This caretaker has cracked customer satisfaction unlike many MBAs

We recently visited Coorg 🗻 (an Indian hill station). We booked a villa through StayVista and were greeted by Rakesh, the caretaker, who knew customer service at its best. We, obviously, noted the takeaways.

Nobody asks for evening snacks, but it’s always good to be offered.

Rakesh didn’t have to offer to make us snacks, yet he did––every day.

Lesson: Proactiveness!

If it is possible for you to anticipate customers’ needs and not wait for them to arise, address them already. Essentially, working to ensure a positive customer experience will always get you extra brownie points.

If you can reheat the food, why hide behind the rules?

“Breakfast is closed.” – is hotel jargon. It is not something you’d hear from Rakesh. If a guest is late to meal time, Rakesh wouldn’t only keep the food but also reheat it!

Lesson: Customer happiness has to be the goal, always.

In customer service, it is convenient (and sometimes important) to maintain structure, boundaries, and timings. However, if you are met with a situation where it is possible for you to walk half an extra mile and make the customer happy, they’ll always remember it. That usually ends up in word-of-mouth marketing too.

If you like to cook, every mealtime is an opportunity.

Rakesh’s food was amazing. He learned cooking at his home. Soon, he started enjoying the craft. Now every time he has to cook for the guests, it is not work but enjoyment for him.

Lesson: Find the little things that matter in your job.

It is alright if your job isn’t your passion; you can always find the little things that give you fulfillment. When you are fulfilled in your job of customer support and realize that it is based on the principle of helping people, eventually, you’ll be able to pass on that positivity to your customers.

The bike has plenty of space!

For Rakesh, making some space on the bike for grocery requests was an honor.

Lesson: If you can accommodate customer requests, don’t think twice.

It is only fair to tell your customers that one exception cannot be made, that that one feature cannot be built within two months, or that they do not qualify for a discount. But, whenever it is indeed possible, gift your customers. That, is taking customer satisfaction to the next level.

A smile goes a long way.

You’d never see Rakesh not-smiling, except when he’s alone (that’d be creepy).

Lesson: If a smile can please you, why not do the same for your customers?

Whenever talking with your customers, try to use more humane emojis, and try to spread positivity. Our only tip: keep it natural. :)

“I treat it like my house and my guests. When my guests get happy, it makes me happy.”

~ Rakesh Bam