Customer Delight!!! The shell outlet way!
Customer Delight is a neologism that happens to be a part of every corporate wish list. Why would it not be? This phrase by definition is a ‘Measure or determination that a product or service exceeds a customer's expectations, considering requirements of both quality and service’. If your product or service achieves this then your customers stay with you. Voila we have a win-win.This concept is so amazing that it can get a lazy blogger to come out with a post consisting of management clichés on a blog left untouched for more than 5 months. The reason behind this new found urge to update the blog was a visit to one of the new Shell Petrol Bunks in the city. As I rode to college this morning, my fuel went into reserve right outside the bunk in question. So I thought it would be a nice idea to check this new guy out.
As soon as I entered there was a guy with a red flashlight (of the kind the traffic cops wield) who directed me to the smallest queue. This activity on any other outlet would have cost some precious processing time in my own head and I usually get it wrong. And there was a lady at the dispenser who greeted me with a warm ‘Vanakkam Sir’ with hands folded. Boy I was feeling like a king. I was requested to get off the seat and she made sure that I saw the ‘Zero’. I normally insist on a bill and have endured long waits to get it done at all other Public Sector Outlets. But on this occasion, before I could complete saying ‘bill’ I was handed a nice little printout with every detail of the transaction. They sure got me floored. What’s more the bill was printed out in the dispenser itself. Smart use of technology does work wonders. And the bunk attendant bade me good bye, asked me to ‘Drive Safe’ and not to forget getting my air checked for free on the way out.
Shell definitely exceeded my expectations, considering requirements of both quality and service. Oh my god, the definition says ‘both quality and service’. Service, yes, I’ve experienced it first hand, but what about quality? So here comes the work for the skeptic in me. Are they blinding me towards their inconsistencies in quality with clever salesmanship? Is the vanakkam meant for diverting my attention?
It would take some time to check my mileage to check the quality. But the restless me won’t wait for long. As soon as I got back home, I decided to find out what fellow netizens feel about this? Here’s what I got.
http://silkboard.wordpress.com/2006/08/22/mileage-and-petrol-bungling-shell-shocked/
This was really reassuring. Many thanks to whoever contributed.
For those of you who might want to give Shell a try, here’s a list of their outlets in India
http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=in-en&FC2=/in-en/html/iwgen/shell_for_motorists/site_locator/zzz_lhn.html&FC3=/in-en/html/iwgen/shell_for_motorists/site_locator/dir_station_locator_0504.html
I just hope that this is not a mere market skimming strategy and they maintain their standards for a long time to come.
Labels: bike, customer delight, petrol, shell
posted by bragey @ 7:02 AM
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