Nurturing a company's inner beauty to gain trust

Jonminofri Nazir, Contributor, Jakarta

Is there any business today that does not have to provide excellent services? The answer is a definite "no".

Every product, including services, will only be purchased by consumers, who expect to derive the utmost satisfaction, if they receive the best services.

Even during emergencies, a consumer takes into consideration the quality of services or products before making a decision. The example is hospitals. Price is not become the main hampering factor, but more importantly, a patient selects one that will give better services.

"As long as there are alternatives available in the market, a customer will certainly choose a brand that gives better services," said Yati Achjadi, Citibank vice president and quality director.

Based on this logic, it is easy to understand why most people prefer hospitals to public health clinics. Or in the case of those who can afford it, they will choose the private hospitals with better services rather than government-owned hospitals.

Certain businesses, such as hotels, airlines and restaurants, are most adept in formulating and implementing the best services. That's why hotels with five-star ratings, like the Hilton, appear to have a kind of an inner beauty and always look more attractive in comparison with four-star hotels. In the hotel business the number of stars reflects the level of service excellence provided.

Airline passengers are already starting to feel the pride in flying Garuda Indonesia due to the vast improvement in its services. The flight schedules, for instance, are seldom delayed. The professional handling by its pilots are also commendable, as indicated by the recent accident in Surakarta, where the pilot managed to land the aircraft on the Bengawan Solo river with only one casualty.

The image of Garuda Indonesia has greatly changed and most of its passengers have actually felt the change. They express the change in one phrase: "Better service". But it is rather difficult to explain how to create a better service and what changes have occurred, because creating service excellence is not like producing a shoe with fixed measurements. A good service can only be felt by the recipient. The gauge is the level of satisfaction on the consumer's part during and after using the product or the services.

Service excellence is very much like the inner beauty of a girl. Sometimes one does not exactly know where the beauty lies, but one can actually feel the beauty glowing from her personality and this is concurred by many others. Her photograph does not make it conspicuous, but when one meets her in person and talks with her, only then one realizes that there is something different, which is caused by what is called the "inner beauty".

The same thing applies to any business. A hotel, located far from the center of the city, like in Tugu, Malang, probably may not exude the lavish ambience of a hotel in Jakarta, but once you are inside and use its services, you will certainly feel a unique difference, which is again due to its inner beauty.

Of course not every element of Garuda Indonesia has improved or will develop into a better condition in the too-near future. However, in the matter of service excellence, what is actually felt by its consumers is the highest level of satisfaction derived from its products quality and services as well as the company's policies. Therefore it is not only about how the stewards are now serving the passengers or how frequently they smile. Each passenger often has a set of different variables when it comes to measuring service excellence.

A letter in the East Kalimantan-based business magazine is one example to illustrate how a passenger evaluates Garuda's improved services. During one of its flights from Surabaya to Jakarta, a stewardess accidentally spilled some coffee on a passenger's shirt. The stewardess repeatedly apologized. This, he thought, was not unusual.

Then the stewardess gave him a replacement shirt, which he found was much better than his own. She told the passenger that his shirt would be sent to the laundry and returned to him as soon as possible. Again he considered this as mere polite words.

But, to the passenger's great delight, a few days later, the stewardess really came to his house, bringing with her the neatly wrapped shirt. He thought she would ask back the more expensive shirt lent to him. But she did not. The stewardess said that the shirt was a gift from Garuda Indonesia. Now this he considered to be out of the ordinary.

He was so satisfied that he wrote in the media praising Garuda Indonesia to the skies.

The satisfaction of the passenger was by no means a coincidence. It was in fact a service designed by Garuda's management. Because, if only a shirt is returned, but other aspects fail, such as delayed flights, inedible food or a high frequency of accidents, then the stewardess' kindness would be just a token of good manners.

And here's another example, which is quite the opposite. A computer manufacturer has on the walls of his customer service center in Grogol Permai, West Jakarta, a poster of the famous phrase, which clearly reads: "Service Excellence." This is meant to be the promise for his customers. But what actually happens here? The quality of its services is far from being satisfactory. Each of the sales officers gives different information and they even contradict each other, which makes it difficult for customers to know who is telling the right thing. Perhaps one letter to the media by a disappointed customer would immediately disrupt its sales.

What is clearly implied here is that "service excellence" cannot remain as a mere slogan. Customers must feel such a service as the company's true inner beauty.

Yati Achjadi said that at Citibank, where she is working, service excellence is the most vital part of its business and is never regarded as a supplement. "Every business should treat it like that," she said.

To reach the highest level of service excellence she recommended three tips.

First is a strong leadership from the company's executives.

The second tip is strict internal controls to ensure every part of the company gives the best services, which means that all policies should be directed toward excellence in services.

Thirdly, external suppliers should also be influenced so that they upgrade the quality of their services. For instance, Citibank does this with its courier service. Citibank also contributes to the improvement of the delivery system so that its documents reach the customers on time, because, obviously delivery time concerns Citibank's image and reputation as well.

This is one way Citibank enhances its inner beauty.