Service with a smile? Er, not exactly

Just read this article on Rediff.com which left me with a feeling of deja vu. Now I'm not the one to rant about something that happens in my life on the web. But I could really identify with what the writer of the article said, and so I thought I'd begin my post with an incident that occured last week. I'd been to my bank (one of the leading private sector banks in the country) to get a copy of the monthly account statement signed by the bank and to have the bank seal attested on it. I was required to submit this as proof of holding the account to my stock broker (who incidentally, insists on having the signed statement after being given one cancelled cheque and one cheque -of the same bank account - which the firm duly encashed!). The first thing that the person manning the counter tells me is that NO, that isn't possible. It isn't the policy of the bank to provide a seal and signature on print-outs of account statements! Now this is something that really puts me off. I've seen people at counters and when you approach them, the first thing that they tell you is often how it (your work) cannot be done! They will not tell you about the alternative to go about it. They will just tell you that whatever you want to do cannot be done! And I've had this experience everywhere - in public and private enterprises. I've had this experience at nationalized banks, at private sector banks (like the one I just described), in my previous organization - with the system admin department - which is an MNC. So obviously you cannot just blame the callousness and lethargy attributed to government institutions in India. The problem is more with the mindset. I do not understand why, instead of helping the person out by saying, "Sir/Ma'am, I can definitely help you with this, and this is how you can go about getting your work done", the first thing you are greeted with is a NO-It-can't-be-done smile by the 'executive' - yeah, everyone is an executive now - at the desk. Getting back to the smiling executive who greeted me at the bank, I asked him that the copy that I have is the same statement which the bank e-mails me every month, and why should the bank have a problem with not signing something that is provided by it?! He again went back into denial mode. Finally, when he did help me out, he asked me to fill a form (well, the ubiquitous form-filling) to request for a statement, and he said that the bank would provide me with a statement that is signed by an officer, and... hold your breath, charge me Rs. 112 for the same! This, I should say amounts to extortion at best, and robbery at worst! Hello, why should I cough up a hundred rupees for something that I am clearly entitled to?! But he would have nothing of that.
I have noticed that the problem lies not with the organization - both private and public sector enterprises have this problem - but with the people and their mindset (of course, it's the same people whether it's a public sector bank or a private one, isn't it?). I'm currently reading Gurcharan Das's 'India Unbound', a marvellous look at the economic journey of the Indian State, and he has an interesting look at this issue. When I go to the Saree shop, he says, the shop-owner gladly unrolls a dozen sarees before me, quite willingly, and after I leave does the thankless job of rolling back each one, and neatly stacking them back. Same is the story when I go to the local bania (grocer) - he will willingly take down my order and have it delivered at my home. Ditto with the family jeweller. But the moment I go to the telephone exchange, says Das, the picture is in stark contrast. I have to put up with the most shoddy service and pay for it. Same with the clerk at the railways ticket counter. The customer here, is regarded as a nuisance, and dealt with accordingly. Das analyzes this situation saying that the saree shopkeeper, the grocer gave excellent service because there existence depends on the customer.

If he was courteous and offered quality products at a competitive price, his customer would reward him. If not, his customers deserted him for the shop next door. There was no competition in the railways, telephones, or banks, and their employees could never place the customer in the center.

Well, that was about competition, and before the economic liberalization, that was certainly true. But it is surprising that the situation is somewhat the same today - well, it has definitely improved, yet it leaves a lot to be desired - in this era of globalization, where there is competition everwhere. Is there more to this than just competition? As the writer of the article above says :

While the nationalized banks have learnt to bill virtually for every 'service' provided by these new generation banks... the latter have learnt the art of proividing abysmal service and getting away with it.

I think it has more to do than just competition. And competition certainly matters when an organization is growing - and wants to get as many customers as quickly as possible - but once you are a blue-chip company, I guess complacency sets in. And it no longer matters if a few customers are turned off - and turned away - by the service you offer. There are always hundreds others to be lured by smart advertising. But they are missing the point. They say that in business, the biggest profit you can earn is the goodwill of the customer. The viral advertising by the customer is the greatest - not to say the cheapest, it's virtually free! - advertising that you or your business can have.