Skip to main content

Shopping with a pinch of salt


Nepali market may not yet be labelled as the market with nonchalant customer service but I am afraid we may soon have another negative label associated. Today hundreds of retails stores are mushrooming at an alarming rate – forgotten are the mom and pop stores who catered only to a small customers. Some offer unique products while some offer same products with a different twist. But one thing is common – all these retail stores lack a magnitude in customer service. 

When I returned back from the US after a college degree and a one year stint at a corporate house with a 25 days training on telephone and face to face customer service training sessions I was appalled by the service I encountered in Nepal. Not that the service was excellent before I left for US the only difference was that now I noticed and I had learned the art of selling way different compared to Nepal. Every purchase made me unhappy and every time I encountered an unfriendly sales staff I asked if h/she could be kind enough to smile and help me – some would return my request with a look as if I were a crazy person while the others simply pretend they haven’t heard me. Some of the stores I visit are mainly due to convenience and not due to their impeccable customer service. Finally, I am in a phase of shuffling my priorities as I do not want to spend my money in a store that does not want it – and I believe I have choices. 

Last month I ventured out to a couple of furniture stores to buy a piece of sofa. It was a sour experience as I realized none were eager to sell their products. I had to enquire a lot and mostly met with vague answers as if I were constantly being judged of my capability to make a purchase. Couple of months back, one of my expat friends was toiling around in Thamel window shopping when by chance she happened to like a nice piece of silver jewellery. When she approached the store keeper she was told that it was too expensive and she couldn’t afford the piece. My friend happens to be a simpleton but the fact is she is capable of buying anything she desires. 

I understand most of the sales persons in Nepal might be poorly paid but this doesn’t give them any right to treat the customers in an unfair manner. When a business owner invests a huge amount of money it is pertinent that the owner understand the basics: without a happy customer his/her business is already losing grounds. But then again how would a business owner train the sales person when s/he constantly judge the customers based on their physical appearance. I believe Nepalese are used to Nepal’s laid back customer service but as a customer wouldn’t you want to be happy when you swipe your card? I would. 

Many businesses in Nepal have come a long way. We have witnessed numerous international ventures entering local market and competition is tough. But we are also aware of business owners complaining about the obstacles of starting or sustaining their businesses due to the frequent political strikes and flailing economy. I believe if a business has a unique selling proposition topped with an impeccable customer service orientation to its sales staff businesses will thrive and customers will be satisfied. 

Starting a business is easy if one has the capital but surviving is a tough act. Unfortunately Nepalese lack the basics of customer service. The 25 days training taught me many valuable lessons but one that stuck with me forever is that retaining a customer is key to winning.

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Proud+of+bad++customer+service&NewsID=349122

Comments

  1. Pallavi DhakalSeptember 4, 2015 at 2:52 AM

    While this seems to be improving in 2015 (today) we still have a long way to go. Great write up! I wonder where do you get the time to write. I wish I was contributing to my blog as much as you are to yours!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's OK

Here is what I learned inside the classroom between grades 1-10 – reading and writing. Grades 11-12 are simply a blur. Here is what I learned outside my classrooms – effective communication, team building, sharing, making friends and being there for them when they needed us the most, watching each other’s back and learning to fend for one another. What kind of learning do we expect to happen for our own kids? Quiet frankly, until the pandemic led to the school closure, I worried if my daughter was learning enough. I know that sounds quite foolhardy. But then, I would hear my friends and colleagues talk about how smart their kids are and how far they have come in math and science and the many kinds of extra curricular activities their kids attend. I could not help but compare.   As a school administrator, I would scroll every school profile in social media and the list of extra activities never ending.   The collaborations with different organizations offering learning opti...
Post a Comment
Read more

Two sides of a holy matrimony

Men are polygamous by nature – a fact reinstated by my Biology teacher in grade seven has made such an impact in my life; I am usually biased when matrimony ends in divorce. While I was still in school, I remember every other girl in my class had come from a family that still followed the norms of society – both parents in a blissful union. That was back in the eighty’s. Today our society has taken to the western civilization where divorces though still frowned upon happen more in real life than in a western soap.  The saying ‘give women a skill and the whole family is secured’ a development term so true can also be the reason for the westernization of the Nepali matrimony. Give women education and a holy marriage no longer seems holier. Back then, I wondered why so many men and women divorced in the western countries and took pride in the way our families functioned. Had I known the reasons behind a divorce I would have never blamed any culture or influence.  Men...
1 comment
Read more

No country for us

I can be anything. No. No one ever said this to me. I understood. I was a girl. I couldn’t be anything I wanted to be. I knew that because I have been vehemently practical. I knew my limitations yet let my expectations run wild. I grew up with many siblings. My brothers drove cars when they reached grade 8 and when I turned 14, I demanded that my father taught me how to drive too. My father happily obliged. I was obviously excited to be behind the wheels, when I steered and hit the gas I knew there wouldn’t be any boundaries for me. Little did I know being practical and driving a car didn’t mean life’s road will be rosier.  Past the next generation. I have a baby girl. She is going to embark on a new journey come August and I couldn’t be more excited. She is graduating to grade 1. More so often we converse like any mother and daughter duo would. I am usually either yelling at her or showering her with love. I tell her constantly she can be anything she wants to be. I re...
1 comment
Read more