The Hindu Business Line : The other side of good service

It's not just a company's attitude that shows in its service. Consumers can improve matters by speaking up when they should, and showing appreciation when it is deserved.

THIS is a slight digression from my earlier pieces on how companies need to transform themselves to be more competitive. That's because it talks about how consumers need to transform themselves, to improve the overall competitiveness in the service industry.

Are you a chalta hai consumer?

Many years ago, I bought some apple tarts from what was the only decent cake shop then in Chennai. I was horrified to observe some fuzzy growth on them, and when I placed them indignantly before the owner, all I expected was a "Sorry", and a replacement. The owner, of course, fuelled my gobbling indignation, with her "I wasn't there, it wasn't me, and yes, it happens all the time" litany of `excuses'. But what really got my goat was an interested bystander, another consumer, who interrupted me and said: "Let it be, after all we all have fungus in our own fridges, don't we?" It is this kind of a complacent, indifferent consumer that perpetuates service sloppiness in India.

Do you complain when the service is bad? Do you insist that the service provider be polite, punctual, efficient? If you don't vote with your feet - and your wallet - to protest when service is shoddy, then how will the service providers know that they are falling short of the mark?

Yet, don't be a complaint-monger

This sounds contrary to the earlier point, but can you distinguish between a valid complaint for poor service or are you one of those who finds fault unreasonably?

Allocate blame where it is due. Screeching at the hapless ground crew for a plane that has not arrived on time may help you vent spleen, but isn't doing much to further the cause of good service.

When pizza delivery started in India, many put in a clause that if the pizza wasn't delivered within the stipulated time, it would be delivered free. I have heard of consumers who deliberately misdirect the poor chap, with the help of some conniving watchmen - so that the pizza arrives a few minutes late and the dinner is free. Not only is this downright unethical, such behaviour will in the long run merely result in either the cost of the service going up (more expensive pizzas), or running the pizza business out of service (lesser competition, higher prices).

Do you value good service?

Recently, my son's school delighted us parents by offering us school books, all brown-paper covered, labelled, and delivered at home at a time of our convenience. All this for just Rs 50. As you can imagine, we were the envy of other parents in other schools! Now I find that the service provider which did the job probably lost money on the deal. Why? Because when the courier landed up at home (at the time agreed upon), delivery was refused, citing the day or time as inconvenient or inauspicious. If the service is withdrawn next year, whom would we have to blame?

Take punctuality, as another case. Chennai is famous for appointments with a large margin of error. "I will be there 12,12:30,1", is the common refrain. Thus revealing a shocking lack of respect for own time and that of the person to be met. As the owner of one Chennai-based domestic service laments, "When you keep up an appointment, very few people appreciate it, but most feel you are on time because you have nothing better to do. Hindi-speaking customers appreciate punctuality. So do those from Kerala. Expats demand it, are surprised that it is possible to be punctual in India."

When a repairman turns up on time and is told "Wait for sometime till I bathe/eat/finish this phone call", you are adding to the cost of his service, without reimbursing him for it. If the bulk of consumers behave this way, what will be the incentive for service providers to insist on punctuality?

Will you pay more for better service?

Now, herein lies the rub! As the earlier article explored, good service is expensive for the service provider. And while there are compelling reasons for organisations to incur this cost and improve service quality, there has to be a concomitant recognition by consumers that service is not a freebie.

Increasingly, companies will segment consumers on the willingness to pay for the extra service - extra leg room for business class passengers, more spending points for gold credit card holders, and so on. Are you willing to pay for the extra? Bargaining for service is a particularly Indian genetic defect. Consumers who would not dream of asking for a garment or an appliance to be given at a discount in a shop, will not mind bargaining with, or worse, cheating a service provider. I know of one obstetrician who laments that some patients bargain with her after the baby is born! Since service is a product of skill and time and experience, it has such an intangible cost: perhaps consumers don't realise they are depriving the provider by bargaining.

Do you praise good service?

As the Chennai-based lady protests: "Service industry is the only industry you are remembered for your faults." It takes only one goof-up for a service to get a lousy reputation.

On the flip side, how often do you smile back at the harried nurse, bank clerk, the waitress, the airhostess and compliment her on a job well done? Most of those who work in the service business do so because they enjoy the human interaction and thrive in the sensation of having improved others' lives. How about giving them some pats on the back as well?

How does all this help competitive strategy? Well, if you buy the logic, (which I do) that we are all partners in this interdependent ecosystem, then by doing our bit as consumers, with fairness and empathy, we can help organisations do their bit with efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Which would make for a better place to live in, right?

(The author is a Chennai-based consultant. Feedback can be e-mailed to bleditor@thehindu.co.in)

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