Gandhi's Talisman for Customer Relationship Management- a reality check to modern businesses

 Gandhi was a great leader, philosopher, teacher, and a Visionary of his age. Though known mostly for his work in socio-political or ethical-philosophical arenas, he has given a mantra which most modern business houses (especially in this cut-throat competitive, globalized world) need to learn. He has this to say about the customer :

"A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

How is this relevant in the business world

This is a philosophy that summarizes the crux of customer relationship management. It urges us to be polite, warm, and sensitive to customer needs and proclaims the customer as the focal point of running a business. It implies that a dissatisfied customer means that there is something wrong with the product/service offering and not with the customer. It urges the business community to change its perception of customers. One has to accept the customer and focus on what the organization is not able to cater to as per the customer’s needs. 

The 2 most important behavioral change that we need towards our customers is Courtesy and attentiveness. These 2 when applied in tandem can work wonders towards improving customer relations and satisfaction. Thorough information and grasp about the profession is the need of the hour. It is a blunder e to think that customers' demand is unreasonable or unfair and that this state of unmet demand is static and cant be changed. A patient and persistent effort towards a better understanding of the message behind customer dissatisfaction tells us where we are going wrong.





4 Pillars of modern SERVICE-ABILITY 

The crux of the modern concept of SERVICE-ABILITY is the age-old four-axis framework:


1. Modernized Management: The staff that is interacting with the customer is well-trained, behaved, and possesses minimum courtesy and professionalism to satisfy any and every customer's needs.



2. Effective Leadership: An initiative-based leadership that infuses the required trust among customers is the most important way towards strengthening ties with the customer.


3. Organization: A well-organized, goal-oriented, driving towards excellence attitude of customer service, goes a long way in delivering excellent customer services.



4. Clarity of Purpose: The most important point, the purpose of a businessman/service-provider is to serve and fulfill a customer’s need as he/she is the pivotal point of all business, and must be served at all cost.

This mantra given by Gandhi is the genesis of many modern-documents of which Citizen Charter is the most prime one, strengthening our Democracy and Constitutional principles. Also, this mantra works in tandem with another Gandhian novelty of 7 deadly modern sins. 

More on Citizen Charter and Gandhi's Seven sin in later posts.

P.S: Author's Note

The word customer is an umbrella term, it can be interpreted and superimposed on plenty of other scenarios ex. "A student is the most important visitor in a college campus", "a citizen is the most important person in a democracy", etc. 

Hence, it is a duty of a teacher/political leader to work for the overall better development of students/citizens and not arm-twist them into doing something according to their own whims and fancies or own personal agendas. Only then can the customer/student/citizen be empowered in a way that Gandhi had envisioned.

To Be Continued....................