Taking care of your customers pays off

The Life: Ron Kaufman, author of the forthcoming book Uplifting Service, discusses what businesses in the Emirates should keep in mind as they try to boost customer service.

Ron Kaufman, author of the forthcoming book Uplifting Service. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Boosting customer service is easier said than done. During a recent trip to the Emirates, Ron Kaufman, a consultant in this area and the author of the forthcoming book Uplifting Service, discussed what businesses should keep in mind as they try to make improvements.

What is the UAE's history of customer service rooted in?

The UAE's commercial sector has been, for many years, transactionally oriented. The history of that tends to be more focused on price, product and perhaps speed of delivery. What's happening now is people are escalating in affluence and increasing in expectations, especially after the economic downturn. People are swimming in a sea of offers.

So what can a small or medium enterprise (SME) do to stand out from others?

It turns out your performance, packaging and price - all of that is commoditised. Where customer service could provide an edge is to be courteous and nice. But what's also changing is customers willing to value that relationship. A challenge for SMEs is to stop thinking about 'how much did I sell, and how much did I make,' [and] look at what do they want to accomplish and establish - and somebody they'd like to do that with.

Does that model work with a large organisation?

Even more so. Often they're distributing through a reseller ... [when] it's not always a direct-to-consumer relationship. That relationship has also been seen as more of a matter of price and volume. The way to help resellers and partners succeed is to cultivate a better relationship.

What are some examples of companies from this region that have done that?

Emirates [Airline's] cars, which pick up people at the airport. That's a critical first perception point for all of the UAE. They make sure the drivers are well-groomed [and that] there's a newspaper, towel [and] those things that have nothing to do with the car - and everything to do with the experience.

What is another example?

Xerox, [which is] locally managed. In the past, the model was 'if you have a break we'll come in and fix it.' Of course they'll still do that but ... [now they] use that time to create additional value. Maybe you train people to use new software, or organise and clean up a storeroom; that's usually not Xerox's job but they want to do something extra. Why? They want to get a bounce in customer loyalty. They've created a culture that has this huge appetite for looking for problems.

Is this kind of initiative possible for an SME, which might not have the labour force to spare?

Well, it doesn't have to take more people and certainly not more cost. When was the last time you bought something from a small shop, and they called to ask if you were happy? What's the cost of the phone call? But what's the impact of the call? You stand out.

* Neil Parmar

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