A Wal-Mart Supermarket in Beijing has put into practice a new method to improve its service and thus customer satisfaction. Each staff member has one yuan pinned on their chest, and if they fail to provide satisfactory service customers can take it away. But the gesture isn't receiving praise from everyone. Our reporter Zhou Jing has the story.
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At a Wal-Mart Supermarket in Xuanwu District, all the staff members have pinned one yuan on their chest. Many customers have noticed it, but don't know what it's for. Out of curiosity, Mr. Song approaches a worker to have a closer look at the badge that explains the bill.
It reads, if I fail to greet you or to provide satisfactory service, the money is yours.
"Oh, this is creative. And actually, whatever the method they use, it's well-intentioned."
Sai Keqian, manager of the supermarket talks about the purpose of the new approach.
"We want to collect more suggestions from customers to improve our service. At the same time the small sum of money is to reward the customers who have helped us."
If a customer isn't satisfied with the service provided by a staff member, he can just take their one yuan. But will customers cooperate?
"I will take the one yuan to show my dissatisfaction with their service. But this doesn't mean I need the money."
Still, not everyone appreciates the new gesture.
"If our advice is measured by money, I think it's worth more than one yuan."
And some think it an insult to evaluate the store's workers with only one yuan. They say if the supermarket really wants to invite opinions from customers, they can do it in other ways, like putting up a message board.
Maybe the value of this method of encouraging better service is debatable; still, the supermarket's attitude towards improving service is something other businesses in the city could learn from.
China Drive is one of CRI's radio programs aired from Monday to Friday. We pick the most interesting life reports from China Drive. Stay tuned. |
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