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I AM UNIQUE
I am Special. I am Unique. I am Amazing.. My name is ________________________________________________________ My nickname is _____________________________________________________ My favourite colour is ________________________________________________ My favourite food is __________________________________________________ My hobby is _____________________________________________________

My Lifes aspirations are ______________________________________________ My best friend is _____________________________________________________ I am really good at ___________________________________________________ I feel proud about ___________________________________________________ The best film I have seen _______________________________________________ The song I like most __________________________________________________ My greatest fear is____________________________________________________ I will never forget_____________________________________________________ Life is_____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY Write some unique quality of yours on a chit of paper and fold it and hand it over to your TRAINER who will jumble it with the others. Each one in your group will pick up a chit and read it aloud and all others including you will try and guess to whom this unique quality belongs. We are special, unique and amazing because we are so different in everything we say or do.
Be everywhere, do everything, and never fail to astonish the customer .

THIS IS MEMYSELF
I ADMIRE PEOPLE WHO I ENJOY A LOT WHEN

I AM IRRITATED WHEN

MY DREAM IS TO .

IF I HAVE AN OPTION TO BE REBORN AGAIN I WOULD WANT TO BE

BY PROFESSION I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A

I SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH.

MY IDEAL HOLIDAY DESTINATION IS

THE FUNNIEST THING THAT HAPPENED WAS..

I HATE PEOPLE WHO

To my customer : I may not have the answer, but Ill find it. I may not have the time, but Ill make it .

I
Read the following Story:

AM

VERSATILE

Dr. Avul Phakir Jainulabedan Abdul Kalam a man of the massesstruggled to afford schooling as a child and still dreamt of becoming a pilot but he ended up building rockets and missiles for us. Vision 2020 is such an exercise in the area of Self Reliance in Technology. Despite several struggles,Dr.Kalams tremendous will power and inherent genius led him to constantly strive higher and higher.His passion is to see India as a developed Nation.He compared himself to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Geeta who was born to do his duty to his Country. Dr.Kalam is multi skilled. He is a poet, plays the veena and has read the Quran and Bhagvad Gita extensively. He is also interested in knowing the dreams of the children on the kind of India they want to build. He is a great team man as per his colleagues and has the ability to keep up the Teams Spirit ! Relentless in his endeavours, even today after he has stepped down from the highest office of President ship, this dreamer, motivator and achiever, looks forward to seeing India among the league of developed Nations. Dr.A.P.J.A Kalam was multi skilled. He not only made rockets and missiles but also played the Veena, wrote poems, read extensively and forged team spirit. All of us have a Dr.Kalam in us. For example, You have been working at the Counter for some time now. When customers approach you, you use several skills such as trying to establish a rapport with the customer, gaining his attention, listening to his needs, attending to his needs. Do you know what skills you employed in this process.?You applied your Interpersonal Skills and Communication Skills which involved Understanding the customers needs, Questioning skills to ascertain whether he wanted the services offered, Informing and Advising skills using the correct choice of words to convey information about the Services available and finally your Judgmental skills to perceive the environment around you to determine the manner and the time you would spend with the particular customer. Now, are you not convinced that you are indeed very multi skilled? Now try out this ..
Our greatest asset is the customer ! Treat each customer as if they are the only one !

HOW DO I COMMUNICATE...
Given below are a few skills [Tick the blank area] the skills you have and add some of your own in

When customers approach you, You,

(a) Greet them with a smile

T IRS E F SION TH ES R MP I

(b) Wish them by saying Namaskar/Good Morning/ May I help you? ( c) Look at them & make eye contact.

I also .

I am very good at
G HIN L I S ORT AB P E S T RAP A

(a) Finding out what the customer wants. (b) Listening to what the customers needs are (c) Advising the customer on what is best suited for him/her.

I also ... .

When the customer comes first ,the customer will last .

MY COMMUNICATION
Communicating with people around us is a Skill which requires great practice. Organising our thoughts before speaking is a crucial step to communicate effectively. There are a billion thoughts which come to our mind and again a thousand words which will rush to our minds when we want to communicate. What words we will use and what ideas we will choose to communicate is an important decision we need to make. This can be illustrated in the form of an hour glassWords Communication Thoughts

LETS PLAY THIS GAME

LOST AT SEA INDIVIDUAL WORKSHEET Instructions: You are adrift on a private ship not far from the Andaman Islands where you have gone with your family on an L.T.C trip . A fire suddenly broke out and, much of the ship has been destroyed. The ship is now slowly sinking. Your location is unclear because of the destruction of critical navigational equipment and because you and the inmates of the ship and the crew were distracted trying to bring the fire under control. Your best estimate is that you are approximately 500 miles southsouthwest of the nearest land. Below is a list of fifteen items that are intact and undamaged after the fire. In addition to these articles, you have a serviceable, rubber life raft with oars large enough to carry yourself, the crew, and all the items listed below. The total contents, of all survivors pockets are a pack of cigarettes, several books of matches, and five bills of Rs.200/- each. Your task is to rank the fifteen items below in terms of their importance to your survival. Place the number 1 by the most important item, the number 2 by the second most important, and so on to number 15, the least important.
The golden rule for every business man is ; Put yourself in your customers place .

_________ Sextant (A navigation instrument for measuring angular distances) _________ Shaving Mirror. _________ Five gallon cans of water. _________ Mosquito netting. _________ One case of army rations. _________ Maps of Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal _________ Seat Cushion (flotation device approved by the Coast Guard) _________ Two gallon cans of oil gas mixture. _________ Small transistor radio. ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Shark repellent Twenty square feet of opaque plastic Twelve bottles of Rum Fifteen feet of nylon rope Two boxes of chocolate bars Fishing Kit

The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer .

YOU CAN START YOUR RATING NOW Your Individual Ranking

ITEMS Sextant (A Navigation Instrument to measuring angular distance Shaving Mirror Five gallon can of water Mosquito Netting One case of army rations Maps of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal Seat Cushion (flotation device approved by the Coast Guard) Two gallon can of oil gas mixture Small transistor radio Shark repellent Twenty square feet of opaque plastic Twelve bottles of Rum Fifteen feet of nylon rope Two boxes of chocolate bars Fishing kit

It takes less effort to keep an old customer satisfied than to get a new customer interested .

Now compare this sheet with yours to have a look at the Experts ranking. CORRECT ANSWER SHEET
ITEMS Your Individual Ranking Experts Ranking

Sextant (A Navigation Instrument to measuring angular distance Shaving Mirror Five gallon can of water Mosquito Netting One case of army rations Maps of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal Seat Cushion (flotation device approved by the Coast Guard) Two gallon can of oil gas mixture Small transistor radio Shark repellent Twenty square feet of opaque plastic Twelve bottles of Rum Fifteen feet of nylon rope Two boxes of chocolate bars Fishing kit ANSWER AND RATIONALE SHEET A brief explanation is provided for the ranking of each item. These obviously do not represent all of the potential uses for the specified items but, rather, the primary importance of each item. 1. 2. Shaving mirrorCritical for signaling in air-sea rescue. Two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture Critical for signaling the oil-gas mixture will float on the water and could be ignited with a bill and a match (obviously, outside the raft) Fivegallon cans of waterNecessary to replenish loss by perspiring, etc. One case of army rationsProvides basic food intake.
The customer is our reason for being here .

15 1 3 14 4 13 9 2 12 10 5 11 8 6 7

3. 4. 10

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Twenty square feet of opaque plasticUsed to collect rain water, provide shelter from the elements. Two boxes of chocolate barsreserve foods supply. Fishing kitranked lower than the chocolate bars because a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. There is no assurance that you will catch any fish. Fifteen feet of nylon ropeMay be used to lash equipment together to prevent it from falling overboard. Floating seat cushionIf someone fell overboard, it could function is a life preserver. Shark repellent Obvious. Twelve bottles of Rum Contains 80 percent alcoholenough to use as a potential antiseptic for any injuries sustained; of little value otherwise; will cause dehydration if ingested. Small transistor radio Of little value since there is no transmitter (Unfortunately, you are out of range of you favorite AM radio stations)

12.

13.

Maps of the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean Worthless without additional navigational equipmentit does not really matter where you are but where the rescuers are. Mosquito netting There are no mosquitoes in the mid pacific. Sextantwithout tables and a chronometer, relatively useless. The basic rationale for ranking signaling devices above life-sustaining items (food and water) is that without signaling devices there is almost no chance of being spotted and rescued. Furthermore, most rescues occur during the first thirty-six hours, and one can survive without food and water during this period.
*Theme adopted from the Training material for Direct Trainers Skills Course developed for D.O.P.T. by T.V.U. London.

14. 15.

Did you enjoy playing this game? You had several choices before you to save yourself and you had to choose what you wanted in order to survive. So in the case of Communication. Choosing among the many thoughts and then carefully sequencing them and choosing among the many words and then selecting the words you want to use to communicate is a skill and this requires constant practice. Keep Trying !
A sale is not something you pursue, its what happens to you while you are immersed in serving your customer

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TACT IN COMMUNICATION
Given below are some blank Speech boxes. Fill up your responses in them

INDIA

POST

INDIA POST

How long do I have to wait before you attend to me ?

Only 1 counter & we have to go to office...!

These replies as you can see require great tact and restraint on your part because the customers here are irritated and are looking for a chance to shout at you. Are you going to give them a chance?.If you dont want to, then, reply reassuringly, politely and realistically. You have succeeded if you have managed to reply without them shouting back at you while also attending to their requirements.

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Never underestimate the power of the irate customer

Given below are some more Speech boxes. Try to help these customers by understanding their needs. Understanding their needs requires looking into their needs and empathizing with them. It is more than just talking and hearing. It means putting yourself in their place and trying to find out what they want, given their socio economic and cultural background and this requires listening to them and then communicating not merely through chosen words but also donning an appropriate body language which will reassure them that they have indeed got the correct advice they were looking for all along. We will learn about body language later. Now understand their needs and advice them!
I want to invest Rs.10000 in your Post Office.

(A)

(B)

Is there some service by which I can send this parcel fast.It contains medicines.

(C)

I am a student and want to apply for some foreign Universities. Do you have any discounts?

A business exists to create a customer

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Given below are some sentences. Try and Rephrase them in a manner that it becomes more acceptable to the other person. (a) I cant keep giving change whenever you ask as it is difficult for me to keep getting up and going to the treasurer. (b) Im not feeling well. On top of that youre asking me to finish this work. I cant do it. (c) You dont give me leave now. Its OK, but when I demand it next time, you must not say no. (d) Cant you buy a new bike even after you have received your arrears? (e) Why do you waste so much money on clothes? (f) Our customers are neither well educated nor cultured. (g) She is always complaining about something or the other.I dont know how to deal with her complaints. (h) I am very upset with you because you are not coming to Office on time. Diplomacy and tact are twin requirements for a good Customer Service. Be Tactful and Diplomatic when you communicate with others. Avoid labeling people, avoid criticisms, create your own limits even if the other person is giving you a lot of freedom, Appreciate the good efforts made by others and see yourself growgrow.grow.. 14
The customer perceives service in his or her own terms

THE ART OF QUESTIONING

When we begin our communication with our customers, we do not know what they need. We can attend to their needs only if we ask them what they want, but they would not like to be asked directly-What do you want?They would prefer that you ask them May I help you?Or in any other polite manner. The sooner you ask the right questions, the sooner you can serve them and you not only ensure happy customers but also ensure a happy you since you will have more time to think and create new ways of serving them better. Remember-diplomacy and tact, Clarity of thought and politeness, choice of words and appropriate body language will also be needed. Questioning a person to get the right information is an Art. Lets try out some Questioning techniques. Given below are some statements made by customers. Please ask them the right questions and write the same below: (i) (ii) I need an envelope _____________________________________________________________ I want some scheme which will give me an Income tax rebate _____________________________________________________________

(iii) You please help me to open an account in my childs name. _______________________________________________________________ (iv) I want you to trace out my passbook which was given to you a month back. ________________________________________________________________ (v) I want you to lodge a complaint with you about my Speed Post letter. _________________________________________________________________

(vi) Thank you so much for booking my parcel. I will come back and post this later. __________________________________________________________________ (vii) (On Telephone)I have a KVP for 10,000.00 and I want to en cash it today __________________________________________________________________

(viii) If you have some Diwali stamps for sale, I will buy them ___________________________________________________________________
A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all

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Your Trainer will now divide you into groups of 4 each. Now take a few minutes and plan to share any real life experience which has had a profound impact on you. It should cover the 1) Key points 2) Why you remember this experience. 3) What is it in this experience which has made it memorable Now that you have narrated this experience to the group, Give yourself a rating on a scale of Ten.

Now ask your other 3 colleagues to grade you collectively. You have just finished your narration of a real life experience and your group members have also shared their life experiences. Apart from your own, which narration do you remember and why ?

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 16
The customer is the final inspector

Now read the following box and tick or cross as applicable to the narration you selected and wrote on the previous page. (a) (b) The life experience story was told in a simple conversational language. The story was presented in a logical sequence

( c) The storyline was told in a clear and enthusiastic voice. (d) The story teller used some body language such as Using hands, shaking head etc.

Congratulations, you are a great listener because you have observed all these points and selected a story you remembered . Reflect if you remembered this story because it had all these ingredients you have listed above. The answer is ....... Can I make my Communication more interesting since people will listen to it better if I present my communication logically, with an enthusiastic voice tone in a clear and simple language accompanied by appropriate body language?

The sale begins when the customer says yes .

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THE POWER OF LISTENING

Divide yourselves into groups of 4 and close your eyes. List out the noises around you. Concentrate on listening to these noises and grade them on a scale of ten. The first one is done for you. Revolving of the Fan __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ 3 _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________

Seek first to understand, then to be understood

Let us understand the Power of Silence in us and concentrate on what the other person has to say. Our customers are comfortable speaking to us. They expect us to listen to them a good deal .Listening is an active process involving intense concentration on the words thoughts and feelings of the Speaker who is also putting in a lot of effort into the words thoughts and feelings in order to be understood. .Listening to our Customers should be accompanied by appropriate body language and believe it or not, they often find solutions to their problems themselves and go away very satisfied and happy. Can I improve my listening skills? Improving my listening skills means less energy wasted on talking and more satisfied customers which will add to my increased productivity and increased Revenues for the Department ultimately.

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Right or wrong, the customer is always right.

MY BODY LANGUAGE
SOME AMAZING FACTS ABOUT ME. A) B) C) D) E) F) G) H) I) J) K) There are 60 muscles in the face. I use 17 muscles to smile and 43 muscles to frown. Every 2000 frowns create a wrinkle. My finger nails grow 4 times faster than my toe nails. When I was a baby I had 300 bones & now I have only 206 bones. My mouth produces 1.5 liters of saliva each day. The smallest bone in my body is in the ear. And the largest in my thighs. I am taller in the morning than I am at night. My eyeballs are actually a part of my brain. My bones are 4 times stronger than concrete. My ears & nose continue to grow throughout life. I blink my eyes 25 times in a minute. My heart beats 4 crore times in a year.

My body is special. It is a great machine as can be seen from the few facts mentioned above. I LIKE OR DISLIKE MY BODY because of the way I feel about my body. My body speaks a language which reflects what I feel about myself. It is important for me to have a good body language that reflects my feelings and in turn my behaviour Such bodily Action in our communications also releases a lot of nervous energy in us making it easy for us to communicate... Have you heard of the proverb-The face is the index of the mind, Your ability to exhibit Professionalism and competency and your only chance to make that first and probably the last impression begins with your body language Your Customers use body language too. Read your Customers body language and take those cues to effectively communicate with them. So, Let me try and Improve my Body Language.

People expect good service but few are willing to give it. Are you willing to give it ?

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TICK THE ONES WHICH ARE APPLICABLE TO YOU. 1) I use my hands and body while talking 2) I enjoy outdoor games 3) I learn more by doing & touching as compared to listening and reading. 4) I use my fingers to track the lines I am reading.

HOW CAN I HAVE A GREAT BODY LANGUAGE? I will smile at myself. I will be physically active. I will stretch myself to avoid stiffening of my body. I will I will not bother about people who tease me. I will take care of my body properly and give it good rest as needed I I will shed all inhibitions about myself and my body. I will be happy with my body as given to me by nature & not compare.

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Well done is better than well said .

ACTIVITY Your Trainer will divide you into groups of four and ask you all to use your face and body to convey the following emotions accompanied by the word TARA RUM PUM PUM for every emotion and gesture. Use your body language to your full advantage.Ask your group to evaluate you on a scale of ten and write down your scores

Anger Fear Happiness Sadness Wonder Disgust Bravery

TARA RUM PUM PUM TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM . TARA RUM PUM PUM .

Compassion -

The words TARA RUM PUM PUM by themselves do not carry any meaning. It is the tonality of your voice accompanied by your body language which conveys the meaning to others. Now try saying these very words using the same emotions to the elders in your family and again to the children. I there a difference?

Here is a simple but powerful rule . always give people more than what they expect to get.

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MY FEELINGS
Feelings refer to the complex thought process going on in our minds as a result of physical or socio-cultural conditioning. A lot of the past experiences also d Feelings affect our body and brain. I can become aware of my feelings and their effect on me. Different feelings make me behave differently. My feelings are manifested in the form of behavior patterns... I can do a lot to rid myself of negative feelings and thereby negative behaviour. ACTIVITY Listed below are some feelings and behaviour patterns. Match them as per your observations. Feelings (a) Happiness (b) Sadness (c ) Anger (d) Fear Behaviour (i) Scream, hit, hurt others (ii) Jump, smile, sing (iii) Wiping sweat, freeze, trembling voice (iv) Cry, sit quietly, cant concentrate

ACTIVITY The Trainer will divide you into groups of 5 each and ask you to discuss how different feelings affect your health. One person in your group will have to make a note of these points and read it aloud to the rest of the groups. What can I do to rid myself of the negative feelings and behaviour which affect my health ? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 22
In business you get what you want by giving other people what they want .

BEHAVIOUR & GOOD MANNERS

Mahatma Gandhi has spoken about the importance of customers. So is todays corporate philosophy which says Management does not pay salaries but it just handles money. It is our customers who pay our salaries How do I behave with MY CUSTOMERS in the following situations ? Sl. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. Situation Signature of a customer is mismatched for withdrawal Payment cannot be made due to inadequate funds Customer wants cash payment of Rs.70,000 of IMTS transaction Variation in the name of deceased depositor in the records of post office and in death certificate A customer wants to remit Rs.1000/ - through money order speedily but its cost is also a important for him Customer wants open delivery of a parcel whose wrapper is torn from the corner but there is no possibility of any leakage from it Telephonic call received from a job-seeker, applying for a recruitment exam and he has to send examination fee of Rs.100/PLI Policy holder has not paid monthly premium since last 6 months Customer wants to invest money in stock market through post office My approach

5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

10. A customer is standing in a queue for booking of 25 registered articles. Behind him there is long queue
Everything can be duplicated by your competitors but strong customer service culture cant be copied

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Out of 24 hours a day I work in the post office for 8 hours, spend time with my family for 8 hours and sleep for 8 hours (approximately). I carry my work experiences back home and my home experiences to work. My personality therefore cannot be very different at home and at work. Given below are a few Office situations. What would be your approach to the following situations? Sl. Situation My approach No.
1 You are working in a single handed post office and want to proceed on leave for one day but your Supdt. denies your leave You have never worked in Sub Account branch and suddenly postmaster is asking you to work in that branch You are very diligent and have taken over the charge of SB PA last week. During annual inspection by Divisional Supdt. he is reprimanding you for lethargic work in your branch Being Mail PA, you arrive at the post office early in the morning and find the main lock of the post office in broken condition On completion of the counter hours, your friend, Shri Ashish Kumar (Working as SB PA in the same office) has found Rs.10000/- short. You have just heard that the treasurer while coming to the post office meets with an accident. Your customer wants withdrawal of Rs.10000/- from his SB A/C and you have no cash You are working in the TRC counter of a computerized post office and there is heavy rush at the counter. You are working as Sub Account PA One fake note is found in the remittance made by BO
Customer service is not a department, its an attitude !

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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25 25

TELEPHONE MANNERS

When on phone, we need to communicate even more effectively as we do not have the advantage of using our Body Language. Quick understanding of the customers needs, and an appropriate brief but information packed response in a clear language is necessary. A pleasant voice which does not convey negativity and impatience is also a must. It will be better if we start with our Introduction-Hello, This is Dinesh from Vadodara Head Post Office..Accepting responsibility for the information given is also very important and we have to therefore have accurate information. When in doubt about the information sought for, please take down the name of the person and phone number and assure the person that you will call back. Stick to your promise and follow up with a Phone call to the person.

26

Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends .

ACTIVITY This is the outline of the face of the official sitting in the electricity office and collecting your bills .Now draw his eyes and nose and mouth as he / she appears in your mental image.

Now draw the eyes, nose and mouth of yourself at the counter as your customers perceive you.

When we behave courteously, it makes us feel good about ourselves and it also makes others feel good. We make our customers feel good by being courteous. LET US PLAY A GAME. Sit in a circle. Your Trainer will ask any one of you to start a story using one polite word of greeting in every sentence. After 2-3 sentences, the next person in your group will continue the story in the same manner. Your Trainer will make a note of all the polite words used in the stories and read it out to you.

Customers dont expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.

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GROOMING
Your Trainer has a mirror.It is called Looking glass Self.It will tell you the truth about your appearance. Now look into it.Do you like what you saw? What did the mirror tell you about you ? Our Posture is extremely important. Standing erect, Sitting on a proper back rest, walking in measured paces, dressing smartly(not costly)are all important for our grooming as we work in the Service Sector with a lot of Customer interface. Dental Care by brushing teeth twice a day (morning and night) taking a bath, wearing clean and ironed clothes, shaving everyday (If I am a male & dont sport a beard), combing hair & wearing proper footwear determine the kind of person you are. Similarly what we eat is equally important. Eating food which contain greens(Spinach, Methi leaves etc.)Green Salads, Fruits and drinking plenty of water keeps us agile and mentally alert. Please draw a picture of the personality you like the most in the space given below and write how he/she was dressed. In most cases, the personality you liked would be having a good dress sense. MY FAVOURITE PERSONALITY.... I LIKE.....

Select the best dressed person in your group & reward him/her. 28
The customer is King .

MY PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY refers to the sum of characteristics which make up the physical and mental being including appearance, manners, habits, tastes and moral character which makes each of us unique. Am I happy with my Personality ? I am my best friend and my best critic. My inner voice always tells me if I am on the right trackso let me follow my inner voice. If I am confident, I will walk upright, and in measured steps, breathe normally and make eye contact. What will be the effect of this on people around me ? They will say This person Is calm, steady, composed, trustworthy, confident, dependable, positive and so on

If I am unsure about myself, my shoulders sag, I have disturbed breathing; my steps falter and my eyes are shifting what will be the effect of this on people around me? They will say-This person is jittery, uneasy, not to be trusted, diffident, negative and so on.
One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others .

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FACING TOUGH TIMES

What happened to Shri. Sauvav Ganguly in 2006? What did he do?
ES TIM ST H A L UG TO ONT D GH . O U E DO T L P EO P

______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ What do you think of him & his performance in the recent Border- Gavaskar Test Series? ______________________________________ ______________________________________

NOW READ THIS STORY In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling and his son Washington were inspired to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with Long island. However bridge-building experts throughout the world thought it was just not possible The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway, a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling and crippled Washington no longer able to walk, talk or even move. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. He touched his wifes arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted 30 The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.

her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wifes arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today, the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to triumph of one mans passion to excel Did you like the story? Is it not inspiring? There may be many things you wanted to do but gave up because your colleagues and family did not support you. List two such issues. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ There may have also been many things which you wanted to do and could do because of your colleagues / families encouragement. List 2 such issues. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ You can tide over tough times. Now narrate one such incident in the space provided below. How did you manage to get over it? ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ I can encourage myself by______________________________________________ I can also discourage myself by__________________________________________ These are the names of people who encourage me and support me.

SELF ENGOURAGEMENT HELPS ME. 31

Every great business is built on friendship.

MY PERSONAL SPACE
Personal Space refers to the imaginary space around us that we consider to be our own. We do not like it if anyone tries to enter this space without our permission. Our personal space changes with the people around us, the environment and situations. Supposing we go to our Native place and meet our parents, our personal space decreases as we are amidst our own environment and people. Personal Space is important to all of us. Each of us have a different comfort zone which needs to be respected. Our customers have a comfort zone and so do we. Let us develop respect for our and others personal space.

LET US PLAY A GAME Your Trainer will ask all women and men to form 2 separate circles and hold each others hands. Your Trainer will play the music and stop it intermittently. The Trainer will also lay a piece of cloth measuring 5*5 feet at the centre of the Circle and keep folding the cloth each time he/she stops the music. You should try and stay on the cloth provided at the centre. Those who are not able to step on to the cloth must leave the game Keep going around till you will finally have only two people left and barely a small kerchief sized cloth. Whoever managed to stand on the kerchief and push out the other is the winner. Now ask both the finalists of the game to share very honestly, how they felt being in very close proximity to each other. Did they feel comfortable or otherwise?

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Good service is good business .

MY SELF IMAGE
You can choose how to express your feelings in any manner but remember, this is what determines your self-image, i.e others image of you. No wonder people say Your attitude determines your altitude Your Self image depends on the following: How good or bad you feel about - Your self. - Your office work and your colleagues - Your body and your looks - How you get along with others including your family, siblings, friends - Your ability to talk with others - How others treat you - How others touch you or wish you - Your pet name which often reveals what their perception of you is. What kind of image do I want to convey to the people around me? I must use the right behavior when I convey information, thoughts and my feelings. I can learn to better my behavior by improving my self image because it helps create a positive image of me among my colleagues, friends, family and customers.

LETS PLAY A GAME Make you sit in a circle & your trainer will distribute blank sheets of paper to all of you. Please write your name in capitals and on one side of the paper write one good quality about you. Pass it onto the left and in turn collect the paper given to youre from the right .Now write one good quality of the person whose name is on the blank sheet handover to you. Carry on till the paper carrying your own name comes back to you. You will now have a list of qualities people admire about you. Now, does that help you to boost yourself?

Common sense if of paramount importance in business and customer service.

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TEAM BUILDING
EDICT GAME*

ACTIVITY In the ancient city of Takshasila, a solid, pre-engraved edict was built in honour of Gautama Buddha. The structure took less than two weeks to complete. The task of your team is to determine on which day of the week the Edict was completed. Your Trainer will give you 22 chits of paper containing information related to the task. You may share this information orally, but you may not show your chit of papers to the other participants.
*Theme Adopted from the training material for D.T.S. developed by D.O.P.T. AND T.V.U. London

NOW ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. 1. What behaviors helped the group to accomplish the task? 2. What behaviors hindered the group in completing the task? 3. What roles emerged in the team during the exercise? 4. Who participated the least? 5. Who participated the most?

34 Coming together is a business. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success .

6.

What feelings did you experience as the task progressed?

7.

What suggestions would you make to improve team performance?

We are born as social beings and without connectivity with each other, we can not survive. We need positive reinforcement to encourage us and reiterate our social acceptance in the society. Can you dream of colouring your hair green and dressing up in orange jeans and attending a function at home and coming to office? No. Why? This is because of the need in each of us to be socially accepted and included and be a part of WE FEELING groups. Working in groups helps us emotionally and physically. Emotionally because it helps us share our feelings, such as happiness, fear, anxiety etc. with others and physically because it minimize the strain our bodies. Let us learn to share of our work with each other as it will help us retain our stability-emotionally as well as physically.

If you dont genuinely like your customers, chances are they wont buy .

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Your trainer will now show you a few slides on the Flight of Geese Answer the following Questions on the slides you just now saw. (i) What lessons are there for you if you were to be the leader of your team ___________________________________________________________ (ii) How do all the geese maintain the same speed? ____________________________________________________________ (iii) What action do the geese take when one of them is injured or falls sick (In times of difficulties) ___________________________________________________________ We need to make a choice. Do I want to work in a Post Office and contribute to being another goose or do I want to be a lion mighty but lonely. Working in a team requires some rules to be followed and some roles to be performed. In India, the man is usually expected to go to work and bring home the money to feed his family and the women is expected to cook and look after the children and home. Though this scenario is changing, you see a division in the work involving the role of man and women accompanied by the roles and rules. What is the situation at your home front? Does your wife expect you to earn money and pay the bills? If you are a woman, does your husband expect you to cook food and keep the house clean? If these are some roles, what are the unstated or stated rules in your house? Who will take the two wheeler or four wheeler for Servicing? Who will plan what quantity of food is to be prepared ? We all have rules to follow and roles to play in our Official life as well. The more all of us in the Post Office work together, lesser the problem of Staff shortage and boredom. 36
Customer complaints are schoolbooks from which we learn .

LET US PLAY A GAME Designing greeting Cards Your Trainer will divide you in to groups of five each. He/She will then ask you to design some greeting cards. He/She will also select 3 Quality Control observers from among you , and they will evaluate you based on the criteria given below. Here are the rules of the game. You have to design greeting cards for some special occasions. Greeting cards should be prepared in pairs for each of the three events listed (i) Diwali (ii) Birthday (iii) Christmas Design of each event should be in pairs and similar. Single cards will be rejected and multiples of two only permitted Size of each card should be 15 x 10.5 cms Each greeting card should have minimum of 6 words and a maximum of 8 words You have to make use of any 4 colours only for the same pair of cards. i.e Diwali must have 2 identical designs and wordings to qualify. 5 marks will be awarded by the Quality Control observers on selection of each pair. More than one design on each event can be prepared but marks will be awarded only if they are produced in pairs Such variety on each event will be eligible for 5 bonus marks i.e more than one design if made in pairs will get bonus marks. Minus 5 marks will be awarded for not meeting any of the above specifications For creativity and overall quality 5 extra marks can be awarded by the Quality Control observers at their discretion. Your requirements of colour sketch pens, paper, scissors and gum will be available with the Stock Manager nominated by your Trainer. Additional sheets if taken but not used will reduce your groups marks by 2 marks for every sheet taken by your group but not used.
Customer service is awareness of their needs, problems, fears and aspirations.

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Now Answer these Questions: Who in your group was deciding the amount of stock to be kept in the group? Who in your group was your design in- charge? Who in your group chose the colours? How many of you in your group drew the designs? Who in your group wrote the words? Who in your group was checking the quality and quantity of the cards produced? Who took the cards to the observers for valuation? Could you have increased your productivity by making more greeting cards? How?

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Customer service is training people how to serve clients in an outstanding fashion

India post is facing a lot of challenge from so many competitors, couriers, Banks, Money transfer agencies, Insurance companies and even from other postal organisations. We are trying to introduce customer relevant services and increase our customer base. Our vision statement talks of a socially committed, technology driven entrepreneurially managed and self supporting institution. This can be achieved only when we set common goals for ourselves, trust each other, multiply our strength minus our weaknesses, add positive energy and divide our responsibilities. Lack of a common purpose in our work place, a common dream to share can make us weak, poor in finances and poor in our work culture! Are we going to allow this strong and mighty department to deteriorate because of us?

LET US PLAY A GAME Your Trainer will ask you to blow as many balloons as you are there in your group and then ask each one of you to tie the full blown balloons to your legs. All of you will then be divided into groups of 4.Your goal is to save your balloon and your groups balloons. Now -What are you waiting for? Write a few lines on what happened to your balloon and why. Who won and how? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Customers are an investment. Maximize your return

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Could all of you have saved your balloons ? How ? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ (i) What is the goal you, your Postmaster and others in your office have set for your selves? (Shared vision) (ii) Do all of you trust each other implicitly? (iii) Do you have fear of your postmaster? (iv) Can you speak your mind freely and truthfully in your office? (vi) Can you depend on your colleagues in the post office for any help? (vii) Can you solve your problems together? (viii) Do you enjoy working in your office? (ix) Do you celebrate festivals, achievements, and special occasions and gather as a group?

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Customers who donft get support become someone elses customers

Fill in the dialog box about the status of team formation in your office. Feel free and frank to fill in what you feel. To build a good team in my post office the following actions are to be taken. 1_________________________________________________________________ 2_________________________________________________________________ 3_________________________________________________________________ 4_________________________________________________________________ 5_________________________________________________________________ TRY shouting down your spouse at home and see the team work vanishing. Team works needs nurturing, encouragement, trust, open communication, empowerment and above all clarity of goals.

Let us all contribute in building a great team in our lives-Whether at home or at Office, Communicate better and have a personality which will set us miles ahead of others.

If we dont take care of the customers, some body else will

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