rest of us. Compare a typical Gujrati to a Haryanavi and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Customer service (or any service) is finally about (first) being a nice person, and nice is what nice does. My Dadi will tell you that.
I spent a considerable time in my career on the retail floor, selling shoes (Reebok) and later sound systems (Bose), and then managing ‘on the phone’ teams dealing with people who own credit cards (GE). After years of so called ‘world-class training’ in customer service from both ‘goreÉ’ and ‘desi’ trainers, I can stand and talk about creating great experiences for your customers for hours at length. Here’s where the dilemma starts.
Part of every trainers struggle with people, are the ones who aren’t made for customer service. So you go to HR and try and explain the attitudes to look for and the communication skills. Some people still filter through and irrespective of how many times you try, these people will never make great customer service personnel. My Dadi (Grandmother) knows why. She has a very simple thumb rule that she applies while choosing prospective brides for the boys in the family. Either the girl cares or she doesn’t. Period.
Here is how she checks for niceness in a person.
1. Does the person offer you water when you enter the house?
2. Does the person give her seat to you?
3. Does the person show respect to guests?
4. Does the person raise her voice when irritated?
5. Does the person pay attention when you say something?
6. Does the person acknowledge what you say and really listen?
7. Does the person understand ‘unsaid’ things and act on them?
A yes to most of these questions will qualify any girl for the best boys in the family. No reasonable boy wants to get married in this fashion, is a separate discussion.
Coming back to Customer Service… One is either built for great customer service or not. A lot of cultures bring up people in ways considered aggressive by the rest of us. Compare a typical Gujrati to a Haryanavi and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Customer service (or any service) is finally about (first) being a nice person, and nice is what nice does. My Dadi will tell you that.
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