Customer Service: A must have for a sustainable business model.

I have a friend by the name of Md. Shamsuddin (We call him Shamsu Bhai) who I think is an epitome of customer service. He might not be a great trainer but if one works with him will learn a lot at his way of providing exemplary customer service. He was of course the person who first gave me a break in an UPS manufacturing company as a sales executive where he used to work as a manager back in the year 2000. While working with him, I learned a lot. Over a period of time both of us have moved on. I am settled in Kolkata running my own business while he is settled in Bangalore running his own UPS manufacturing business.

Approximately 3 years back, few of our friends met up at Bangalore on a nostalgia trip down the memory lane. On the final day of our trip one of our seniors, Pradita Da arranged a get together where Mrs. Vani Sharma also joined us. There she was explaining to us what a great piece of work Shamsu Bhai was doing. She was explaining that not only was she happy with her personal UPS that Shamsu Bhai has delivered but also the exemplary service he provides to even her friends where he has installed machines.

I for one was not very surprised because of my previous experience of working with him. I was of course very happy to hear that because when customers show genuine happiness at your service quality it means you are on the right path towards a sustainable business.

I got another example of his customer service quality a year back.

In the year 2005, when I was employed with IndiaInfo.com, one day Shamsu Bhai called up. He had taken up an agency with LIC and was telling me about the benefits of the same. We decided to meet up the next day to discuss the possibilities. I didn’t have any LIC policy till that time and with a new born son, it seemed the correct time to get a policy done. 

I went ahead and purchased a policy (Jeevan Anand) through him. Thereafter, I left Bangalore after a few years and we all got busy with our individual lives. We didn’t meet for years. In the meantime, I kept paying the premium, transferred my billing address to my home address at Howrah. And frankly with everything available online, I didn’t need any future service or support from Shamsu Bhai regarding this policy. In 2019 when my father passed away, I was making a replan of all the finances and that time, I thought of making an excel sheet with all my insurance policies’ maturity dates  for proper planning. As you can imagine it was 14 years, I had bought that policy and what Shamsu bhai explained about the policy, I didn’t remember at all. This Jeevan Anand – Plan 149 has since been discontinued by LIC as well. The problem was that in the receipt I saw that the maturity date is 2076. I was like, “WOW”, I will be 100 Years Old at that time. What kind of a policy is this which doesn’t give me the benefit of “Zindagi ke Saathi Bhi”? I knew Shamsu Bhai is no longer with LIC so I can’t really turn to him for help after so many years & after all, it’s my duty to remember all the clauses before purchasing a policy. But, still I sent him the policy and asked him what’s this all about?

Frankly, I didn’t expect an answer in a few days. But to my surprise, he answered in less than half an hour, sending me an explainer via WhatsAPP letting me know how the policy works and how at the end of the policy premium period, the policy holder will get all the benefits but even after all these benefits the policy will keep running till the policy holder turns 100 years old. It was so reassuring to hear that and in my mind I kept blaming myself for not remembering what I paid for 14 years back. And Shamsu Bhai being Shamsu Bhai, followed it up with a phone call to explain it to me as well. All this with him not being with LIC any more. Many people might feel that after all he is a friend so it’s not a big deal but let me tell you not everyone does this. His instinct of great and exemplary customer service is what makes him unique.

Successful and Sustainable businesses run on great people management (Employee management and client management). During these unprecedented times of Covid-19, the companies who follow the above motto will come out trumps. Exemplary customer service during a crisis sets you apart from competition and hence whoever follows this will come out better after this crisis.

This current lockdown has all kept us connected via WhatsAPP and I hope we again meet soon in another joyride through Bangalore. I hope this current crisis passes away soon and we meet again on another trip down the memory lane.

Till then, Take Care and God Bless!

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