# 050 Customer Focus - Changing the mindset of the employees

This happened recently. 

The sales person of Bata showroom in Malleswaram informed the that the price is Rs. 500/= to my inquiry. I was a bit surprised since Bata’s popularity came through, at least in part, their habit of pricing any articles @xxx9. I didn’t think much of it at that time assuming that he is tired of repeating the exact price and rounded off the nine to the nearest zero. 

But more surprise was in store when he raised the bill also at Rs. 500/=. I again assumed that Bata, for once, has changed the pricing strategy. But it was  a real shocker to me to find that the price was indeed Rs.499/= ONLY when I reached home and opened the packing and by chance glanced at the price tag before throwing!!

Another unfriendly act also happened with the same purchase. When I opted to pay through Amex credit card the very same employee told that the company do not accept Amex. I was surprised since I had purchased a pair of shoes from the outlet of very same Bata in Phoenix Mall with Amex card just a week earlier. When I pointed out this he simply shrugged his shoulders and stood his ground.I am sure Bata can not have different policies between their outlets. 

Why did the Sales person behave as he did? Could it be he is trying to play smart or is lack of awareness on how such seemingly simple acts can put off customers. Either way it stems from his basic attitude; lack of Customer Focus – “couldn’t care less” attitude.

How do you change the attitude? That is the biggest challenge today - changing the attitude of employees. 2015 version of ISO 9001  therefore includes 'change management' as one of the requirements for QMS

# 048 Customer Focus: Policies & Core values - where are they ?

ISO 9001 talks about Customer focus as one of the principles, most important at that, on which a Quality Management System should be based in an organisation. It is sometimes easier to drive home principle simply by citing an example to the contrary. I thought following incident would make a good case study.

Just the other day I went to Bata to buy a shoe for walking. When the sales person informed me the price is Rs.500/=for the pair selected, I didn’t pay much attention to what he said and thought that he is simply rounding off the figure to make it easy to comprehend the amount correctly. Again when he raised the bill and I paid off using my credit card I didn’t care to look into the amount I signed for ! But I was certainly surprised when I came home and noticed that the amount was Rs.500/= when I had a cursory glance at the charge slip. Curious to know whether Bata has changed their culture of Rs.xx9/=, I checked the bill only to find indeed the price is Rs.500/=. However when I opened the bag and found the price tag carrying a price of Rs.499/=, I started reflecting on how a seemingly innocuous incident has much greater significance viz. a company’s culture, policy et al. 

It is one thing to indicate the price (orally) as Rs.500/= quite another to actually raise the bill for Rs.500/= when the official price is Rs.499/=. It is not the question of absolute amount but the fact that there is an inconsistency between the price tag and billed amount.

Is it okay if the amount involved is small but not correct when it is high? It is akin to people saying (I have heard it many times) “ Chi chi, he is a telling a lie for such a small amount.” Does it mean one can tell a lie if the amount involved is high? How much amount is high enough will next pop up! And who draws a line and decides the threshold limits?

This is where the organisation’s core values, policies and culture comes in along with the awareness of these on the part of the employees. It may be easier to define and document the policies etc. but very difficult to make the employees understand and assimilate the responsibilities that such policies impose on their day to day transactions and behavior.

The incident got further uglier with this particular outlet of Bata saying the company does not accept Amex card. But just a week before this incident  I purchased a shoe on Amex card at a different outlet of the very same Bata. How can there be a difference between the outlets? Even if it were to be a Franchise outlet such inconsistencies should be allowed to be happening.Is Bata listening?

This is an example of an organization having no customer focus, not having a consistent/uniform procedure and not being able to make employees aware of the policies & procedures, if any. It is okay as long as it is an exception. Otherwise this could impact seriously business results in the long run.