When to serve and when not to
Its important for service providers to know the distinction between when to offer their services and when to stay away. For consumers at times want to be left alone and at times want to be served.
Let me illustrate. While browsing the aisles of retail stores, customers want to be left alone so that they can pick and choose from among the brands on display. At such a time, having a retail shop floor person hovering around, behind one's shoulder is seen not as great service but more as an intrusion. Yet there are times when the shoppers may require assistance in finding a particular item or in wanting more information about a chosen product. At such times help must be close at hand. It is indeed irritating for shoppers to have to move away from the aisle, in search of a shop floor person.
This is a lesson I had learnt when I started my career with a hospitality group. A great restaurant is one where the server is invisible, yet materialises and responds to any query or requirement of a diner before he raises his hand to call on one of the servers.
Now that's a lesson most service providers must 'perfect'.
Let me illustrate. While browsing the aisles of retail stores, customers want to be left alone so that they can pick and choose from among the brands on display. At such a time, having a retail shop floor person hovering around, behind one's shoulder is seen not as great service but more as an intrusion. Yet there are times when the shoppers may require assistance in finding a particular item or in wanting more information about a chosen product. At such times help must be close at hand. It is indeed irritating for shoppers to have to move away from the aisle, in search of a shop floor person.
This is a lesson I had learnt when I started my career with a hospitality group. A great restaurant is one where the server is invisible, yet materialises and responds to any query or requirement of a diner before he raises his hand to call on one of the servers.
Now that's a lesson most service providers must 'perfect'.
Comments
ya get all these irritatyn sms'z frm hutch /airtel about various nonsensical value ads thy offer- like astrology/ beauty tips.other brand promotions/contests, etc..
but wen ya get an sms with respect to the latest, kewlest caller tunes, it sumhow gets ya interested n trickles ya into gettyn yarself a new caller tune..
I guess.. the mantra is to keep goin on wyd ya extended services, n diff customers pik n choose as n wen they wanna..
as for knowing wen the invisible waiter becomes the genie at ya beck n call, interestyn concept- maybe evry customer shud be given an aladdin lamp! Now, is tat possible??
Maybe not! Atleast that's a start!
After reading this post i am just curious to know how can a service provider strike that balance that you were talking about? Can the services like Hutch and all really get into that amount of customization ? Also, sometimes in the case of services like hutch, the customer might not have realised a need (and thereby would not be actively searching for information) and would only go in for the service only on seeing the message, in such cases aint the message actually helping the provider ??