Customer service is evolving

Dubai - Major investments needed with heightened expectations for the industry

Significant investment is needed in customer service training in the UAE, especially in the private sector, an expert has stressed.
Dr Alaa Garad, Service Olympian Awards juror, chairman of the advisory board of the University of Salford in the UAE and chief executive officer of Investors in People, noted that while government sectors have been making headway in customer service, large sections of the private sector still have some way to go, and that major investment is needed.
This is especially true if the UAE is to lift its performance and deliver up to heightened international expectations ahead of Dubai's hosting of the Expo 2020 event.
"There are high expectations and there is a genuine need to focus on customer delight rather than satisfaction. The customer service quality in the government sector in Dubai is relatively more advanced than the private sector. There's a need to devise policies that mandate training related to customer service excellence," he said.
He also noted that staff have to be carefully selected, tested and trained, since there are certain individuals who are not oriented to serve others - and therefore should not face customers.
"In the service industry every operator largely provides the same service more or less; hotels provide rooms and food, banks provide loans, credit cards and other services. The key differentiator between them is the quality of service such as staff behaviour, physical facilities and premises, after-sale services, level of care and support and the personal touch. Organisations which do not pay attention to this will lose market share," Dr Garad warned.
Asked about the main reason why the private sector lags behind the public sector when it comes to providing good customer service, Dr Garad pointed to a lack of belief in the importance of customer service at the senior management level. Some managers consider this a luxury or "nice to have" when in fact it is a "must have", he explained.
"Most private sector organisations try to cut corners and save money at the expense of quality and staff learning and development. They dare to do this especially when customers are not demanding, or accept poor quality. Another reason for neglecting customer service quality is the absence of legislation that mandates staff training. Training has been left to organisations to choose to do it or not," he said.
He added: "Worldwide there is average investment of $210 billion on learning and development and great companies are investing between one to five per cent of salaries on training."
"When managers and decision makers change their beliefs and look into service quality excellence as a strategic business need, then they will also look into the funds invested and view them as an investment rather than a cost to be cut. Pay schemes should be looked at, selection and recruitment could be re-engineered, training has to be continuous and life-long learning should be a way of life," Dr Garad said.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com