• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

— S. Mahinsha

Focus on customer: (From left) Billiards champion Geet Sethi; Mr Shankaran Nair, President, Corporate Strategy, Servion Global Solutions, and Mr V.K. Madhav Mohan, Management Mentor, at the inaugural session of Custommerce India Chapter 5 in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 17 Excellence in customer service, as in life, needs obsession or a burning desire and concentration, said billiards champion Geet Sethi.

Speaking at Custommerce India Chapter 5, an annual event that looks at the challenges facing customer service and seeks to develop strategies to achieve a customer-driven economy, he pointed out that tools, systems and so on are important, but it is a “mad obsession” and concentration that are key to excellence.

Drawing on examples from billiards and also from other sports, he stressed that obsession alone will not do; excellence also requires the ability to concentrate at the ‘moment of truth’. Concentration is what distinguishes excellence from mediocrity, he declared.

“You need to be ‘there’ at the moment of truth,” he emphasised, adding that this is true of any endeavour including customer service. If the mind wanders at this moment, the connect with the customer is lost.

Referring to an example from his own life, Sethi said that he first bought a house in 1992. So caught up was he in this process that he lost his concentration and did not win a single tournament for the next year, he added.

While Sethi focused on the mind, Mr Sunny Rao, Managing Director, India and South East Asia, Nuance, in his presentation said great service comes from the heart. Customers’ perception of the service they receive is driven by factors such as time, personalisation and care.

Getting customer service right requires organisations to dazzle or build relationships; adopt the right attitude by getting into the customer’s mind; treat customers the way the organisation would like to be treated; innovate; nurture relationships by asking, listening and responding; and offer guarantees that mean something to customers. He added that organisations could even look at making customer service success one of the determinants of senior executive compensation.

In his presentation, Mr C. K. Venkataraman, Chief Operating Officer-Jewellery, Titan Industries, said companies should invest more in customers and people. Treat staff well and they will treat customers well, he added.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Dr M.B. Athreya, Mentor-Custommerce, outlined some recent milestones in the Custommerce movement and also touched on issues the movement needs to consider as it grows. The theme of the two-day Custommerce India Chapter 5, organised by Servion Global Solutions, is ‘Back to Basics’.

The second day of the conference will have presentations by Mr V.K. Madhav Mohan, management mentor and Mr M. Mahadevan, the Dubai-based restaurateur and entrepreneur. Interactive learning sessions by Mr Shiva Subramaniam, a consultant and trainer, complemented the presentations at the event.

More Stories on : Customer Relationship Management | Events

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line