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Business

The customer reigns supreme in Pettah

Never let them leave empty handed!
Main Street, which boasts of a number of sari and textile shops, was busy as usual. From thambili sellers to sweep ticket sellers, ribbon dealers to umbrella menders - the street was full of people. According to S. Sivarasa of Ram Brothers, who has been employed at the store for over ten years, the success of Ram Brothers lies behind its good customer service.

"We try to give the customers what they want and never let them leave empty handed," he said laying out a number of beaded and worked bridal saris for a bride-to-be. "Missta meka lassanai, keeyakata vitharadha balanne," he implores her while trying to sell her mother a sari or two; "We have the best saris," he tells her, carefully taking out silk saris.

"Most of these saris come from Bombay (Mumbai) and we select them personally," he tells them, leading them inside the shop to a room full of gorgeous saris. The store has bridal saris that are priced between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 75,000 but caters mostly to teachers and the office crowd. "We talk to customers to ascertain what they want. We have to give them a quality sari and provide a good service. It is only then that they would feel inclined to patronise us again. What matters most is the trust, service and consumer satisfaction," said Sivarasa who does not hesitate to drape a sari for a customer who doubts if the sari would drape well.

"I buy all my saris here because the salespersons are very courteous and obliging. They do not rush or ignore us. They always ask me what I want and try to meet my requirement as far as possible. Even if I don't find the sari I want, I sometimes buy a sari or two because I feel bad to walk away without buying something after causing them a lot of inconvenience," said Sita Perera, a teacher, who prefers to do her shopping at Ram Brothers. "What the consumer needs is good service and quality goods. If these requirements are met they become regular customers of the shop."

By Naomi Gunasekara
Anything is possible down the narrow, crowded streets of Pettah, from being tricked into buying something not worthwhile to being coerced into buying goods one would never dream of buying. The Sunday Times Business Desk last week found out what prompts the consumer to shop along the dusty streets of Pettah bargaining with betel-chewing, barefooted men and women who sell anything from consumer goods to mini-computers. The pavements are full of goods that shopping malls offer the consumer in a pleasant environment.

Pettah traders, a quick survey revealed, treat customers like members of the royal family unlike in the super malls where dedicated service and courtesy are not qualities inherent in most salespersons.
Knack for selling
Pettah still remains a shoppers' paradise because the hawkers know how to attract customers adopting slick sales talk, says V. Maheswaran, who occasionally walks down the streets of Pettah looking for bargains.

"Whether the goods are stolen or smuggled, the hawkers know how to attract consumers. They have that knack for selling anything under the sun by convincing the consumer that they offer the best in terms of value and price."
In the survey, shoppers in Pettah were requested to comment on the quality of service provided by the small and large-scale entrepreneurs, bankers, company executives, sales persons, wholesale dealers and even bus conductors and drivers.

"If you go to a travel agent and request them to issue a ticket and meet travel requirements without causing you much inconvenience they ask you to come again or wait for a while. This indifference causes irritation hence you may not feel like consulting that agent again. That is why most of us have hairdressers, tailors, drivers, grocers and even bakers of our choice," says D. Prematileka who feels that the sort of service rendered by most of the service providers leave the consumer dissatisfied.

"What do you think prompts me to walk that extra mile to buy sugar or vegetables when a number of shops close to my residence offer the same goods at the same price?" he inquires. "It is the good services rendered by the Pettah trader. If you should get good service from a particular trader you would prefer to deal with the same person the next time. For instance, if I don't go to my usual mango vendor for some time he makes it a point to ask me if I had been ill or he tells me that he didn't see me for a while. That attitude makes you feel like partronising his shop again because you know that you are always welcome."

Mall staff unfriendly
"What draws consumers to Pettah is the service these hawkers and wholesale dealers provide their customers," says Ruwan Mendis, who enjoys the attention showered on him by traders in Pettah. "It is an exhilarating experience to stroll down the streets of Pettah listening to hawkers offering for sale dogs that shake their heads or wag their tails and rats that run all over the street."

He adds: "If I walk into a jewellery store in Pettah and tell the owner that I am just looking around he would still welcome me with a warm smile and make me feel comfortable by offering me a chair and inquiring if I'd like to have a soft drink. But if you walk into a shopping mall and tell a salesperson that you are just looking around you would be ignored. The least you would get is a frown for inspecting goods arranged on the shelves."

The private sector is not all that welcoming, says engineer Amal Hathurusinghe, who feels that there is room for the private sector to improve their services. "When you walk into a bank, phone company or a travel agency, you sometimes feel like a trespasser because those behind the counters indulge in their own gossip or seem to be too pre-occupied to greet you with a warm smile. Of course, in most government departments the response is different because usually you cannot get anything done unless you offer an incentive."

"If you go to a supermarket and ask a salesperson to find you a packet of jelly or biscuits, the chances of your receiving what you need will be remote because they would conveniently tell you that they don't know where it is kept or point their fingers towards a row of shelves, often the wrong directions are given," says housewife Sumana Pathirana. She makes it a point to go to a nearby pola to buy her vegetables. "The ammes at the pola never give me rotten vegetables. They tell me if they are not very fresh or even get me fresh leaves from another vendor if they don't have what I want," she says while adding that she prefers to walk that extra mile to patronise the mudalali at the corner shop because "he is an eloquent man who treats the customer with respect and patience."

Special treatment
"When you are treated as a special customer by a particular shop owner or salesperson, you feel like going to that person again even if the shop is some distance away," says Tamara Corea, who only buys her jeans from a shop at Liberty Plaza. "The shop owner is a Pakistani and he makes me feel as though I am his best customer each time I visit him. Even those who visit him for the first time are welcomed so warmly that they sometimes feel obliged to buy something to reciprocate the warm reception."

Whether it is banks, shopping malls, hospitals or pubs, what draws the customer is the quality of service offered, according to Corea. She feels that most government officers discourage customers by neglecting them. "What happens if you are made to feel a nuisance each time you seek help from a government official or if you are made to feel inferior by a cashier at a bank?" she asks. "You wouldn't want to return to that place again."

Quality of services
According to businessman Shirley Kapukotuwa, the quality of services offered by most of the banks have deteriorated; "If you are compelled to push your way through to a counter at a bank or stand in a queue for hours you wouldn't want to go there anymore because time is important. He said he preferred a particular international bank because they treated clients kindly and attended to their needs swiftly.

When it comes to shopping he says he generally does not shop in the Pettah. "Whenever I have to come this way I resolve not to buy anything because I always end up buying things that I don't really need," says Kapukotuwa, who despite his numerous resolutions is often tempted by many a hawker. "I don't know what it is with them. But they manage to attract me and show the functions of every gadget they have that I end up buying something that I don't actually need. I think it is the difference in approach that draws the shoppers toward these hawkers. They are obliging and patient unlike their counterparts working in sophisticated malls."
What irritates schoolgirl Manjula Perera most is the service rendered by the transport sector. "Most conductors don't like it when we get in with our school bags and scold us for carrying bags. I don't like travelling by bus because of their inconsiderate attitude but I can't afford to travel in a school van," she laments.

Conductors, she points out, should be kind and understanding. From housewives to school children and businessmen to professionals and academics, we all prefer shop owners and service providers who welcome us with a warm smile and attend to our needs with great care and interest. Unfortunately it is not always smiling private sector personnel that we encounter.

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