This is something that gripped the imagination of a creative young man, who has come up with a customer-experience application to facilitate such communication.
About three years ago, Pramote Keeratikriengkrai spent Bt350 on a dish of Thailand’s famous Phat Thai at a restaurant in Bangkok, but was unimpressed with both the service and the quality of the food he received.
He wondered, “How could this happen? Did the owners know about my feelings, and how could I tell them [about my dissatisfaction]?”
This got him thinking about a means of helping consumers share information with business owners about their experience and impressions in real time, regardless of whether they want to complain or offer positive feedback.
“I would say that I’m a businessman who came up with an idea to deal with this problem. I asked some IT friends to create something from the idea I had, and they eventually came up with an application, Zervid, which I call a customer-experience solution,” he said.
Pramote, managing director of the newly established Zervid.com, completed development of the application a few months ago and it is now being trialled at several clients, including a university and a hospital.
Zervid’s motto is “Keep Customer’s Voice Closely”, empowering business owners to learn about and respond to customer feedback in real time, in order to manage their operations and customer satisfaction more efficiently.
Service is the most valued aspect of any business, more so than product or location, he said, adding that many people do not even ask about product quality, and simply buy something because of a company’s good service or reputation.
Good service and good impression, however, are things that can be shared and spread online in today’s digital age, as nearly everyone now has at least one smart personal device, he said.
Pramote explained that the app would serve as a “middle virtual tool”, enabling direct communication between business owners and customers.
Once a business owner has the app, they can show it to customers and invite them to register.
If they want to send feedback, they just make a quick registration via a smart phone or other device, providing their gender and age, and their service rating on a five-level scale ranging from bad to good.
Customers can also add optional details of the nature of any complaint or dissatisfaction, all of which will reach owners in real time.
With the Zervid app, owners can monitor feedback from customers anywhere, anytime without having to wait for a manager or other staff member to inform them.
This will also enable them to monitor the overall sentiment about their service, and customers’ thoughts about their whole operation, Pramote said.
Consumer data can then be analysed by gender, age or the nature of complaints.
Moreover, business owners can then offer some sort discount or voucher for their next purchase to customers providing feedback via the app, he added.
Zervid.com has decided to provide the application for Bt36,000 per year to business owners.
Based on the business-to-business model, the company also offer customers related services such as creative website design, system maintenance and digital consultancy.
Additional tailor-made solutions are also negotiable, the managing director said.
In the future, he said the company planned to extend the use of the app to other businesses, such as operators in the residential, food, beauty, health, fashion and travel sectors.
“I have just started with only 10 per cent of my vision, with a total investment of Bt300,000. My path is still a long one. I’m eager to help business owners get the best customer solution, and also help consumers to voice their needs directly,” Pramote said.
Aside from working on the application, he also runs a website, www.gujaruay.com, which is a digital content provider broadcasting through most online platforms.
With experience in marketing, public relations and magazine-writing, he is now “a freelancer seeking more opportunity”, he added.