Customer Service Quality in Islamic Centers

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH

SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER CARE FOR ISLAMIC CENTERS

Those who manage and run Islamic centers and institutions need to introspect and ask themselves:

What is the quality of services that we provide? Who is our target audience? Who are our guests and visitors (customers)? What are their needs and wants? What are their expectations? Does our Islamic Center meet or exceed their expectations?

What is our attitude and the attitude of our staff and volunteers towards the visitors? What type of treatment do our guests and visitors get from us, from our staff and volunteers at our Islamic Center? Do our guests feel welcome? Are all our systems and procedures and facilities designed to provide maximum guest satisfaction? Are these “user-friendly”? What examples do your staff members see in the behaviour and conduct towards guests, of your senior volunteers, trustees and office-bearers? (For what they see and observe, they may emulate).

Are we a “guest-friendly” institution? Are we customer-focused? What are the aims, goals and objectives of our Islamic Center? Do these clearly include guest satisfaction? Are we training our staff and volunteers on guest-orientation and sensitizing them to matters of guest satisfaction?

Would visitors or guests who step into our center feel like visiting us again, after having interacted with us, our staff and after utilizing our services? What impressions do they carry with them? Would we have repeat visits from them? Would they recommend our center and its services to others? And what impressions of Islam and Muslims do they carry with them after having interacted with us at the Islamic Center?

Who pays attention to what the guests want? At our Center, who listens to our guests and visitors? Who has got a ear to the customer? Do we care for their views, suggestions and feedback? Do we truly believe that ‘feedback is the breakfast of champions’?

What steps can an Islamic Center take to ensure that it has high levels of guest satisfaction? Are we taking conscious steps to develop guest loyalty and repeat visitors?

All these issues are related to Service Quality and the manner in which services are managed in Islamic Centers. These issues are extremely important – for only happy guests come back. And only happy guests recommend our center to others. On the other hand dissatisfied guests normally speak negatively about the institution and thereby create negative publicity for it. Beware of the danger of the silent, unhappy guest.

We have a duty before Allah to ensure that we do not cause guest dissatisfaction at Islamic institutions.

It is absolutely important for us and all our trustees, staff and volunteers to be “customer-focused”. We need to build, throughout our Islamic Centers, a culture that is dedicated to guest service and guest satisfaction.

If you want, we shall send you a power-point presentation and a word document on service quality orientation for Islamic Centers. These are is free and are not copy-righted. We hope that these are of use to you and your team, InshaAllah.

The objectives of such a workshop are to:

(a) To develop in the participants, sensitivity to guests' needs.
(b) To encourage participants to look at the services of the Islamic Center from the viewpoint of the guests.
(c) To understand how to provide delight and satisfaction to our guests and visitors.
(d) To develop the participants' skills and attitudes so that they can consistently provide efficient, courteous, compassionate and timely service to guests.
(e) To enable participants to understand the meaning of service quality, understand its components and realize how to be better service providers.

Please note that this theme and the presentation are not in any way intended to undermine the efforts required individually and collectively to develop Taqwa as also Tazkiyatul Nafs amongst all associated with any Islamic institution. For Taqwa is more important and earning the pleasure of Allah should be our sole aim.

JazakAllah Khair.

By Obaidullah NewJoy
new_joy@hotmail.com
(No Copyrights)

_____________

A poser: "What is the Message of Islam?"

How to Give Shahadah in 10 minutes

Assalaamu alaikum.

Imagine this situation:

You are in a train journey from Delhi to Chandigarh, or from Chennai to Coimbatore (all in India – you may replace these with locally relevant rail stations or cities). Out of genuine curiosity, some friendly non-Muslim co-passengers ask you to explain to them, in simple words, the meaning and message of Islam. Visualize this happening to you.

What would you say first? What would you say next? What would be your reply? Take a few minutes to think this over. Form your reply in your mind.

What would be your answers if they ask you further:

(1) What is so unique about the message and teachings of Islam that you choose Islam as your faith, and not any other faith?

(2) All religions teach good things. Is there anything that Islam teaches, that is not taught by other religions?

(3) Why did God create us?

(4) What does He expect of us?

(5) How has He communicated His expectations to us? Where is this communication?

(6) What are the basic themes and teachings of the Qur'an?

So, dear readers, what is your response to the question, “what is the meaning and message of Islam”? Do write down your response on a sheet of paper. Check your complete reply, which you will now frame in your mind, with what is presented subsequently.

In the last couple of years, we posed this basic question during selection interviews to Muslims who sought employment with an Islamic institution in Mumbai, India. Most of the applicants / candidates could not say, even in simple words, what they believed in or what their religious beliefs were. This was so even though they were Muslims and were born and brought up in Muslim families. Their replies were incoherent. They said that they had not been posed this question before. Most admitted that they could not say anything beyond the sketchy information that they remembered from what their parents or 'maulanaas' had taught them in earlier days.

Please pose this question and this role-play situation to your family members, relatives and friends. Ask them to explain to you, in simple words, the meaning and message of Islam. What are the different replies that you get? Keep this role-play situation and questions handy with you for easy reference and preparation.

Da'wah to non-Muslims is important and we have to be ready for any opportunity that may arise at any time. Da’wah Training Programmes should also train their participants for this reply. There exists a need to stress on the conceptual clarity required about this basic and fundamental issue. Are you ready, dear readers, with your ‘Elevator Pitch’ on this issue? (Elevator Pitch is that which you can convey in the most effective, concise and yet comprehensive manner in about three to five minutes).

This is more important than getting into the FAQs of “why are pork & intoxicants/alochol prohibited?” and “why is polygamy permitted in Islam?” and “what is the status of women in Islam”. Let’s stop beating around the bush and get to the first things first!

Remember, always keep the main thing, the main thing: our most important and basic fundamentals are: Tawheed, Aakhirat and Risaalat.

Three small booklets which describe the meaning and message of Islam in a clear, concise and excellent manner are: (write me an email and I shall InshaAllah mail you these three concise pdfs).

These three booklets complement each other, and are 'must-read' books. Please compare your initial written response with the knowledge that you derive from these small books. You will benefit from the knowledge that these books offer on this basic issue. And you will be better prepared for Da’wah opportunities that arise.

How to Give Shahadah in 10 minutes:

http://www.almaghrib.org/curriculum.php

http://www.emanrush.com/

http://www.ilmquest.org/c-186-emanrush.aspx?skinid=4

Obaidullah NewJoy

new_joy@hotmail.com

(No Copyrights)