That “WOW” experience in Customer Service

10^th December, 2014:

2107 hours IST

Last evening I got a Whatsapp message from a number starting with +966 (the dialing code for the Kingdom

Cover page of the book

of Saudi Arabia (KSA)). I was happy thinking it would be a message from my parents (they are currently on a pilgrimage to KSA). With excitement I checked the messages and it read like this “Assalamu alaikum” followed by the adjacent picture and then a message again explaining what the picture is. It said “This book is like an encyclopedia of Islamic Financial System. A colourful book, it has almost everything about Islamic Financial System”. The last message said “Your dad is here with me in our bookstore in Makkah”. When I checked these messages, it was already more than half an hour since the time I received them.

2142 hours IST

Realising the time lapsed, I was sure my father wouldn’t be around at the store for so long. I thanked the sender for sharing this. I communicated to him that I already own some books on the subject but requested him if possible, please share the “Table of Contents” of this book which will help me to know more about it. Honestly speaking, I forgot about this conversation and was not expecting any response from him.

11^th December, 2014:

0002 hours IST

Couple of hours later (around midnight), my phone buzzed multiple times and I checked there were messages. It was from the same +966 number. There were 13 images. The first image (adjacent one) read

First of the 13 Images of the
books Table of Contents

“the index is spread over 13 pages and this is the first one”. The man actually clicked pictures of all 13 pages of the books “Table of Contents” and sent it across. Yes, you read it right. I was as astonished as you probably are reading this.

Why I call it a “WOW” experience is because my father was not around at the store waiting for me to say a yes or a no, neither did the man know who he was interacting with (max he must have known was that I am in India from the conversation with my father) but he still took the pains of sending across the details, irrespective of whether I will buy or no.

1205 hours IST

Since it was late in the night, I didn’t communicate with my father and waited for morning (both in India and KSA. Makkah is 2.5 hours behind IST). Finally when I connected with my father today, he said you must have received some message last evening about a book, but I didn’t wait for your response because I had to rush. This just proves my father was not at the store and hence there was no guarantee of a sale taking place. In spite of this the owner shared the details. I narrated the conversation (between me and the store guy) to my father and even he was surprised at the gesture. On asking about the details of the book store (name, location and the name of the owner) to my father, I found out it was the same store from where I had purchased the earlier titles (but he doesn’t know me, nor was my father aware of this transaction. So the possibility of serving a repeat customer also doesn’t arise). The store is named “Daawah (means invitation)” and is located on the first floor of Makkah Clock Tower opposite Al Masjid Al Haraam. The owner is a “Burmese”national “Musa”.

Courtesies Extended, Converted into a Sale

Thinking aloud, it was very easy for Musa to not share details with me, thinking I am located in another country, my father is also not present at the store and there is no guarantee whether he will even return. By extending the courtesy, Musa has actually converted a curious onlooker (my father) into a buyer of the book.

How many business houses and their sales representatives actually extend such courtesies? Hope this inspires all of us to serve our clients, customers in a much better way, without consideration to only the bottom-line. Rather we must realize that bottom-line is actually a by-product of such largesse.

Talking about the content of the book, it’s very useful and relevant for me and I have told my father to pick it up in spite of the steep price. I promise, “InshaAllah (God willing)” whenever I visit Makkah, I will definitely pay a visit to Daawah bookstore and Musa. The least that I could do from here is send across a thank you message, which I already did.

Share Your Experience

I am sure you must have also experienced such “WOW” moment(s) sometime in your life. Look forward to hearing from you so as to create a happy multiplier effect.