The BBC reports that the Nepal Traffic Police is using celebrities to teach their rank-and-file a thing or two about courtesy and public service. Having been kicked and scolded by these policemen/women, I think this is a great idea and welcome the news with my fingers crossed. As comical as this may seem, it is a real issue in Kathmandu and the Traffic Police should be lauded for their effort. For us business geeks, this might be an opportunity to talk about customer service in the private sector of Nepal.
When I first travelled to the United States for college, I was shocked at the level and quality of customer service provided by American businesses. I didn’t believe that you could actually return food at restaurants, electronics at Wal-Mart, and demand to “speak to the manager” for things that, at the time, seemed petty. The phrase that seemed to echo throughout the Business School hallways, especially in hospitality classrooms, was --“the customer is always right!” This was a new concept to someone who grew up in a country where brand loyalty was not fully developed—I don’t know if it wasn’t understood or just ignored. I would like to side with the latter—people were much more concerned with turning a quick buck rather than focusing on a sustainable long run stream of revenue.
On my last visit to Nepal, an attendant at a gift shop in Thamel sat glued to his TV, not even bothering to make eye contact as I walked in. However, as soon as a white tourist walked in, he jumped, turned off the TV, turned on the lights, and started to behave as if the queen of England had walked in! She walked out without buying anything and I bought $130 worth of stuff. I made sure to turn that into a teachable moment (the teacher in me) and let him know the importance of customer service—black or white, or in this case, brown.
All this might be changing. I recently dealt with a Nepali travel agency to buy tickets for me and my group for our visit to Nepal this summer--gotta support NTY 2011. The agent who helped me was patient, courteous, and sensitive to our travel needs. Her language, dispensing of information, manner of communication, and professionalism were outstanding. I thought to myself—wow! I guess the idea of consumer service is starting to make its way into Nepali businesses. On a follow-up call I spoke with a different agent and quickly realized that it was just my wishful thinking! There is still plenty to work on.
We all have plenty of anecdotes that we share about businesses when we talk with our friends, family, and colleagues. We tell them who to do business with and who to avoid. For the most part, I do take these personal sentiments seriously, and you might too. In fact, many consumers these days read the reviews online before booking a room in a hotel or deciding on a restaurant for dinner. It does seem clear that “word of mouth” is one of the most powerful forms of advertising. Keiningham and Perkins-Munn of Marketing Metrics, Inc. (2001) look at the relationship between customer satisfaction and share of business and they “not only find that there is a positive relationship but that the relationship is non-linear, with the greatest positive impact occurring at the upper extreme of satisfaction levels.” Elten Briggs and Douglas (2009) through their model show that a business’ quality of service “directly influences both social (i.e., trust) and economic (i.e., value) relationship outcomes and that these outcomes positively influence customer loyalty intentions.”
It is about time that Nepali businesses, especially the ones that have ignored it for long, start focusing on customer service and building long-lasting relationships. This will help provide them with the competitive edge and ensure a sustainable revenue stream in a copycat-cut-throat business environment.
When I first travelled to the United States for college, I was shocked at the level and quality of customer service provided by American businesses. I didn’t believe that you could actually return food at restaurants, electronics at Wal-Mart, and demand to “speak to the manager” for things that, at the time, seemed petty. The phrase that seemed to echo throughout the Business School hallways, especially in hospitality classrooms, was --“the customer is always right!” This was a new concept to someone who grew up in a country where brand loyalty was not fully developed—I don’t know if it wasn’t understood or just ignored. I would like to side with the latter—people were much more concerned with turning a quick buck rather than focusing on a sustainable long run stream of revenue.
On my last visit to Nepal, an attendant at a gift shop in Thamel sat glued to his TV, not even bothering to make eye contact as I walked in. However, as soon as a white tourist walked in, he jumped, turned off the TV, turned on the lights, and started to behave as if the queen of England had walked in! She walked out without buying anything and I bought $130 worth of stuff. I made sure to turn that into a teachable moment (the teacher in me) and let him know the importance of customer service—black or white, or in this case, brown.
All this might be changing. I recently dealt with a Nepali travel agency to buy tickets for me and my group for our visit to Nepal this summer--gotta support NTY 2011. The agent who helped me was patient, courteous, and sensitive to our travel needs. Her language, dispensing of information, manner of communication, and professionalism were outstanding. I thought to myself—wow! I guess the idea of consumer service is starting to make its way into Nepali businesses. On a follow-up call I spoke with a different agent and quickly realized that it was just my wishful thinking! There is still plenty to work on.
We all have plenty of anecdotes that we share about businesses when we talk with our friends, family, and colleagues. We tell them who to do business with and who to avoid. For the most part, I do take these personal sentiments seriously, and you might too. In fact, many consumers these days read the reviews online before booking a room in a hotel or deciding on a restaurant for dinner. It does seem clear that “word of mouth” is one of the most powerful forms of advertising. Keiningham and Perkins-Munn of Marketing Metrics, Inc. (2001) look at the relationship between customer satisfaction and share of business and they “not only find that there is a positive relationship but that the relationship is non-linear, with the greatest positive impact occurring at the upper extreme of satisfaction levels.” Elten Briggs and Douglas (2009) through their model show that a business’ quality of service “directly influences both social (i.e., trust) and economic (i.e., value) relationship outcomes and that these outcomes positively influence customer loyalty intentions.”
It is about time that Nepali businesses, especially the ones that have ignored it for long, start focusing on customer service and building long-lasting relationships. This will help provide them with the competitive edge and ensure a sustainable revenue stream in a copycat-cut-throat business environment.
