Tea shop Chronicles - Customer focus By Nandakumar & Pandiyan

It was around 4 30 pm on a day which was spent in the market, visiting grocery outlets, bakeries and small convenience shops. This was a team of two sales guys and their boss working in a market in upcountry Tamil Nadu state.

After a sales call, everyone felt that it was a good time for a cup of tea. The person most familiar with the area suggested a “Singh’s” tea shop where the tea was good and spiced with ginger, etc. The group proceeded to the tea shop and placed an order for 3 teas. This was an owner run shop, the owner being one Mr Singh from Rajasthan.

Since freshly fried samosas were available in the outlet and one member of the group helped himself to a samosa. When asked how the samosa was, he said that it was not great. Singh at the till was attentive to the interaction and got concerned with the answer.

He came around and politely asked the person what was wrong with the samosa. The person was not able to articulate a proper response. Singh continued his inquiry with prompts about the taste, oil, freshness, etc. However, the problem could not be pinpointed. It even appeared that the comment of the member may have been a thoughtless one! Singh then proceeded to assure the member by narrating that he made and sold about 600 samosas a day in his outlet. Most of his clientele were regulars for the samosa. He would be happy to take on any inputs for improvement of the product from customers. In fact, he said, his sale of samosas was increasing over a period in time.

We have all complained about products we have bought or a service we asked for when the experience was horrible. Sometimes to friends and on occasions to the shop or the company. Sure, there are some pleasant surprises but more often than not complaining is a painful process.

Here is a humble tea shop owner who can teach many experienced sales people. What did he do right?

Three things stand out in that tea shop interaction. First is the concern the shop owner displayed for customer satisfaction. His attentiveness was really noteworthy.

The second is the effort taken to  get to the real issue. It did not stop with the first question but the shop owner tried to help the customer articulate the problem in specific ways.

Finally, and most importantly, on discovering that there might not have been a real problem, he did not make the customer feel small. Rather he went on to manage any post purchase dissonance that may have existed. This appeared to be a copy book method of recognising and addressing an issue.

 I am sure many of us may have encountered poor customer service when we approached companies with product or service issues. The above example shows how it can result in a far superior customer experience.

Acknowledging a customer’s problem is a critical first step  in building the relationship. Whether the problem is real or not will come later. Just the fact that there is a problem perception or opinion is very important. Hence letting the customer know that we heard him is the important first step in establishing the relationship. Trying to understand the problem may be successful only if the first step is followed. Many falter here without knowing the impact of ignoring the customer.

Another big learning was the attempt to manage what the experts call the post purchase dissonance. This refers to an uneasy feeling we sometimes get after buying something or choosing a brand.

It is important to realize that this uneasiness can come from a variety of reasons. It is not always due to the product or service. Perhaps I think I overshot the budget; perhaps my spouse may disagree; or I felt I have not thought through my options.

Sales professionals know that we need to help the customer manage this dissonance satisfactorily. It is critical in cementing the relationship. If it is the product or its features, they let the customer know it would be fixed or replaced or refunded. If it is a perception, they have to find good ways to assure the customer by showing other customers or giving details how well the product is doing in the market. Customer needs to go with, if not positive, at least a neutral state of mind.

So Netflix gets it right. It assures customers that they can cancel anytime and no questions asked. Not so with many telephone companies. They are left with customers who stay only because there are no better alternatives. Customers like that who are forced to stay with the company don’t advertise the brand; they don’t narrate positive stories; they will jump ship at the first opportunity.

In short,  we can look at a disgruntled customer as a chance for us to improve our product and perhaps even our relationship with the customer. We acknowledge the customers’ views; we probe and identify issues; we assure customers of their choice.

Customer complaining about product or service is not a happy situation. Neither for the company nor the customer. However, smart sales people turn it into an opportunity to fix problems, create goodwill, forge relationships and strengthen the brand.