Rare like Pink Diamonds

Excellent Customer Service in Trinidad and Tobago is so rare that whenever it happens it must be commended. The focus of this blog is based on TTPOST the Chaguanas Branch in Trinidad. I've been there on three occasions to deal with the hassle of mailing important documents to Canada. This is where I met a very professional TTPOST employee named Sandra Fraser.

Sandra was helpful and always ready to assist, her knowledge of the products was extensive and whenever in doubt, she consulted the company’s manual for verification. The first occasion I went there I didn't have the phone number for the address I was mailing to and TTPOST doesn't have internet service, rather than turning me away she suggested I visit the cellular service provider close by, to ask them, to get the number from the internet. This could be a potential business opportunity for TTPOST, whereby they can install internet services at their post offices. More to the point I’m not from the area, so I wouldn't have known there was a cellular service provider close by and would've had to return home to retrieve the number.

Although the second occasion was uneventful, Sandra helped select the fastest route to send my parcel at the most reasonable price. On the third occasion I wanted to send a short letter and underestimated the price of sending the paraphernalia, without hesitation or any verbal agreement of repayment on my behalf, Sandra added the remainder of the money. I was ever so grateful as she went beyond her duty and offered her assistance, where it wasn't compulsory. She could have easily turned me away and I would've had to return the next day as it was nearing closing time. I returned the following day with a thank you card, her reimbursement and a 25% tip.

There are so many elements to her customer service that impressed me and (I’m a tough nut) so I wanted to publicly commend Sandra Fraser on her customer service delivery and hope she keeps on shining.

Notice!!!

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.

Mahatma Gandhi

Food for thought!

Customer Service
Treat your colleagues, family, and friends with respect, dignity, fairness, and courtesy.
Pride yourself in the diversity of your experience and know that you have a lot to offer.
Commit to creating and supporting a world that is free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Have balance in your life and help others to do the same.
Invest in yourself, achieve ongoing enhancement of your skills, and continually upgrade your abilities.
Be approachable, listen carefully, and look people directly in the eyes when speaking.
Be involved, know what is expected from you, and let others know what is expected from them.
Recognize and acknowledge achievement.
Celebrate, relive, and communicate your successes on an ongoing basis.

― Lorii Myers, Targeting Success, Develop the Right Business Attitude to be Successful in the Workplace

Customer Service: Kam Wah Trinidad Experience

Mid September, I took my partner to Kam Wah Chinese Restaurant for dinner as it was his birthday. The food was average but my, was the customer service jaw-dropping awful! I think customer service is easy but that night it was painful watching it unravel. It's times like those I wish I had a secret camera to show the world snippets of what I consider to be poor customer service.

As it was my partner's birthday, and I didn't want to be inconsiderate, I simply said "Let's talk about the experience tomorrow". At the end of the mind blowing evening, while he was bringing the car around to the curb, I stood on the sidewalk and wondered whether I was dreaming and needed a pinch to wake me up.

The following is a recap of the entire evening:

Kam Wah in Trinidad is branded as a fine dining Chinese restaurant, however the behaviors exhibited that night were not in alignment with fine dining standards.

I made the reservation 3 days in advance, and the person who took the reservation only took my first name, the time and no. of persons. The person spoke in a mundane voice and didn't request a surname or ask whether there was a special occasion being celebrated, or a telephone number, nothing! I think if they had included a couple of the above recommendations, that would've set the balls rolling for me.

By they not requesting a surname, suggested to me that there's only one 'James' in all of Trinidad going to eat there on that night so my surname was irrelevant; not taking my telephone number leads me to believe that if I didn't show up, they wouldn't care to call and follow up with my absence.

On the actual night, when we arrived the person who seated us was on her personal cell phone taking a personal call (based on the conversation overheard). She then proceeded to set the table with her other free-hand, without serviettes, whilst we were seated at the table (I think this was the highlight of the evening, which had us grimacing).

Following that, two different waitresses returned to our table on separate occasions to take our meal orders, and to offer us drinks. At fine dining restaurants, guests can feel hassled when wait staff return to their table too often and a different server appears each time, however I know this too well - this is due to a lack of coordination amongst the staff and no set process to take guest orders and execute the food.

My partner proceeded to ask the waitress who gave us the menu for a recommendation.  She said she'd be back but never returned, which indicates either she doesn't know the menu, or forgot to return to our table, but the point here being, the restaurant wasn't even busy.

When my appetizer arrived it was auctioned off to me, "Who's having the ....?" clearly there is no process to record which customer ordered which meal; then the other appetizer didn't arrive until the main meals were served; in addition, to top that off one of the main meals was served at room temperature.

Finally, the water on our table was not refilled, not once. We were finished eating for about 10 mins before anyone cleared our plates; whilst it was observed that other tables were being cleared where the customers had already left.

Is it that my standards are too high or has this restaurant simply lost the plot for fine dining restaurants and rewrote it poorly? They had many staff, standing around in gaggles, gossiping and talking on cell phones, but not one refilled my glass of water.

Anyway, I still called one of the family members who owns Kam Wah, he then gave me his email address to send my detailed experience. In the end of it all, I offered my services and up till now, I'm yet to receive a response such as, "thank you we will look into it", "I'm sorry about your experience" or "would you like to meet to discuss further?"

When one medium fails another prevails, I do hope my blogs meets them well!

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Customer Service: Seriously, Did That Just Happen?

Customer service is all around us... When one hears customer service they might think restaurant, but it extends beyond setting a table correctly or serving the guest from the correct side.  CS is potentially everywhere - at the grocery store, the cab you travel in, the service company for your vehicle, even at your hairdresser/barber shop!

I had a recent encounter with poor customer service at my hairdresser's and it's wasn’t the first time. I'm sure that my experience is a common shared experience.  My hairdresser is my friend, in addition I'm very loyal to her, so I feel terrible about going elsewhere to get my hair done, but after-all I am only human and more importantly a paying customer. Being the strong advocate I am about customer service I can't settle for mediocrity.

Here's my experience: There were three customers before me, one cut and style, one for a relaxer, and the other a styling of dreadlocks. After waiting at the hairdresser for 3 hours it was finally my turn. Whew! My hairdresser and I struck up a conversation whilst I was seated in the chair and she proceeded to explain that business has been slow ever since she moved to her current location, which is 3 minutes from her previous location.  Keep in mind the move occurred almost 2 years ago.

She even went as far to consult in a spiritual person thinking that it may have been an evil spirit. There's no magic to providing customer service and certainly no spirit keeping the customers away. Be good to your customers and they'll be great to you!

Whilst at the shop, I observed several attitudes that may deter her customers besides her less than recent change in location:

1) She was constantly messaging on her blackberry, (it may have been customers but based on the girlish giggles erupting after reading messages, I doubt they were).

2) She walked out of the room several times and took private phone calls whilst in the middle of attending to customers.

3) A male friend visited her at work, then she stopped doing my hair and spoke to the same guy on the phone.  She spent at least 15 minutes with this friend while I was sitting there.

4) She had customers waiting for long periods before she finishes on the previous customer.

5) She tells clients she'll be there at one time and shows up much later.

 There's no hidden secret or any magic spray to bring customers to you, however exceptional customer service will bring customers through the door in hundred folds. All that is required is a bit of training in customer service and best practices to ensure customers come and stay with you.

I'm sure many people can relate to this experience I had, for it is not uncommon behaviour from hairdressers/ barbers! Customers know they have many options but sometimes accept mediocre customer service. For me I'll take my money elsewhere and there again she lost another paying customer and no magic spray will bring me back!

Please comment and stay tuned for more customer service posts!

Customer Service: Get your priorities straight!

So you’re advertising your restaurant, but you still haven’t figured out your customer service? Interesting!

Your restaurant started out pretty well but recently you recognized a gradual decline in patrons, so you chose to advertise your restaurant via some medium to boost your sales. Advertising is one way to get customers through the door, but the real question is what is actually being done to provide service excellence and accordingly retain your customers? One thing to note is food and customer service are complimentary to each other; poor service – just like poor food - will take away from the dining experience for the customer. You may have your food figured out but how about your service?

Word of mouth advertising is one of the best ways of attracting customers to a restaurant. If you treat your customers well then they will be good to you and invite or tell their friends. Before you advertise to attract more patrons, check your internal processes to ensure that the problem does not exist within the service.

Customer service gives any restaurant a competitive advantage because it’s rare to encounter and often memorable when it does happen. Training and development is crucial to the success of an organization. People that work within the restaurant need to possess the correct knowledge and skills to successfully deliver exceptional service. The chef in the kitchen and the wait staff are equally important, people will come for the food but the customer service is what keeps them coming.

I remember working at my first restaurant: my experience was that I started work one day and was literally thrown to the wolves the next (serving customers), without being trained and not knowing the way the restaurant operates. That was overwhelming! I’m sure I did not perform my best that day and one of the major reasons was due to being untrained and incompetent at doing my job.  One may think it’s a no-brainer job, but the finest wait staff will tell you that it took continuous investment in training and development to be outstanding and remain there.

Before you actually invest in advertising, get your priorities straight! There are many ways to improve your organization’s customer service. In my almost 10 years experience in the customer these are my suggestions to grow and retain your important customer base, improve your employees level of customer service and improve you bottom line.  Seek critique from and listen to your customers, I can’t say this enough but take nothing for granted, continuously train staff be that new and old, and finally reward and motivate employees.

Stay tuned and comment for further development!

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