The Art of using magic words in Customer Relationship Management

Cotton world in Chennai is a store I love, one it has good collections of cotton garments and two it is never crowded.

It so happened that one day I went to the store with my wife to pick up some nice cotton T shirts. As usual I didn’t stop with picking up a couple of nice cotton T shirts and I browsed through other segments and came across nice linen trousers. I never had a linen trouser till then and hence was curious to get one. There were two color combos for a similar styled trouser. One was fawn color and the other was a nice light blue shade and both had very small checks as pattern. Both looked nice and I tried one of them, the fawn color, and it fitted me very well. As is my habit, I took the views from the shop owner aparat from taking the opinion of my wife. Both approved it instantly and I was delighted. While I went for the billing with the two shirts and the linen trouser, I rechecked with the owner if my choice of color between the fawn and the light blue was correct as I had chosen the fawn color.

Spot came the response “Sir, the fawn color is for everyone, it will suit all as it is an usual color and it is for any occasion. The blue one is a special color, it won’t suit everyone. It will go well on some people and it will go very well on you from what I can visualise. It is an exclusive color sir”

He spoke to my soul, he robbed my attention and he massaged my ego. I went back to the rack and replaced the fawn one with the blue one.

He didn’t want to sell both to me, at least he didn’t force me to do so. He made me feel exclusive, he made me feel that I am one of the few ones who could carry oneself well in a different color. If he had forced me, I would have bought both, yet, his magical words made me fall for his service and for the store and converted me into a regular visitor and someone who referred this store to a few of my friends as well.

Selling is one thing, customer relationship management is entirely different.

Words can do magic, be a magician.

Lessons are around us.

If your time is money, what about others’ time?

Time management is an art and a responsibility too, especially when you are accountable to someone’s time.  A few have it in them, some try to become better and some will never learn. This has nothing to do with your education, designation, position, status, whether at workplace or home or elsewhere. Here goes a story.

Today medicines are sold online but a few years back, one had to go to the pharmacy and buy the medicines. Later, some stores, initiated home delivery within a feasible radius from their stores.

Just a couple of years back or so, I had ordered medicines and conveyed to the store that I would pick up the medicine as I would be out of home, that made home delivery difficult. After about three hours, I went to the store and perhaps the cost of medicines was around Rs 378. To my surprise, the small made curious and generally talkative counter girl had kept the pack ready with the bill and with a change of Rs 122. She had predicted that I would handover Rs 500 and hence she was ready with the bill, medicines neatly packed and the change!!! I asked her as to how she predicted and what made her to be ready to dispose of the customer in quick time.  The reply was instant. “Sir, whether my time is important or not, your time is important and hence I have to be ready like this for every customer to the best extent possible”. WOW!!! this sounds simple, but not many pay respect to another person’s time. That little girl perhaps developed this trait without being told. I thanked her genuinely and really loved her work culture, anticipation, customer handling and ultimately building the brand perception.

Just after this incident, I had a business travel to meet one of the CEOs of a large company and obviously the appointment and the agenda were clearly fixed with him through his secretary and the agenda was also confirmed.

After reaching their office we waited ( a colleague also accompanied me ) for about forty minutes, which is generally normal and acceptable. The CEO sent another person to meet me and he was irrelevant for the subject of the meeting and a little later he walked in an asked me as to why I wanted to meet him. I was shocked. I explained and he never seemed to show any interest in our services, wasn’t prepared to even understand and told me that he thought I was from a software company !!!! I realized we had wasted our time and money for sure and was deeply disappointed that he didn’t care to even feel tad bad about it. I thanked him and handed over my name card which he duly and immediately returned stating that if required, we would anyhow be contacted. WOW!!! Another experience.

When I boarded the flight back to my city, I picked up that day’s business daily and there was a great article on him. I smiled at it and for some reason, I remembered the little girl at the pharmacy store.

Lessons are around us.

Learning from a small accident

Have you noticed?  I am sure you have.  When there is a minor accident involving two cycles or bikes, even if there is no injury to either of them or any damage to the vehicle, one of the two involved would proactively say sorry even if he is not at fault. Surprised? you are right, a person saying sorry is rare as we normally come across one of them raising his voice and screaming at the other even if the former is at fault. And, most of the time, the person who raises his voice first gets away with the problem and at times turns the situation to his advantage too.

If we look at this from a different lens and pick up the positive aspect from this approach, it can help us deal with any relationship proactively and progressively. It could be at work between a subordinate and his boss/manager or between the service provider and the customer and  in multiple cases, in our personal relationship management too.

We all make mistakes and these mistakes could be related to delays, lapses, material data errors, inadequate delivery, poor or absence of any communication, quality deficiency against what is expected. Just like the person who opts to raise his voice first when an accident happens, when we are at fault, if we proactively give heads-up (no screaming in any case) to the concerned, be it our customer, our manager or superior or to anyone we are accountable to or anyone we ought to maintain a good relationship in our personal lives, half of the problem if not more is already resolved. It denotes our transparency, our integrity, our good intent, respect for others and above all our courage to face the situation. Avoid such accidents, but when you face such a situation, ensure you are the one to proactively communicate. Your silence here will be reprimanded and the repercussions could be irreversible if the affected person believes that he or she has been taken for granted.

Next time you happen to see a minor accident on the road, watch out for the person who speaks or screams or says sorry first.

Lessons are all around us and some could be accidental learning too

Arrogance – A few whys and whats

Don’t we come across people with arrogance in our corporate life?

Arrogance could emerge generally from being in a position of high authority.  The ‘arrogant few’ gain in strength due to the silent majority around them or simply because of the subservient approach of others around them. It is not uncommon to come across such people, right? While humbleness and achievements can still travel together, there is a misconception amongst many that an ambitious manager or a leader has to be arrogant. This is far from the truth. My own assessment based on my experiences and observations so far makes me believe that arrogance results from a combination of some of the following:

• Academic qualification: Especially when one comes from a top-notch institution while others around are from lesser ones.
• Seniority: They seldom realize that seniority, in most cases, happens due to the passage of time.
• Insecurity: Arrogance emerges from a sense of insecurity. If others around are sharper and smarter, arrogance becomes a tool to feel secure and insulate oneself from being questioned!
• Misplaced pride: Arrogance can be the result of past glory. Such people have a very poor and inefficient present and a bleak future. Hence, they live in the past to exhibit that as their identity.
• Pseudo intelligence: Many suffer from this disease. They act as a know-it-all, assume that they have the best recipe for every solution and that all others around them are nothing more than duds.
• Inside information: Arrogance can emerge due to possession of some key confidential information. It can  relate to anything and the person knows the importance and hence throws the weight around every time and everywhere.
• Acceptance by others: If the arrogance is not questioned, criticized, discouraged by others, it further fuels the same. The person starts believing that this style of functioning is most effective and impactful.

To sum up, arrogant management style is passé. When one hangs the boot finally one day, every leader in any position in any field should feel good that he/she was respected and loved and not feared. A well respected and admired leader can achieve a lot collectively, much more than what a self-centered, complex and  arrogant pseudo leader can achieve. The key question is how one can deal with such an arrogant leader? The simple answer is that if you or the culture of the organization cannot change the person before it is too late, you need to keep the required social distance and try to find opportunities elsewhere, change your leader thereby. The other poor option is, lose your self-respect and end up becoming a slave for your survival. Choice is yours.

Lessons are all around us.

First, let us be on the right side

Comparison is so natural. It is fine as long as it inspires and the moment it gets into a different unwanted zone including greed, attitude, complex etc, one needs to be careful. We very often compare and quote others when we perform poorly or when we go wrong or commit a mistake, the normal defense is “not just me’, “what about him or her”, “punish or penalize others as well”. This can be seen in work-life more often where typically such pointers are made when things go wrong, when schedules are not adhered to or when deliveries are delayed or turn shabby.

A few months back, I was driving my car and a bus was ahead of me and another SUV was behind me. Both were driving at a relatively high speed and hence I also had to retain the same speed. As we approached a traffic signal, I tried to drive past the signal though the light had moved from amber to red. A police officer stopped me and I had to slide to the left and park the vehicle. I realized that I had crossed when it was clearly red and had been caught red-handed! The policeman checked my license and told me that I had to pay the charges for skipping the signal. I explained to him that I couldn’t see the light and that another vehicle was behind me honking now and then. He didn’t seem to care. I finally told him that even the speeding bus skipped the signal and why he didn’t dare stop the bus and why this prejudice. In his typical policeman language, he said ‘you first be on the right side before you blame anyone else’. It did hit me instantly and he did teach me a lesson in just a dozen words.

I apologized sincerely and he actually let me go without a fine. If I am wrong, I am wrong irrespective of whether others are. I also learnt another lesson. Seeking an apology sincerely when one is wrong is a courageous act and the returns are instant most times. The penal charges were absolved. Lessons are around us and even the traffic lights may signal the same at times.

Small is beautiful

‘Small is beautiful’ may sound paradoxical but in many respects it turns out to be true. Even when it comes to deeds, I love this quote that I used to read every day from a wall poster in the hostel where I stayed: “A smallest good deed is greater than the grandest intention”. We have the habit of picking up groceries from a neighbourhood modern trade outlet. Most of the time, bulk buying happens during weekends when my wife and I choose to go. I always love visiting retail stores and readers may be aware of it.To abide by the regulations, this store also stopped using carry bags ( ban on plastic ) and the customers are generally expected to get their own bags or they could choose to buy the cloth bags that anyways didn’t cost much, perhaps Rs 10 or Rs 20 depending upon the size.

On one occasion recently, we forgot to take the bags with us and only realised it while being billed.  Hence I asked the girl at the billing counter to pack the product purchased in the bags being sold by them. After she completed scanning the products, she picked up three large bags. As she started to put the products purchased inside the bags, I could see the store manager who was perhaps six feet away, subtly giving her a message. All that I could see was him nodding his head in some way. He didn’t notice that I saw him. While I was about to pay, I told her to include the cost of the three bags used and she smiled and told me that I was not being charged for the same. I was pleasantly surprised not for the Rs 60 that was saved but by the gesture of the store. I thanked the store and left the place. As I left, I smiled at the store manager, acknowledging his gesture.

Two things I loved and learnt from this small episode. The store manager didn’t make it sound as though giving the bags free of cost was a big affair or a favour to the customer and more importantly, he made it appear that the counter girl herself decided to give that offer to the customer. This brought a smile to her face and I could see a sense of empowerment exhibited in the presence of the customer.Customers don’t need any huge favours or discounts. Some marginal special treatment here and there would do the trick. Lessons are around us and the next time you visit your usual store, don’t miss to notice such small but impactful treatments that show that ‘small is beautiful’.

You may also check out the following interesting books authored by P C Bala,

Click here to know more and buy the books.

Let him do his job and let me do mine!

He was a driver for a long time in our company and a frantic and fanatic fan of super star Rajinikanth. There are millions like him yet he was unique. To understand his extent of love for ‘Thalaivar’ Rajinikanth, here are some titbits.

When he watches Thalaivar movies, he watches only him on the screen, he is not bothered about the movie or other characters.

When Rajinikanth’s movies get released, he will keep watching it till they are off the cinema theatre. More the number of days it runs, more the number of times he watches it.

And he doesn’t watch any other movies, after all, he goes to the cinema just to watch him!!! Now, this episode. One day, he was driving the car and my colleague was in the car. There was a crowd near a building on the other side of the road and he somehow knew that there was a cinema shooting going on and that Rajinikanth was there at the spot, the size of the crowd endorsed his statement. My colleague asked him if he was keen to watch his matinee idol for a while as anyhow there was no emergency to reach the destination. Spot came the reply from the driver…”No sir, he is doing his work and I am doing my work, we should not disturb the work and should not get disturbed as well.” My colleague was pleasantly surprised with such a philosophy expressed by the driver, especially when the driver had the opportunity to have a glimpse of his demi God. The work ethics overshadowed adulation and a huge never-to-miss distraction. He also concluded by saying that this is what will make his Thalaivar happy too. WOW, what else. We all come across several distractions and there is a way to deal with them, it is within us. Such lessons can be learnt from many around us and the source of inspiration could be from any, from ‘thalaivar’ to that fanatic fan, the driver.

Lessons are around us…

P C Bala.

You may also check out the following interesting books authored by P C Bala,

Click here to know more and buy the books.

Initially, I’d feel a bit unlucky. After all, I’d planned to get that berth. But over time, I began to see it differently. I realised it was a small opportunity to help someone, to practise a simple act of kindness.

Rarely it happens while flying and I miss my aisle seat because two old time friends want to travel together or an old couple whose seats are not together seek my seat.

Life often reminds us that not every right we hold should be enforced. At times, there are others more deserving. Eligibility sometimes matters more than entitlement.

This applies everywhere — in workplaces, negotiations, and everyday situations. Some get a better position though you may be deserving it and some get better incentive that what you get despite your better performance.

It’s a quiet reminder to balance what we can claim with what we can give.

Even today, when I book a lower berth though rarely I travel by train, I do it with a smile, knowing that either way, there’s a lesson waiting.
Lessons are always around us, if only we choose to see them.

P C Bala.

You may also check out the following interesting books authored by P C Bala,

Click here to know more and buy the books.

This is Kanniamma, a service provider at our residence. She is an immense tea lover and survives mainly on it. She has a signature laugh and on a day she is on leave, her absence will be felt by her peers as well as by us at home.

A few months back, there was some issue involving a bus. The driver parked the bus opposite our gate and I couldn’t take my car out. Kanniamma intervened and told the driver to carry on and drive the passengers. She said “Go man do your work, people inside will be late to work if you behave like this’. Arguments between the driver and passengers are a usual occurrence. One of the passengers took the privilege of appreciating her and uttered in a loud voice ‘tell that driver, then only people like him will learn’. He didn’t know Kanniamma well enough. She went near the specific window through which the passenger screamed and told him ‘why should I tell the driver ya, don’t you have a mouth to tell? Am I going to the office? Am I getting late? When you are affected, open the mouth and talk’. The passenger kept quiet, perhaps the whole day.

I appreciated Kanniamma aloud and told her that she is a real leader of sorts as I saw the driver move the bus immediately. ‘Well done Kanniamma, you are a leader, we need to learn from you’. She laughed in her signature style and even blushed. Later, in less than 30 minutes, she applied for a soft loan/advance from my wife and got it hands down.

She acted as a leader in resolving an issue, questioned the silent majority, ensured visibility and earned appreciation and finally leveraged the situation in her favour.Lessons are around us – Kanniamaa taught me one.

I was at GRT hotel, T Nagar, Chennai last evening for an important discussion with three others. It was a good relief and deviation as this was our first meeting outside the office in the last 7 months. But there is more to it. The hotel is certainly doing its best to provide a safe atmosphere and a comfortable space for the guests. The service was warm despite their own challenges and of course, we enjoyed the good eats and coffee.

The icing on the cake was the special 4-minute dance performance for Navratri by their staff. This is despite the fact that only four of us were in the lobby, sipping coffee, and involved in our discussions. The dancers were cheerful and at ease, going about their dance despite the lobby being thinly occupied. I love their passion, I respect their process and I admire their “the show must go on” attitude.

That’s the learning for us. Even amidst challenges, let’s go about what is expected of us, let’s feel enthusiastic and let’s dance in our own way, even if there is no one to watch.

I’m proud of your team, GRT. I forgot to click pictures and I will do it next time for sure. Lessons are all around us.