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SmarTone has right line for excellence

Dan Boylan

Electronic Appliances - Award for excellence Providing quality service for SmarTone Mobile Communications for cellular phone customers across Hong Kong is the same whether they are seeking service in a retail outlet or over the phone.

'If the staff who are promoting customer service are professional, there is no difference between helping a customer over the phone or at a store,' said William Yeung, SmarTone's sales division general manager.

SmarTone's success has resulted in the company winning this year's Hong Kong Retail Management Association's (HKRMA) Mystery Shopper award for excellence in the category reserved for electronic appliances.

Mr Yeung said the company was proud of the achievement and attributed it to the professionalism of SmarTone's 900 workers.

'The professional way is very simple,' he said.

'Listen to the customer, give him or her as much expert advice as possible, then give them exactly what they want.' Mr Yeung said product knowledge was paramount. Whenever the company introduced a new service, employees were schooled on the product. He said a perfect example of this customer service outlook was evident every time a potential client inquired about the product.

'If you come into any one of our shops, we'll ask you what your budget is, how much you can afford and how much you intend to use the phone,' he said.

SmarTone executives looked at customer service as a double entity - internal and external satisfaction. Mr Yeung said external satisfaction meant customers were happy with what they had purchased and the experience of buying it from SmarTone.

Internal satisfaction meant employees at all levels of the corporation were happy, allowing them to create an environment that promoted external satisfaction. SmarTone focused on proper training and teamwork at all levels to achieve internal satisfaction.

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