One of the most common scenarios in the services industry involves an unhappy customer and a service provider who is convinced it has fulfilled its obligations in terms of the contract and its associated service-level agreements (SLAs). It’s not easy to bridge this gap between the customer’s expectations and what the service provider delivers, but, says Mogammad Peters, Head: Customer Transformation, Altron Managed Solutions, it can be done, given the right attitude on the part of the service provider and its staff.

“After many years in sales, I realised that customers buy from people and that the importance of the experience is paramount. Ultimately, what customers buy is not a product or service but an experience,” he says. “In the end, we’re selling something intangible but very potent for all that.”