He explained why a change was needed in order to be in line with Pacific Bookstore’s positioning. “Rather than just being a bookshop operator selling textbooks and stationery in school, we want to position ourselves as a services provider, by providing convenient services for students, parents and schools.” said Ee Fah.
In wanting to transform his sales staff from being “sales-oriented’ to “customer service-oriented”, Ee Fah was convinced that the most critical factor to help his company succeed was to first change the mindset.
Training for a Superior Service Culture
Upon learning about WDA’s programmes, Pacific Bookstores decided to send 161 of its employees, which is more than 90% of their staff, for the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Service Excellence programme. The training included a 2-day “Achieving Superior Service” and 1-day “Heart & Art of Service” courses.
“The training provided was in line with our company’s objectives and we strongly believed that our service standards could improve significantly once our staff is fully equipped with the right tools and techniques in handling customers,” said Ee Fah.
During the training, Ee Fah noted that his employees were able to grasp fundamental services principles as well as techniques to understand customer needs and how to meet them. Not only did the training address customer service, trainers from Capelle Academy also taught Pacific Bookstores’ employees on how to support their colleagues, to build teamwork and to build a superior service culture through the organization.
Instant Results and Improvement
Following the completion of the training courses, Ee Fah noticed significant improvements in his bookstore. From internal meeting updates and surveys being conducted with their customers, he noted that most of his employees were able to apply what they had learnt in their daily routine work. He said: “For example, before training, when a certain textbook is running out-of-stock, our staff would just tell customers – ‘No Stock’ – and left it at that. And this was not ideal.”
After the training, his staff would now tell customers that the textbook is temporarily out-of-stock. They would then go the extra mile to check with publishers on the availability so that they can advise customers when the stock would be available. The staff will also take down the customers’ contact details and contact them when stock has been replenished. “Simple actions like these make all the difference in improving our customer service standards, and ensure our customers keep returning.”
Training – An Ongoing and Non-Stop Process
He said: “It takes a long time to build a culture. Hence, training must be an ongoing and non-stop process. As such, our appointed training consulting partner is in the midst of working out the training road map for our organization for the next three years.”
Ee Fah concludes that companies who are considering taking up training programmes or sending staff for upgrading should not wait any longer. “Training is the most powerful tool to help your organisation build a strong team internally, empowered with the right knowledge and skillsets to face any challenges ahead.”
For more information on Service Excellence WSQ, click here.
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