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have the edge
Singapore Airline's reputation for quality service is competitive barrier, says customer service expert Ron Kaufman.
By Iain Ferguson
TO HEAR author-guru Ron Kaufman tell it, you might think better customer service could save the whales. It could certainly save a lot of companies.
He argues that it may be the most meaningful competitive advantage a service company in Asia can cultivate, mainly because it is rarely done well. When it is, a dedicated service culture succeeds because it breeds enviable customer loyalty and because it is so difficult for a rival to replicate. Clearly, few companies in the region excel in this area.
A long-time Singapore resident and frequent public speaker, Kaufman has established himself as one of the leading thinkers on customer service in Asia, summoned repeatedly by many of the world's leading multinational companies to troubleshoot and advise on training and related customer-centric endeavours.
His highest marks for customer service in Asia go to Singapore Airlines, the Ritz-Carlton hotel and the Asia Pacific Breweries.
In 1990, he was invited by Singapore Airlines to help set up the national level Service Quality Centre.
A graduate of Brown University in the US, Kaufman has published several books on how to improve customer service.
Q. Which companies operate the best customer service programs in Asia and what characterises these programs?
A. Some companies that do a great job locally are Singapore Airlines, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and Singapore's Central Provident Fund Board.
In each case, they make a huge commitment to training for all the staff, relevant courses, retraining and building an organisational culture that is aligned with and supports the training in the field. Training alone is not enough - you must build a culture to keep the results of good training alive.
Q. In many annual surveys, Singapore's Changi Airport usually wins gold medals in every category from efficiency to shopping to security, but it has never won top honors for "courtesy and friendliness". Why?
A. "Courtesy and friendliness" are not cultural elements that arise naturally in Singapore in the same way they do, for example, in Thailand, where the people are known for being warm and gentle; in Japan, where people are formal and respectful; or in Australia, where the people are outgoing and gregarious.
However, Singapore's government aims to improve in this essential "soft" area of business - social interaction. Hence the many national - and airport - programs of training, recognition and clear service standards to improve interpersonal customer service skills.
Q. Customer feedback is priceless in shaping services and products, but Asians do not readily seek it. How can this be cultivated?
A. Most people do not provide useful comments and suggestions because many Asian companies are not particularly eager to hear it. What can be done to change this it to open many "listening points" for customer feedback - comment cards, service counters, telephone hotlines, Web pages and e-mail addresses. And feedback received at these many points must be responded to quickly - and, in the case of customer problems, with authority and generosity.
Examples of Asian companies which are doing a good job of eliciting customer feedback and adjusting their policies accordingly include Giordano's, Hewlett-Packard and the Singapore Post Office.
Q. Even the biggest and best Asian companies often fail their customers because front-line staff adhere unthinkingly to "corporate policy", even when it risks irritating customers. Airlines can be the biggest culprits. Why does this happen and how can it change?
A. Airlines are not the biggest culprits, they are simply the highest profile. Government agencies are the biggest. This adherence to policy stems from front-line fear of making a mistake or overstepping their bounds and then being "scolded" by someone from above.
This must change. A front-line employee who takes action based upon real common sense should be praised. And if their decision is inappropriate for some reason, then that should become the basis for teaching, not scolding.
Q. How far do governments in Asia have to go to build a service mentality among their staff? Who is the most advanced?
A. In Asia, Singapore's government is by far the most customer-focused and committed to continuous service improvement. For them, it is quite clear that ease and speed and friendliness of service is a competitive edge to be honed sharp.
Singapore will never be the lowest-cost center in the region, nor the largest population base, nor the easiest natural resource location, so it must stand out in other ways that are people-dependent. Service fits that niche nicely. The meritocracy and lack of corruption in Singapore also lead towards transparency and "fair play" - important ingredients in building a reliable service culture.
Q. Which companies in Asia have cultivated such a "legendary" level of customer service that it is a competitive barrier? How hard is it to displace such an incumbent?
A. Singapore Airlines is the greatest example of this. It gets customer service right so many times that it is the most famous provider of high-quality service in the entire airline industry.
Asia Pacific breweries has recently clawed 13 per cent market share from other breweries - not by lowering price - but by providing faster, more responsive and more innovative service to its many outlets.
Once a strong service reputation is established, and if it is continually supported with great recruitment, orientation, training, standards, culture, then it is can be extremely difficult for someone else to catch up.
Ron Kaufman provides countless tips, insights and useful ideas for service improvement at his website: www.RonKaufman.com
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