Dhammika Kalapuge’s latest programme ‘Service Mantras’, which was launched to the public earlier this year, was repeated recently at The Kingsbury, Colombo.
This time too, the third public programme, there was an overwhelming success with the participation of over 200 service champions representing 50 varied organisations. As on past occasions, the audience comprised, CEOs, heads of human resources and training function, service champions, entrepreneurs and other senior management staff.
The post evaluation of the programme indicated a ‘net promoter score’ (NPS) of ‘plus 90 percent’ which is considered as a significantly high rating by any standards, for a public programme with a
diverse audience.
This programme was designed using wealth of experience Kalapuge had gained both in positions held at business corporates together with the vast amount of training experience gathered over two decades. Kalapuge has over 20,000 hours of experience as a trainer in customer service giving him mastery of the subject matter. His expertise in the area of ‘Service Quality’, story-based learning methodology, fluency both in English and Sinhala and excellent lively presentation skills has made him a much sought-after
trainer today.
The new programme –Service Mantras introduced 16 customer service pillars to service success with an insight to actions to be practiced by service providers in their day-to-day activities, to adopt a ‘customer service excellence culture’. Each and every Service Mantra was formulated as a rhyming phrase for participants to grasp and remember easily. They were prepared with the use of common sense approach and by following basic human behaviour principles, with the aim of building customer loyalty towards organisations.
Many commended the unique approach adopted to build the programme in three levels. The first level focused on the five Service Mantras to be followed in making a customer ‘happy’. The second level focused on further five Service Mantras to achieve customer ‘delight’. Thirdly, five more Service Mantras were introduced aimed at creating the ‘WOW’ feeling in customers. The final Service Mantra: ‘Insist to be Consistent’ dealt at length on the importance of maintaining ‘consistency’ at every level and at every customer contact point to build customer loyalty.
Commenting on the programme one of the participants Dominos Sri Lanka General Manager Operations Sashi Mohotti said, “Having worked for McDonald’s, Burger King, Costa Coffee and KFC in five different countries and having the good fortune in attending many motivational and service training courses conducted by the world’s best speakers, I must say Dhammika is also right there.”
“The energy he personified and the way he presented each segment was excellent and a fantastic experience. The best and most impressive part for me was the way he synchronized the international norms and current global practices using Sri Lankan examples which drove the point right home for all local participants including myself. The way how he gave the global perspective with the local flavour and touch was really admirable.” he added.
Kalapuge said, “Creating a customer service excellence culture is something that has to be done using common-sense. I am encouraged by the enthusiasm many organisations, both locally and in the region are showing, recognising the importance of this kind of programmes in order to enhance the level of service. Based on my experiences as a service recipient, frequent traveller, observer and a trainer, I try to share very simple, practical and a logical approach in educating participants to adopt the ‘Service Mantras’ to create great service cultures within their respective organisations. The active interaction between the participants I experience whilst conducting these programmes had always been a great inspiration to me for smooth delivery of the content.”
Kalapuge has a reputation of conducting inspirational programmes both locally and overseas. He has conducted over 2,450 programmes for over 450 organisations.
Given the popularity of the programme ‘Service Mantras’ since it was launched earlier this year SIPCOM-1 (Pvt.) Ltd started offering this programme to companies in-house both locally and overseas.
There will be a repeat public programme of ‘Service Mantras’ on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at The Kingsbury, Colombo.