Managing critical touch points with the customers called the "Moments of Truth" should be one of the priorities of both product and service providers. In this era of commoditization of products and services, these "Moments" can be critical differentiators. Firms must invest in putting their best face forward to the customers. Otherwise, all their efforts in retaining the customers are not going to bear fruits.

When I walked into one of the largest private sector bank's branches, I was welcomed by one of the officers whom I had known through my frequent visits to the branch. It was not a busy day and so I thought that I could use the opportunity to spend a few moments with him. But I was stopped by the security guard, who then guided to a machine which was called the automated queue generator. I was then directed to enter the reason why I came to the bank, and finally, the machine generated a slip with a number. I was asked to wait and advised to look at the screen where the number would be flashed. After a while, I was there in front of the officer. Surprisingly, there were no chairs, where I could sit; it was awkward for both of us since the officer could not offer me a seat, and I found myself standing and enquiring about the bank's product at the front office.

Moments of truth is referred to those moments when the company meets the customer. Jan Carlzon, who introduced this term to the business lexicon, defines Moments of Truth as: "Anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, it is an opportunity to form an impression." Carlzon who effectively turned around ailing SAS airline describes these moments through his book Moments of Truth. He says: "Last year each of our ten million customers came in contact with approximately five SAS employees, and this contact lasted an average of 15 seconds each time. The SAS is `created' 50 million times a year, 15 seconds at a time. These 50 million `moments of truth' are the moments that ultimately determine whether SAS will succeed or fail as a company. They are the moments when we must prove to our customers that SAS is their best alternative".

Effective Executive Magazine, Products and Services, Private Sector Banks, Business Lexicon, Customer Relationship Management, Product Commoditization, Product Companies, Marketing Management, Internet-Enabled Services, Customer Management, Voice-Integrated Services.