Most of us think of outsourcing as an activity where companies in wealthy countries hire overseas companies to capitalize on less expensive labor and skill sets. 123outsource.net is attempting to reverse this type of thinking for the betterment of the world business community. As a world traveler, Jeremy, the owner of 123outsource.net is painfully aware of the customer service standards throughout the world. Although, customer service is generally better in America, it varies greatly from business to business in any region. Companies who hire smart consultants will improve their quality of service and gain market share.

India is a country Jeremy has been to many times. Jeremy has found that some companies in India are very skillful, attentive to customer service, and detail oriented while other companies engage in endless carelessnesss and disfunctional customer service. The companies that "Get it" are quickly gaining market share. India has so many companies that don't "Get it", that in a few years, when larger international companies start moving into their niches, they will be swept into the ditch. It is necessary to be at the top of your game at all times, constantly refining yourself. A few hours a month from a good consultant can transform your awareness, thinking, and business offerings, hence revolutionizing your potential and keeping you afloat.

Here is a wonderful example of a hotel that doesn't "Get it" - they need a consultant and fast!
One self-proclaimed 4-star hotel Jeremy visited had two boys come to assist him with his bags. They grabbed his bags without his consent (rude by American standards) and took them to the lobby. Two other uniformed boys opened the doors to the restaurant which Jeremy could have done himself. BTW - Doing things for yourself is a cultural faux-pas for the upper middle class in India. The punch line here is that Jeremy had to wait 45 minutes in an overly air-conditioned restaurant just to get a banana served. He had to ask four times for my banana and caught cold due to the arctic conditions in the restaurant. Jeremy spent the night being awakened by the sound of water dripping loudly on my air condioner, preventing me from sleeping. Then the hotel called him to participate in a feedback survey. He gave them thirty minutes of itemized pointers and complaints. Jeremy has had many other experiences in India where there were many disfunctional customer service mechanisms that could easily have been fixed. Paying attention and caring seem to be the remedy.

Solution - Hire a consultant who will train you what to pay attention to and how! Instead of hiring untrained and redundant staff members to do unessential things, have a manager emphasize quality and refinement in doing the more important tasks -- and spend a lot more time on training! Superficial copying of American customer feedback surveys are better than nothing. However, if these companies doing surveys would pay attention to what they are doing, then surveys would not be so important. If a company pays no attention to what they are doing, they will most likely ignore the results of their surveys as well.

An example of Smart Service in India
Jeremy's last flightly on King Fisher Airlines in India was very pleasant. He was greeted at the door of the airport by a nicely dressed polite boy who offered to bring my bag to the service desk. Note: He didn't rudely grab Jeremy's bag like the others, but asked if he "May" take Jeremy and his bag to check-in. Jeremy was quickly guided through the metal detector for bags, and through check-in procedures, and to the metal detector for people. The experience was a breeze. He was offered food and drinks on this very short but sweet plane ride. This is the type of customer service that makes a customer's experience pleasant and memorable, and other companies need to study this model. Its apparant that this company has a good consultant, or good manager who functions as a consultant.

Summary
Hire a good consultant to improve your business. If you choose not to hire a consultant, have your top managers analyze what you are doing to see where your strong points and weaknesses are so you can improve upon whatever makes sense to improve upon. For more information on careers, please visit the Gehalt