How far has customer service come since the dawn of the concept?
Millenia ago I am sure there was no take a number if you have an 'ax to grind' at the local smith but I am sure there was a local shamanesque dude that provided what must have substituted for the internist and vet combined. Nude dudes and dudettes lining up at all odd hours by the phase of the moon venting about aches and missing limbs.
Then with advent of better tools like the wheel and fire, there must have been born a specialist role that helped people build either. In the spirit of some Belgian comic's writings there could well have been few Sesterti exchanged (aka currency) to trade one service for another.
All this could be viewed as vintage customer service since the formal concept was not born until the advent of industrial age in the 1700s. Trading sex and spirits was also quite prevalent in many a king's court and continues to be documented as some of the oldest of rituals or professions. Again I am guessing the aim was service with a smile.
Today with the advent of electronics and lamebook or twitface type tools people are losing their grip on what service might actually look like and hiding behind arbitrary walls. Although I must say that the whole idea of actually providing results to the user or consumer tend to be more mature and developed in the US compared to the ROW (rest of the world - thought it sounded very erudite).
Europe - Australia - Asia are the other parts of the globe that I have had the privilege of frequenting in the recent decade and the concept of 'Customer' is viewed on a broad spectrum to say the least. What to do with this entity called customer is a result of cultural pedigree and social evolution in each of these places I think.
Stateside it is now common to find call back feature for someone needing to hold the phone (with bluetooth you don't engage any limb other than an ear lobe) to change their utility company or dispute their charges on a ph bill or book a seat on an aircraft. Wait time over 10 min - they call you back when your number in Q comes along.
One feature also is to start recognizing your customer the moment he or she dials into the call center (a cavernous facility so wonderfully depicted in Alfred Brooks' - Looking for comedy in the Muslim world) by tracking caller id and helping them along with answering their query of the day.
Once in India at a fine International Brand hotel we found ourselves using our American electric appliance - only to find that we had blown the fuse of the circuit for the whole floor. We attempted this experiment after confirming with the onsite engineer who assured us that the outlet would accommodate all manners of devices in the room.
Turns out that he was not so Voltage Savvy. That led to a series of individuals with seemingly increasing levels of authority to arrive at our door on expressing our displeasure. None seem to know how to deal with this situation involving a malfunctioning hair apparatus that needed electric current to function (that too at a pathetic 110V).
'Sala Kangi se kaam nahi chalana aaata' would have been the thought racing through their dense duramatter - was evident on their collective faces.
Stonehenge anyone?
Millenia ago I am sure there was no take a number if you have an 'ax to grind' at the local smith but I am sure there was a local shamanesque dude that provided what must have substituted for the internist and vet combined. Nude dudes and dudettes lining up at all odd hours by the phase of the moon venting about aches and missing limbs.
Then with advent of better tools like the wheel and fire, there must have been born a specialist role that helped people build either. In the spirit of some Belgian comic's writings there could well have been few Sesterti exchanged (aka currency) to trade one service for another.
All this could be viewed as vintage customer service since the formal concept was not born until the advent of industrial age in the 1700s. Trading sex and spirits was also quite prevalent in many a king's court and continues to be documented as some of the oldest of rituals or professions. Again I am guessing the aim was service with a smile.
Today with the advent of electronics and lamebook or twitface type tools people are losing their grip on what service might actually look like and hiding behind arbitrary walls. Although I must say that the whole idea of actually providing results to the user or consumer tend to be more mature and developed in the US compared to the ROW (rest of the world - thought it sounded very erudite).
Europe - Australia - Asia are the other parts of the globe that I have had the privilege of frequenting in the recent decade and the concept of 'Customer' is viewed on a broad spectrum to say the least. What to do with this entity called customer is a result of cultural pedigree and social evolution in each of these places I think.
Stateside it is now common to find call back feature for someone needing to hold the phone (with bluetooth you don't engage any limb other than an ear lobe) to change their utility company or dispute their charges on a ph bill or book a seat on an aircraft. Wait time over 10 min - they call you back when your number in Q comes along.
One feature also is to start recognizing your customer the moment he or she dials into the call center (a cavernous facility so wonderfully depicted in Alfred Brooks' - Looking for comedy in the Muslim world) by tracking caller id and helping them along with answering their query of the day.
Once in India at a fine International Brand hotel we found ourselves using our American electric appliance - only to find that we had blown the fuse of the circuit for the whole floor. We attempted this experiment after confirming with the onsite engineer who assured us that the outlet would accommodate all manners of devices in the room.
Turns out that he was not so Voltage Savvy. That led to a series of individuals with seemingly increasing levels of authority to arrive at our door on expressing our displeasure. None seem to know how to deal with this situation involving a malfunctioning hair apparatus that needed electric current to function (that too at a pathetic 110V).
'Sala Kangi se kaam nahi chalana aaata' would have been the thought racing through their dense duramatter - was evident on their collective faces.
Stonehenge anyone?
There is always a person available in any given position, but whether he knows his job, is, well, chancy...it's your luck, and the organisation's which determines who blows a fuse..
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