I had gone to Bangalore on a short visit, and while returning, I took a Meru
cab from the city to the airport. This is one radio cab service that has never
failed me till now (touch wood!), while others like EasyCab have. Meru has done
several simple things to keep their customers happy. For instance, a simple
placard is placed in the cab, giving the driver's name and the rules that he
must follow. An automatic acceleration detector is deployed in each cab, which
beeps if the driver over-speeds. When you complete the journey, you get an SMS
asking for your feedback on their quality of service.
While these are all small things, they create a good image of the company,
and keep its customers satisfied (at least I am).
Unfortunately I can't say the same thing for many other services I've used,
most of which are from big names in the BFSI and telecom space. Their quality of
service is terrible, despite having used the latest technologies, CRM solutions,
or what have you.
My credit card company for instance, calls me up well before my payment due
date, asking for payment. Even after I complain that I haven't even received the
bill yet, and request them to send me one, I keep getting similar calls. After I
make the payment, and even get an SMS confirmation for it, I get calls from
their executives, requesting for payment details, because their systems 'haven't
been updated yet'!
Likewise, a big telecom player allows its users to register on their website
for various services. Unfortunately, their registration process is so complex
that it would require a security expert to complete it. There's a detailed set
of instructions on how to enter your password-it must be at least 8 characters,
it must have letters and numbers, and the most ridiculous one is that you can
use only certain symbols. If you're courageous enough to register, and later
forget your password, then may God help you. Because to confirm your identity,
they send you two passwords-one via SMS to your mobile phone and the other to
your email id. Only after you enter both on their website, can you proceed.
After this, the same ordeal of entering a new password starts all over again.
Even banks and financial services organizations don't use such complex
registration procedures. So much for business process automation, ERP, CRM, and
other fancy IT
solution deployments!
The message here is clear-customers care two hoots about how much technology
you've used. It's the quality of service you provide that finally matters.
Anil Chopra, Editor
anilc@cybermedia.co.in