Quality of Support and Commitment towards Potential and Existing Clients

Scenario 1 – I am calling to Axis Bank support for a credit card application, I already have a mastercard but felt I should have one Visa card too which axis bank offers. Now after talking to one person who directed me to second guy saying he handles it, the person explained me that I need to have a 1 lakh fixed deposit in Axisbank for which I will get 80k credit limit, he spent 15 minutes explaining me everything and when I asked them whether should I go for an axis bank account too, he told me, let me redirect you to another representative and call got disconnected! I am sure it didn’t happen from my side as most likely axisbank is not using any nationwide support system and anyway it was a local call, it is just that after spending so much time talking to me, they failed to close the deal, they didn’t even took my number or email ID so they can call me back (and I don’t think the people talking to me were even that concerned).

I think this is where a commission based model (something which HDFC follows) can work really well, I have seen them always eager (sometimes way too eager) to close the deal and they always take your number and give their numbers to you for future communication.

Needless to say, I didn’t went ahead to get a credit card, I was in “haven’t made my mind” state and the moment was gone, since then I never called them or any other bank for a credit card (which actually turns out to be a very good decision, I don’t think anyone needs more then one card specially when all online sites in India are offering netbanking support).

Scenario 2 – Just called Dell Support as the fan of my laptop is making some noise, most likely it was a dust problem and I don’t have the courage to open my laptop as my college days are long gone, Dell as usual kept me on hold for 15 mins, then one guy attended it, ask some formal details and the phone got disconnected! so I again had to call them back, again waited for 15 minutes but this time, the support was much better and he took my number and promised me to call me back tomorrow to check if the problem get solved. Now Dell has 2 support team, the pre sale team and post sales team, the pre-sale team is in Bangalore and is much better trained, they talk very well to get you convinced and most importantly get your phone number and email at the beginning where as the post sale support team though not bad, certainly is not as skilled or put that much effort as the pre sales team.

I remember when I was inquiring about the laptop and after talking to 20 mins, the battery ran out and my cell got switched off, I immediately put my cell in recharge and got instant call from the person to whom I was talking. Not only that, I also got 2 emails asking whether I have made my mind or not. Needless to say, I did bought dell

For both Axis Bank and Dell, I think the value of the lead was same (in long run, infact axis would had got more) but it was dell who was able to evaluate the value of it much better