Is your service quality dependent on good Samaritans? LINKEDIN | 17 JANUARY, 2017

Stories of indifferent service abound all over the world. The Indian experience is often intriguing, as two of my recent encounters show. I have to add a caveat that living in Singapore and traveling regularly extra-sensitises one’s attitude to service.

One day before I was to board flights to go to Goa in western India, I discovered that I had not been issued e-tickets for my online booking through a top Indian portal, a good two months earlier (Yes, I had received a booking confirmation). The fare had been charged to my credit card though. I found a telephone number after some difficulty (the 1-800 number is not useful) and called the portal. The first response was shocking. They confirmed that the tickets were not ‘bought’ even though payment had been collected. The first offer was to refund me the money and to book me again at the new fares! – an awful option. Over the next 12 hours, after 4 phone calls lasting about 45 minutes each time, we were put back on the same flights at no extra cost! That was an amazing turnaround thanks to three tele-staff whose service spirit triumphed over a bad service process – a process that did not match payments and e-tickets and a process that offered the worst recompense as the first option. The spirit of helpfulness is even more laudable if you imagine the millions of calls these individuals receive on a daily basis, mostly for resolving the mess their company creates.

The second one is a service contrast between a large global bank and a very local (headquartered in a small town) bank. I had to do a normal transaction at the global bank (one that never sleeps). It took me and my wife 90 minutes, moving across four different counters, often back and forth, including a painful wait for 45 minutes at the cash counter that had about 5 waiting customers! Being the service demanders that we have become, we sought out the Manager and complained. He uttered the big word (“sorry”) and dismissed us in 30 seconds. I thought he completely lost the opportunity to record the complaint, track the inefficient processes or the errant staff and use it for correction. That’s how we are taught to use customer feedback. The next day I was at the local bank to transfer my late dad’s account to me. The branch resembles a railway station, with streams of people moving in and out and several staff criss-crossing non-stop. The Manager directed us to a young girl, who looked like she was from a small town. In less than five minutes, she verified my documents, closed my dad’s account and even offered me the option of transferring out the full money (banks in India are often reluctant to let you close an account). The money was credited the following day. The girl was competent, showed the necessary compassion for my situation and efficiently managed the transaction. She sensed that I was visiting the city and checked if I was staying another day to collect the passbook after the transfer. I also noticed that a subsequent interest credit in my dad’s account was automatically wired out to me! That service was indeed exemplary, especially when you know that it could be a tedious process and given the visible signs of the place and the deceptive looks of that wonder girl.

There is a simple conclusion. Don’t be surprised if you encounter third-world service processes in India (or anywhere else) but the human spirit is astounding and makes up for it. The good Samaritans do it for no reward other than their personal satisfaction and as moral duty. For companies (and consultants), there are great opportunities to re-engineer service processes and build in metrics for benchmarking. There is even a bigger bounty awaiting service trainers!