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BIZ LETTERS
Is customer service an art?
Few days back, I went to a jewelry shop in Singapore to buy a . gift for my friend. As I entered to the shop I was greeted like a guest by one sales person with her smile. I was amazed to experience the customer comfort a sales person can ensure to arrive at a right buying decision. She enquired thoroughly to understand what would suit my friend best. Then one very important question comes to my mind, Ts customer service an art?
Proliferation of media, growth in telecommunication, mushrooming financial institution, mobility of people across the world have opened our eyes to the development of the modern world for last one decade. People are getting exposure to the changing business world. In our trade dependent country we have seen a phenomenal growth in the service industry. To take it to next level and package it with professional touch 'customer service’ has become a key differentiating factor. Being brutally honest, we see lack of this particular aspect in professionalism.
Customer service can be defined as an art which starts at top of any company. Attitude towards customer service is the primary determinant of the quality of service that a company delivers. If the management thinks that customers are a pain in the ass who always want something for nothing, that attitude will permeate the company, and service will be lousy. The best kind of customer service happens when management enables employees to put the customer in control. This requires two leaps of faith: first, that management trusts customers not take advantage of the situation; second, that management trust employees with this empowerment. If we can make these leaps, then the quality of customer service will zoom; if not, there is nothing more frustrating than companies copping the attitude that something is “against company policy.”
A company that takes responsibility for its shortcomings is likely to provide great customer service for two reasons: first, it s acknowledged that it's the company's fault and the company's responsibility to fix. Second, customers won't go through the aggravating process of getting us to accept blame--if we got to the airport on time and checked our baggage; it's hard to see how it's our fault that it got sent to the wrong continent. 'Point the finger' is the flip side of taking responsibility. As computer owners we all know that when a program doesn't work, vendors often resort to finger pointing: “It's Apple's system software.” “It’s Microsoft's special' way of doing things." ■It's the way Adobe created PDF." A great customer service company doesn't point the finger--it figures out what the solution is regardless of whose fault the problem is and makes the customer happy. There is a saying, “You're either part of the problem or part of the solution.” (By the way, as a rule of thumb, the company with the largest market capitalization is the one at fault.). We have also experienced that great customer > service companies don't shoot the messenger. When it comes to customer service, it could be a customer, an employee, a vendor, or a consultant who’s doing the pointing. The goal is not to silence the messenger, but to fix the problem that the messenger brought so that other customers don't have a bad experience.
One of the most common justifications for anti-service is “What if everyone did this?" For example, what if everyone bought a new wardrobe when we lost their luggage? The point is: Don't assume that the worst case is going to be the common case.There will be outlier abusers, yes, but generally people are reasonable. If we put in a policy to take care of the worst case, bad people, it will antagonise and insult the bulk of our cus-tomers.To put it mildly, customer service is not a job for every-°ne customer service person derives great satisfac-
°y helping people and solving problems. This cannot be said of every job candidate It’s the company's responsibility to hire the right kind of people for this job because it can be a bad jXPerien^e the employee and the customer when you hire o s without a service orientation. In our country we need to eriously look into this. Definition of customer service is yet to understand by us properly.
egoal of customer service should be delighting customer.
For example, the signs in the lines at Theme Park that tell us how long we have to wait from each point are purposely overstated. When we get to the ride in less time, we are delighted. Imagine if the signs were understatedwe'd be angry because theme park lied to us. It is also very important to integrate customer sendee into the mainstream. Let's see: sales make the big money. Marketing does the fun stuff. Engineers, well, we leave them alone in their dark caves. Accounting cuts the paychecks. And support? Do to the dirty work of talking to piss off customers when nothing else works. Herein lies the problem: customer service has as much to do with a company's reputation as sales, marketing, engineering, and finance. So integrate customer service into the mainstream of the company and do not consider it profit-sucking necessary evil. A customer service hero deserves all the accolades that a sales, marketing, or engineering one does.
To put several recommendations in action, suppose a part breaks in the gizmo that a customer bought from us. First, take responsibility: "I'm sorry that it broke.” Second, don't point the finger--that is, don't say, "We buy that part from a supplier." Third, put the customer in control: "When would like the replacement by?” Fourth, promise equals to over deliver: Send it at no additional charge via a faster shipping method than necessary. That's the way to create legendary customer service. AZM Saifuddin
Dhaka
Embedding CSR into practices of companies
The recent surge of interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has led to the birth of a CSR industry in Bangladesh. This has in turn led to many definitions of what constitutes "CSR". CSR is generally defined as open and transparent practices that are based on ethical values and respect for all who are impacted by those practices such as its shareholders; its
employees, its suppliers and the society in which the company operates. The common thread amongst the available definitions is that CSR is not about how a company spends its money, but about how the company makes its money.
CSR is one of the many steps of the journey that started with the movement for improved corporate governance. It is not without its critics, the most famous is from the eminent economist Milton Friedman who wrote in 1970: "There is one and only one social responsibility of business -- to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” However, three decades onwards, CSR has become a norm and well-accepted concept. Today companies engage in CSR activities because behaving responsibly helps them protect the interest of their shareholders.
Although the movement to embrace CSR is gaining momentum, there are still a good number of companies in Bangladesh that have yet to start operating responsibly. There are examples of companies engaging in practices that maintain their profits by compromising the needs of future generations of Bangladeshis e.g. dyeing factories that pollute public water bodies with untreated effluents and publishers using paper from non-sustainable sources.
Among the companies that have conducted CSR activities, there are very few that have actually embedded CSR as part of their business practices preferring to use CSR as a public relations or marketing tool. In order to truly claim CSR is part of the corporate DNA, companies have to have a structured methodology to listen to its stakeholders; respond and act on valid stakeholders concerns; and account themselves on their commitments to address their stakeholders' concerns. Secondly, CSR must be embedded as part of everyday business as opposed to one-off acts of charity. Today, corporate philanthropy activities are being touted as CSR. While CSR outlines the basic responsibility areas for a company related to its business i.e. how it makes its money; corporate philanthropy has more to do with sustainable investment for social causes which are not directly linked with the core business of that company i.e. how it spends its money.
A purist may argue that CSR should be ensured before companies begin to engage in corporate philanthropy. Thus, companies have been accused of not embracing CSR when their reputations for corporate philanthropy are better known to the public.
While it is easy to criticise such activities as public relations exercises, one should not forget their roles in leading their peers towards adopting a greater level of responsibility towards society. Many other companies in Bangladesh are also attempting to develop their own CSR practices triggered by an urge to do something better for the community.
The present government has also started to endorse and encourage laudable initiatives by different Bangladesh companies. Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said that the government is in the process of framing a policy to encourage greater participation of corporate bodies in CSR practices. Senior officials of the government have also expressed the need for a set of policies on CSR because of its obvious benefits to the country.
There is still a long way for CSR can be said to have been truly embedded into the practices of Bangladesh companies. However, many companies have started the process as part of a quiet revolution towards greater level of responsibility. It is vital that that these companies are well-informed about what truly constitutes CSR. Adopting new practices and embedding are expected to take time, effort and resources. We need to recognise that companies in Bangladesh are heading in the ' right direction and will face great challenges. It is therefore important for us to encourage them in their resolve towards achieving greater corporate responsibility to the society in which they operate.
Fahad Karim
Dhaka