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Educator and motivator Ron Kaufman explains why service is the most important aspect of any business
Nazia Khan

This is your fifth visit to Oman. How have service levels evolved since your first visit?
Service levels have definitely improved. We came here years ago and things were more rugged, in a certain way. Now I notice that the international standard has definitely come to Oman. Companies are very aware of service levels that are expected elsewhere. They are working hard to deliver them here.

What kind of preparation goes into each presentation you make?
Twenty years of preparation (laughs). Of course, the programme has evolved over the years. As much as possible I try to use examples that are relevant to the people in the audience. But you've got to understand that the principles themselves are timeless. What I teach makes as much sense for a manufacturing company as it does for a hospitality-based industry. The same principles will make sense after 20 years. They also make sense at different levels of an organisation. A senior manager can study them but they also make sense at the frontline.

Tell us about your best and worst service experiences in Oman.
When we checked in here (Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa) there was a young staff member who took us from the front desk to our room and then brought us all back to the ballroom. Now you could say, 'Well, that's his job.' It's just that he did his job with such friendliness and an outgoing, welcoming quality, that it was really nice. By contrast, we had a horrible experience at the airport. We were sitting in some chairs, just after clearance, waiting for our other colleagues to come through, when a customs official asked us, "Who said you could sit there?" So we said, "We're just waiting." And then he asked, "Who are you waiting for?" We replied, "We're waiting for our friends." Then he goes, "Male or female?" We were wondering what he was talking about. And it was sad. Because there's so much effort being put in so many places and it just takes one person to be rude and it creates a negative impression.

But you don't think that service is more important than the product itself, do you?
If you have great service but a lousy product you are going to lose. But in today's world, product and delivery are increasingly becoming commodities. That increases the importance that service has in the mix.

What do you do when an audience is not as responsive as you would like them to be?
What I have to do then is called calibration. In other words, you always have to meet the audience where they are. You've got to get to their level and create a connection or a rapport, first. Even this group here was a little quiet to begin with. It took a while for us to warm up. But by the end, everybody was in it together. As a speaker, presenter and teacher, you can never feel down because the audience is not responsive. It just means that you have to get down to where they are and make a connection with them and bring them up.