sick wife or customer ? Whom to choose

Whenever i drive my maruti swift (I love marutis anyday ) i remember the salesperson who sold us the vehicle .  Being in the company which sells the largest number of cars in india it was surprising to see the level of patience he showed in explaining everything and not trying to "hard sell "  any particular model or variant of the maruti car . And the most amazing part was on the day of delivery of the car this man was with us with a smile but one which hid sadness . My father who is as quick as me in sensing this feeling asked him what was bothering him . He didnt answer initially but on further prodding he told his wife has just returned from hospital the previous day  .  Considering his reluctance to leave us "the customer " we told him clearly please proceed to his sick wife as we are very happy with his service and dont need him at the showroom at that time (it was 9 pm  :  it was the march price changing time for cars and there were extra workload on the staff )  .  Before leaving he delegated his work to his coworker and the coworker also did an excellent job of explaining all the details .

Yes it was the first time i had a salesperson going to this extent but through my 10 + years of being a maruti customer (maruti 800  ---maruti zen  ---maruti swift )  i can vouch that i am 10/10 satisfied with maruti sales and service  .  (  I am not in car sales , so you can trust me  :) )  ..  This same level of customer is the king attitude was seen not only in trivandrum ,kerala but even when i had a maruti zen in mumbai . Being one of the most busy cities in the world even there  whenever i visited maruti in between my busy schedule the maruti employee was there treating you as if you had bought a Rolls Royce  .  Not only the product but i think this customer service is the very reason their cars are selling like hotcakes inspite of stiff competition from other carmakers  .

I gave the maruti example because  looking around you we find customer service is one thing where many big companies lack  . These days "Customer is the king " attitude is told everywhere and countless management textbooks have been written on this topic .  But  its not rocket science to understand that in sales it is one of the key parameter which attracts and retains the consumer . Also the implementation of it is fairly simple ...Just have a genuine interest in the customer you are serving and realise that  however big you or your company is without him (the customer )  tomorrow you may not exist . For without sales and income from operations there is no "sales-person "  .

Regarding misselling and hardselling by some unscruplous salespersons i will be writing a separate blog . Meanwhile lets appreciate the good companies which value their customers and the brand ambassadors of these companies--- " the honest , hardworking ,customerfriendly " salespersons . They are not a majority these days but i am optimistic that the customerfriendly ones will increase in number because the market and consumer will ultimately reward the good ones ...Yes i bought a maruti instead of Rolls Royce because of better customer service :):)  (pls believe me )