Three and a half hours slipped by unnoticed as Aki Kalliatakis, MD of Leadership Launchpad, delivered his boisterous and passionate talk on customer care. As our eyes followed his every move across the room, you could see that he had cast a spell on every intern [customer] present. And so it must be with any organisation that aims at growing its business; its focus must revolve around meeting the needs of customers as well as captivating their interests.
Because customers are the life blood of business, care must be taken to find them; win them over; and retain them if a business is to thrive in markets characterised by cut-throat competition. As Kalliatakis pointed out, “... in Africa, when the sun comes up, you had better be running".
The video clip on a bunch of highly motivated fishmongers at demonstrated that work does not have to be a dreary affair. For these 12 world-famous guys, a day’s job incorporates fun, games and profits, all rolled into one. Their positive attitude to work transforms even the most mundane task at Seattle's Pikeplace fish market into a fun activity, and not just for them, but also for the prospective customers.
However, when all is said and done, would I plunge back into the wonderful world of Customer Care? … That my friend, is an entirely different kettle of fish….
As I hang on to every word he said, the words written on the cover-sheet of his presentation rang true. “Delight your customers with positively outrageous service”… and delighted with the customer care lecture Kalliatakis delivered, I was!
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5 comments:
Dear Susan, I am glad that you share my impression of Aki Kaliatakis' presentation. I feel exactly the same way as you describe. His presentation was really enjoyable and he interacted with each one of us in various ways.
These kinds of presentations are really unforgettable and unconsciously or consciously you believe in every word that he says. The way he communicates and interacts with you is really amazing.
Hey Valentin, your comments get a bit repetitive. I mean you say almost the same on every blog you comment. Its time for Roy to present on 'creativity in the workplace'! Susan, good stuff! I like your writing. Very witty. Ja, Aki did a great presentation.
Hi Susan,
You are not wrong about your Aki's impression on his audience. we could see that he knows what means 'delight'. What I have like the most is the way he appraoches his life. He can confess that he had failed in mathemathics and that soon he will give up on the business and will devote himself to his family. Truly speaking I don't know many people who can do so. I identify myself to him as I have realise that life is not necessary about money. And that I should delight those I love the most first and myself after.
Adam
Adam
Hi
I'd love to hear a bit more in your blog about your career in customer service, your experiences, and why you chose to give it up and make a career change to journalism!
Dear Susan, I worked in Customer service in a power utility company (parastatal) and it was great for a while... but the rouine of it got to me and I jumped ship. AND, I have always had a passion for story telling (on paper) and so, when the opportunity presented itself, I cut and ran.
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