I always wondered if being customer oriented is a difficult thing. I was travelling in a flight recently. We had pre-ordered our snacks. When my wife requested the flight attendant to exchange her pre-ordered Upma for some other snack, she was rude to state that it has been pre-booked and cannot be changed.

I then recalled the research I had done on “Customer orientation” during my corporate career and I realised that being customer oriented does not need complex things to be remembered. It is just having a positive attitude, being empathetic to the customer and keeping up your commitments. It is as simple as that.

It does not depend on the product or service you are offering. You may be dealing with any product or service. It is your ability to being positive in your attitude, putting yourself in the shoes of the customer’s shoes and understanding their issues and then keeping your word. That’s all we need to be customer oriented.

Let me analyse how this behaviour of the air hostess could have been customer oriented. When my wife requested her to exchange her snack, she could have understood the reasons why my wife asking for the same. Then she should could been empathetic and understood the pain of the customer. After that she could have checked with her seniors if needed and exchanged her Upma with another snack of equivalent value. This would have not only satisfied a hungry customer but delighted her and airline would have not lost a penny.

After she refused to exchange the Upma for a snack, my wife requested for some tea, which also got delivered after two reminders. This shows you have not keep your word although you promised the customer that you will serve tea and hand over the Upma box. You did neither.

I have a met a lot of employees dealing with customers day in and night out. I have done workshops with thousands of customer facing employees and listened to their stories. When I analysed the same, I found that customer orientation is not dependant on the product or service we offer. It all depends on the attitude we have towards our customer.

Customer orientation is all about “Attitude”, “Empathy” & “Commitment”. Our ability to instil the positive attitude in our employees, making employees empathetic by feeling the pain of the customer and then living up to the commitments they make without fail every single time.

Now I wonder as to why organisations cannot be customer oriented when it is so simple. I realise that the simplest things in life are the most complex and hence may be we are not able to instil these values in our employees and ensure that they consistently follow them.

We need to believe that retaining customers is more important then winning new customers. It is like retaining employees is more important than recruiting new employees when they leave organisations.

Let me summarise that “Customer-Orientation” is as simple as “AEC” ( Attitude, Empathy & Commitment) and let us not complicate it any further.

Let us start being customer oriented today. It is true for individuals as much as organisations.

S Ramesh Shankar

23rd May 2022

I have seen people spending their lifetime in search of peace and happiness. The interesting aspect is that the more they search – both peace and happiness is elusive to them.

The questions before us – Where do we search for peace ? How do we search for peace ? How can we be sure that we have accomplished it ? When will we be happy that we are at peace ?

The answers to these questions may help us understand this basic tenet of life. I know of people going around the world searching for peace and happiness. If they stay in a city and lead an urban life full of stress, they assume visiting a hill and listening to the sounds of nature may help them get peace and happiness.

Each of us have our own way of exploring our journey. Some of us want to run away from our problems. While others think that we are the only ones beseeched with all problems in the world. Some others think they are cursed in life and hence peace and happiness will always elude them in this birth.

In my definition, both peace and happiness is absolute and personal to each one of us. We can spend our life time searching around the world or blaming others for our state of affairs but we may never attain peace or happiness.

The day we realise that peace and happiness is within us and also within our own control, we may be in a position to pursue this journey. It is like , advising everyone in the world is the easiest thing to do but advising self may be the most difficult.

If we live our lives comparing ourselves to everyone around us and blaming the world and everyone for our state of affairs we may be in a state of denial. On the other hand, if we realise that our destiny is in our own hands, we may be able to begin our journey of self exploration.

The journey of self exploration is like the path of excellence. It is a continual journey of self discovery. If we believe we have reached our destination, we may be fooling our selves. On the other hand, if we continue to look within and pursue this journey, we may be on the right track.

What gives us happiness and peace is unique to each one of us ? If we compare ourselves with others, we may never be able to achieve our goal. We need to be clear as to what will give us peace and happiness in life and pursue our goals zealously.

Each of us will have a different take or definition of peace and happiness and that is fine. The day we worry about the definition of others , our trouble may begin. As long as we are content with our own concepts, our journey will always be enriching.

The path to peace is perseverance. If we are able to look within and reflect, we may be able to rediscover ourselves every day. This journey could be insightful if we are willing to learn and grow with every learning in life.

Let our journey begin today.

S Ramesh Shankar

22nd March 2022

“I have no time” is something I have heard from people from all walks of life and at various life stages. I have always found it mysterious since I have never found lack of time in anything I wanted to do in life.

I have seen students stating they don’t have time to study. I have seen players claiming that they don’t have time to practise and employees claiming they don’t have time to complete their work. Spouses in the family also state they don’t have time to do household chores.

I have been a student, played sports, worked in corporates for almost four decades and happily married for the last 38 years years but never felt that time was ever a constraint for me.

I may or may not have succeeded in all my endeavours as a student, player, employee or a spouse but can never blame time for my failure in anything.

I once asked a colleague as to why he was late for a meeting at my office in Mumbai. He blamed the traffic for the same. I asked him if he would have a missed a flight if he was going on a holiday to Goa. He smiled and said no. So, it our attitude to life and our priorities, which makes all the difference.

As a student if I don’t have time to study or play, it is because I am not planning well and prioritising what is important for me. How can I blame my school or my home for the same. I can neither blame my parents nor my teachers. I need to blame myself only.

If I move to the workplace, I find employees claiming they are under heavy work pressure and do not have time for other things like hobbies or even time to spend with their family. I find this amusing too. Having been through all stages of my work life, I never felt that I did not have time for hobbies or my family. Of course there could be some days when you are tied down but it cannot be an excuse forever.

Life is no different from study, play or work. Many of us think that life is a journey of doing things we may not enjoy all the time. It is not true. It is the way we define what we want in life. It is like if you take the road and drive without any destination in mind, you may reach where you do not want to go. But, if you plan your drive you will go where you desire always.

It is time to challenge ourselves and ask the fundamental question – “What are my priorities in life ?” . How do I want to spend the rest of my life ? I am responsible for my life. The day we realise it, we have crossed the bridge.

We can prioritise both our personal and work related things. Then plan for it and make it happen. We have to be like an Olympian who after winning a gold does not rest but starts preparing for the next Olympics, which is four years away. Let us believe we have all the time in the world to do what we want to do.

Let the new journey of life begin today.

S Ramesh Shankar

12th February 2022