Fiendliness is fine, but how about a little efficiency?
Fiendliness is fine, but how about a little efficiency?
By Elizabeth Hermann
JAKARTA (JP): Once again a shop assistant flashed a friendly
smile but shook her head. Once again there was no skirt or jacket
in my size. Another afternoon wasted in trying to buy smart
medium-priced business suits.
There were plenty of lovely suits to be had, and just what we
wanted, but they were all to small. Nothing in our bule sizes to
be had in two malls. Granted we are both "extra outsize" by
Indonesian sizing, but by 'orang bule' standards we are still
rather average.
Both places were international standard malls. The department
stores and boutiques are international standard shops. The malls
are situated in areas where expatriate residents and foreign
tourists shop. Why are these stores, and the clothing
manufacturers that stock these stores, ignoring the demands of a
market and the purchasing power that is clearly there? Why are
they not responsive to it?
Okay, so there is a limited expatriate market. But there are
also larger Indonesian ladies out there who must also want to buy
ready-made clothes. What do they do for clothes? Like us, they
must have given up on trying to buy clothes in Jakarta shops. Do
they shop overseas or do they turn to the services of a
dressmaker or tailor?
Global competition
This set me off thinking about progress, prosperity and global
competitiveness. Friendliness is not enough in an emerging
marketplace. Quality products and services are the result of an
effective response to the customer's wants and needs. My
colleague and I needed those shop assistants to say, "No, we
don't have your size but give us your name and telephone number
and we will try to get it. We will pass your request on to the
buyer, factory, designer." In other words, they will pass your
request on to anybody who will respond to the market demands.
But nothing of the sort happens. A very friendly smile. A
giggle. A "tidak ada!" And the skirts were rearranged very
carefully and neatly on the rack in front of us as if we had
upset the good order of things by trying them on.
Frustrated once again, we drowned our sorrows in coffee and
cake. Now the cafe blues. A friendly smile from the waiter but no
menu till we asked for it. Excellent coffee, delicious cake and
attract the cheerful waiter's eye to get the bill which is still
a long time coming. Then the long wait for the change. No,
friendliness alone is not enough.
Don't tell me that I am an insensitive foreigner who should
understand that in Indonesia there is jam karet. I've been here
eleven years. I love it here and jam karet has its place. I'm
writing this article about service attitudes that permeate
Indonesian business and hold the country back in its development.
Indonesia is trying to compete in global markets. Is the country
being held back by being unresponsive to the demands for quality
products and effective and quality services? In an emerging
global marketplace, the competitive edge is won by effective and
timely response to customer needs and wants.
What is quality?
There are three important aspects of quality: the
effectiveness of the supplier's response to a customer's needs
and concerns, the actual quality of the product itself, and the
quality of the service the buyer feels should go with the
purchase. It is the add-on value of effective customer service
that makes for a delighted long-term customer. So, even if you
have outstanding quality products at competitive prices, your
company may lose its market edge if you are not supplying exactly
what the customer wants, and if your delivery times and customer
service are slow, unresponsive and ineffective.
Excellence is not static but an ever-evolving process of
changing and adapting to meet customer needs. There is a lot of
competition appearing every day. Indonesian products and services
must prove their quality in a global market, and maintain this
quality consistently. Filling the orders is not enough. Research
has shown that market leaders deliver just what the customers
want and, what's more, they deliver it on time.
Today all customers want value for their money. They want
total quality products and they want total quality services. A
1991 Gallup Poll published by the American Society for Quality
Control showed that in American, Germany and Japan, consumers
were prepared to pay substantially more for a product of
outstanding quality. They also wanted total quality services that
were on time, efficient and effective. Friendliness was not
considered to be enough. In this poll, consumers were less than
55 percent satisfied with services provided by their banks,
shops, hospitals, hotels, airlines, insurance companies and auto
repairers. They all wanted better, more timely and more
responsive service than they were getting.
Quality improves competitiveness. If a product or service is
less efficient or more backward than that its competitors, it
will be harder in the long run to catch up with the competition
who have been giving better service for a longer time. Beyond a
certain point the product will not be able to catch up at all and
will lose out on market share.
Quality also adds value to an organization in the form of
improved company image and a reputation for costumer service.
This, in turn, brings in repeat business, which, of course,
brings more profit.
An investment of time and energy to give customers total
quality service, is an investment that pays high dividends. The
General Accounting Office in the USA, published statistics in May
1990, which show that all quality-conscious companies report
increased profits, lower expenses, improved customer
satisfaction, improved employee morale and salaries and increased
market share.
This year is Human Resources Development Year in Indonesia.
The country is placing high hopes on developing tourism and
foreign trade. Re-examining the attitude towards the quality of
products and the quality of customer services is a first step.
Service industry personnel must be trained to be more responsive
and more effective as well as being friendly. An investment must
be made to improve the attitude towards customers, the response
to customers' concerns and needs, the speed of execution of
orders and the effective processing of information.
No, friendliness is not enough.
Elizabeth Hermann is trainer-consultant in Organizational Culture
and Impression Management.