Once
I am invited to conduct a training session for a senior management team of one
leading service industry in Thailand
on a topic of service management. The
team opens the training by telling me that they are the second best compared to
another brand who is also the leading brand in Thailand in terms of “service
excellence”.
I ask how they know and
what are the criteria used to measure that outcome.
The director who is responsible for quality
assurance answers me that they have the international external auditor from
abroad to audit their staff on a yearly basis.
The result said almost 100% of our staff do everything we ask them to
do, basically staff do comply with the standards. Moreover, they as a
management walk around and witness that those good service behaviors are being
practiced. Sound good, isn’t it?
So, my hypothesis is;
- The auditor will still
give full score if their staff “wai” (Thai greeting gesture) to the guest with
a long face. (As a trainer / consultant,
I will surely not recommend this type of audit for the service excellence
aspect).
- And, normally Thai
staff will “Wai” and bend their heads down to a manager rather than to a
guest. That is a Thai hierarchical
practice because the job security is traditionally not very much depending on
performance but it depends on how obedient one is onwards his/her boss. I experience many times that between a guest
and a manager, Thai staff will surely greet the manager first. That is why many managers are so sure that
they staff comply with set standards.
I say to this group of
senior managers in the session that “if the-mentioned audit outcome and the
management experience strongly urge you to believe that your service is good
enough. As a customer, I will say
wrong”. I like to comment here two
things: firstly, some Thai owner / managers believe in imported products from a
handbag to a consultant. A consultant
who makes Thai people believe through their nice beautiful accent and a sharp
nose that they know everything. I wish
actually to ask – will the audit outcome truly reflect guest satisfaction? The international external auditor must have
this answer. Secondly, most obstacles
of Thai’s service come from its cultural issues. Therefore, by now, Thai managers should
realize that improvement in service and changes in attitude are to “start” with
the boss and therefore the improvement will “stop” with the boss too.
© Tevabanchachai N.
(2009), Honorary Advisor / Director, Mai-BS (THAILAND) http://mai-bs.com
© Tevabanchachai N. (2009), Program
Director at Travel Industry Management Division, Acting General Manager at
Salaya Pavilion Hotel and Training Center at Mahidol University International
College http://www.mahidol.ac.th
