How may I help you?: Stressing importance of customer service

Salesmen must be prompt, polite and professional, says speaker

KARACHI: Promptness, politeness and professionalism are importance characteristics of excellent customer service, said Harmut Noak, the regional general manger of Marriott Hotel.

"Customer satisfaction is the best indicator of how likely a customer will make a purchase in the future," he remarked in his presentation. The companies or corporate sector can only progress because of their customer-friendly environment, he added.

He was speaking during the 'Colloquium - Customer Experience Summit', which was held at Marriott Hotel on Tuesday. The representatives of various private companies came up with the suggestion to not only appease the customers but also reward employees for their service delivery.

During the event, customer service was defined as an act of taking care of the customer's need by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality assistance before, during and after the required services or demand.



The representatives of Telenor, TPS, Aga Khan Foundation, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), TCS and QuicknEasy attended the interactive event, which aimed to highlight in-depth knowledge about consumer service. Leading thinkers and industry experts shared their experiences during the event.

Sohail Zindani, the founder and CEO of The Sohail Zindani Company, focused on four things he considered important for consumer service. "Express passion to serve; employees come first; build a smart system and empower employees."

He said that some customers will be irritable and full of questions. Meanwhile, others will just be chatty. You must know how to handle all of them and provide the same level of service, he added.

"Customers always appreciate honesty and your efforts to find the right answer," said Jaffer Business System CEO Vaqarul Islam. Those companies or outlets that seek feedback from consumers always progress. He then referred to the example of a restaurant at Sea View, which has started practice of self-accountability and asks customers to write down their complaints regarding their food.

Earlier, Colloquium Global CEO Mansoor Soomro briefed the audience about the objectives of the summit. He said that the organisations and business that deliver superior customer services are thriving and the summit was meant to attract knowledge contribution from leading thinkers.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2016.