The More the Better? Or, Less is More?

This letter from me to those who visit our revamped web site, is about Service Square’s evolution as a lean and world class service provider. The letter is indeed high sounding. But I know there are false notes here and there. But the ideals are there for us to follow so that this letter rings true at all times.

 

Dear Friend,

In the year 2000 when we started our business of bringing work-life balance (to mostly corporate organizations), we came with an impressive array of more than 200 services. We thought, the more the better…  and we would please thousands of customers by offering them a world of services on a platter. And for good measure, we added at the end of the list – if you need anything else, just let us know…..

That was a terrible mistake we made. It is impossible to be everything to everybody.

We tried very hard to please, but it did not pan out that way. Service delivery levels were nothing much to write home about. Customers were not happy. We were the unhappiest lot in the city.

In 2008, the economic meltdown in the US happened. We were hit badly.

We nearly collapsed – financially and in our spirits. We were in the pits.

Fortunately, instead of turning outwards for solutions, we turned inwards, looked and listened.

We decided we would henceforth provide only those services which would reveal something strong about ourselves. And we would stop being what we are not.

That is how we came to realize that less is more and pruned a lot of services that were included in the first place, to please others. We retained what formed the core of Service Square.

Having done that, we are now very happy. Our customers are even happier as they now get world class delivery standards in the services provided by us.

And, whether they are individual or corporate customers, our services which absolutely require human hands, minds and hearts meet the real needs of customers.

And our services save our customers a lot of valuable time. And time is money! Perhaps that explains why our typical customers do exceedingly well in life. No, it is not because of us, it is because they choose wisely to encash the time they save in productive ways.

Just as I am writing this, I see nestled in my mail in-box this beautiful quote from Steve Jobs. It fits well with what I have been trying to say here.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

We are very serious about our Pledge we carved for ourselves in the year 2000 as our guiding light:

We promise to bring a smile on the customers face each time through a strict compliance of Quality, Commitment, Value for money, Honesty and Timely service.

I invite you to go through this site to find where your needs can be answered by us. In case we deliver less than we promise, may I request you to tell me about it? My e-mail id is: vincent@servicesquare.com.

We have an incredibly fantastic team at Service Square. I join them to tell you – we look forward to building a happy relationship with you.

Sincerely yours,

Babu Vincent

Managing Director

PS: I was tempted to edit out this letter entirely, anxious whether you would appreciate such unbridled transparency. But then I thought – people make buying decisions, not because of what a company has, but because of what it is, and represents. This letter is just about that – what we are.