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WHAT'S FRISBEE GOT TO DO WITH BUSINESS?

Celebrated management guru and former 'frisbee diplomat' Ron Kaufman elucidates the whole idea behind good customer service and its ever expanding reward potential

List out the Fortune 100 companies and there would be hardly any organisation on that list which has not been a client of Ron Kaufman.

“Over the years I have worked with hundreds of clients in industry, associations and government to help them achieve superior service, increase customer loyalty, build strong partnerships and create winning service teams,” is how Kaufman describes his job.

Singapore Airlines invited Kaufman, a former frisbee player, in 1990 to help create and launch its Service Quality Centre. The powerful training activities he developed have inspired thousands of employees and their organisations worldwide.

In 2000, Kaufman released the bestseller, Up Your Service. “While the expectations of customer service are different in each industry, I found the fundamentals for delivering outstanding service are very much the same.

I wrote this book (Up Your Service) to share my experience and make it easy for everyone to understand — and apply — the key principles for achieving superior service,” he says.

Today, Kaufman travels worldover promoting what he calls ‘Up Your Service Revolution’. His unique presentation skills — Raufman calls himself an ‘animated speaker’ — has made him amongst the most sought after people in today’s corporate world.

City Times caught up with Kaufman in Dubai recently, where he taught select participants how to ‘build customer loyalty through effective written response’.

In today’s world, does customer service determine the quality of a product or an organisation?

Service is an important aspect of quality. It is certainly one of the key factors that determines the difference between similar products or services. Today, it does not really matter which computer you are going to buy or which airline you are going to fly. Most computers have the same hardware and software, and most airlines fly an Airbus or a Boeing aircraft. In these cases, it is the quality of service that will influence a decision.

We must understand that there are various aspects to the term, service. Good service does not necessarily guarantee good profits. Some companies can give you great attentive personalised service, but their products may not be good. There may be some other companies whose products are very good but their services could be bad.

Has the term ‘customer service’ found a new meaning in recent years?

Travel back fifty years, personalised service was the norm. The grocery shop chap from whom you bought your stuff knew your name, your friend’s name and many other things about you. Then technology came along and everything moved faster. As things moved faster, there was no time to offer personalised service. Technology penetrated into the personalised interface — you had ATM machines, web sites etc.

Now, it is all coming back around. Personalised service is reemerging as the key difference between organisations. Customer service has now moved up to its next level, customer relationships. At this level, it is not about ‘how much you are taking care of me’, but ‘how well you know me,’ ‘how well you know what my needs and concerns are,’ ‘how well you make it easier for me to work with you in the future,’ how much can you anticipate my future needs’.

You have talked about the importance of speed in customer service. How important a criterion is speed?

Speed is certainly one of the value dimensions of service, but is not everything. How would you rate a company that is very fast but never accurate? One certainly wouldn’t want a fast service at a spa.

Speed is certainly important but is not always the primary service criterion. Companies need to understand what kind of service their customers value. Companies then need to build a culture around it.

Do today’s customers appreciate such a ‘service culture’?

They do if the organisations understood customers’ needs and responded to them. A classic example is McDonald’s. Anywhere, anytime, around the world, you know their burger will be the same. So, consistency is important. But then along came all others who did the same as McDonald’s. McDonald’s moved ahead and said, we will now become family-friendly. And along they introduced playspaces in their premises. Now you no more go to McDonald’s to have burgers alone, but also for the fact that your kids will have a good time. Will McDonald’s competitors not follow them? Of course, they will. McDonald’s then has to reinvent again. This is how businesses have remained successful.

You started your career as a ‘frisbee diplomat’ — promoting the game, organising tournaments. What has the game taught you?

The best thing about frisbee is that it comes back at you the same manner as it was thrown to the other side. It is the same with businesses.

Business is not all about making profits. For me, business is the currency that we use on a daily basis. If I served someone well, that person is going to connect to somebody else — the chain would continue. Hence, the more you give the more you will get. It may not be an immediate exchange, though.

Today, it is no more about fat pay packets. It is more about ‘do I like working here?’ Organisations, to be successful, need to build a culture that helps them retain employees — which is a big challenge.

How easy, or difficult, is it for an organisation to develop a positive work culture?

It is certainly possible. It may not happen in quick time, though. There are multiple components in an organisation. In order to develop a positive work culture, these components need to be aligned in a proper way. From then on, it is only a matter of strictly adhering to the changed culture. The organisation needs to make sure that it recruits only those people who would fit into its culture.

Which is important — customers being brand loyal or employees being faithful?

Both are equally important. They are linked to each other. Only if an employee is good to the customer, will the customer come second time around. If the customer found the service good, he is bound to introduce new customers. This will bring in more revenue to the organisation. The organisation, in turn, has to value the employee's work and compensate him adequately — only then will he be happy. A happy employee will always be faithful to the organisation. It is a cycle.

What, according to you, do most organisations of today lack?

It is the frontline staff of an organisation that interacts with customers. But, how many organisations have empowered their frontline staff to resolve customer problems? There are so many procedural difficulties. Organisations need to give its frontline staff the authority to take on-the-spot decisions. After all, they understand customer issues probably better than the management does.

Second, companies must align their staff roles. It must be ensured that you promote or reward staff as per the set guidelines.

There needs to be a change in the way management interacts with its frontline staff. The question is, ‘is the manager at the top of the pyramid or is he at the bottom of the structure supporting the staff, so that they in turn can serve the customer better?’.

It is important that management take suggestions from employees — especially the frontline staff — more seriously and act up on them.

You are an American living in Singapore for the last 15 years. Do you see similarities in growth between Dubai and Singapore?

It is a fact that Dubai studied Singapore. To Dubai's credit, I have heard in Singapore: ‘we should do it like Dubai.’ Dubai has grown forward in development projects. The emirate's growth has been a much faster than Singapore.

I am an extraordinary fan of this wonderful city. The quality and standards of Dubai is built around services. It aims for the highest global standards. Hence, who ever wants to come to this place is expected to meet those standards.

In my opinion, the city that Dubai should compare itself with should be New York. New York is the most perpetually thriving, never sleeping, financially connected, politically connected, culturally connected city in the world. Dubai is growing to be on the same lines.