Customer service

Pollo Negro is a restaurant on Valero street that serves very delicious roast chicken (gives Kenny Rogers Roasters a run for its money). It is run by a European chap whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. What does a restaurant in Salcedo Village have to do with the IT business?

Well, it can teach us a thing or two about customer service and leadership. When you walk into the restaurant, the owner/chef actually tries to be the one to wait on you and asks you for your drink, and he was actually quite alert enough to see me frown when I thought the chicken served me that day was below quality. He replaced it, no questions asked. His people are constantly on their toes because their boss is on his toes.

In contrast, PLDT in its enormity had no idea how to take care of this customer (can’t generalize, can only share what we went through). Mind you, the company has improved by quantum leaps and bounds since Mr. Manny took over. However, corporate culture takes a few years to change. I just hope Mr. Manny can finish the job of retooling this monopoly soon.

DFNN and HatchAsia have just moved to the "hatchasia globalcity center." In the three months prior to the move, we wanted to make sure our phones and Internet connections were live on the first day of work. During these three months, we coordinated closely with the account officer. (Actually, it took us more than three weeks to figure out who our account officer was). Unfortunately, the account officer had no idea when any of the services we required would be up (at times the rates could not even be quoted). Clearly, the account officer was not fully to blame because she might not have the information or the authority to get things done.

The account officer was more of a sales person pushing products than a solutions person probing how our needs could be met with efficiency and of course, cost-effectiveness.

We were constantly given wrong information and services promised were not delivered. For example, we wanted to keep our old numbers. One week, we couldn’t, the following week, we could, then finally we couldn’t. Another example, we were told we could have DSL (digital subscriber line) on the 15th of October. Well, I am testing a wireless Internet provider right now.

Telephones and Internet connections are the key tools of an IT company. Take them away or not deliver them on time, and I am a wounded bear ready to pounce. Anyway, no need to whine when confronted with such a situation, just vote with your feet.

My Two Cents: The lifeblood of any company is the customer. If we cannot keep customers satisfied, there will be no sales, no sales mean no cashflow, no cash means people lose their jobs.

Anthrax and other fears

Anthrax fears are now making the rounds of the Washington D.C. circuit and New York. From Senator Daschle and Congress to the CIA, anthrax spores are now being smuggled into their mailrooms via suspect mail.

During my years at Dole Asia, we looked at irradiation as a possible mitigation tool against pests and fruit flies. We did not make too much progress since at that time, the European Community was on the war path against irradiation as well as genetically modified foods. (They must have read too many Marvel comics recently or watched the X-Men mutant movie).

I can see two potential structural changes in business processes.

One, irradiation procedures will be put in place where mail is screened before coming in the building’s mailroom. Mail and parcel are put through the radiation scanners before they are sorted.

Second, the trend toward digital mail, despite its propensity for viruses of the virtual kind, will start becoming de rigueur. A good firewall and virus scan are critical in this virtual mail delivery.

Granted that my company does not have the money for an anthrax radiation scanner, I am forcing all my penpals and vendors to communicate with me via e-mail. This is, of course, quite a challenge because most Filipino companies are not there yet.

My Two Cents: Buy virus and firewall stocks like McAfee. The stimulus is very strong to move everyone onto the digital mail system.

(Dickson Co is CFO for both Dfnn and HatchAsia.com. For comments and suggestions, e-mail [email protected].)