Customer Service Skills

Being in the IT industry, trained in technology, our staffs are pitted to do customer service due to the nature of our business. Not only we develop Software of users, but we also need to serve them as well.

And since staffs are the face and voice of our brand, it's definitely something that we can't afford to get wrong. So along the way, we try to empower our staffs with the right knowledge, skills and responsibilities to make important decisions on behalf of Pasti Nyala.

Below are some of the Customer Service Skills that they need to learn and practice:

1. Empathy -Empathy is powerful because it allows you to read between the lines and pick up hidden intentions that are not directly communicated. This helps support staffs pinpoint and fix the customer's concern before it actually becomes a full-fledged problem. This skill required experience for language, culture, behaviour and even understanding of the business.

2. Listening Skills - Everyone seems to agree that listening is important, but everyone has different opinions about what it means to be a great listener. As with anything in life, practice makes perfect. Listening skills can be honed over time to the point where you'll be able to pick up things customers want without thinking too much about it.

3. Integrity -We prefer to deal with people we know, appreciate and trust. Integrity does not apply to staff but also our product which must be usable, create values and reliable to the users.

4. Positive Attitude - Some people are comfortable in their own skin and are really passionate about making the customer feel great at every chance they get. While technical skills can be taught, an attitude change won't come easily - it's something that hinges heavily on personality. Read Positive Pants.

5. Decision Making Ability - Customer service roles depend on solving problems at their core - resolving a wide array of issues customers may be faced with. Just like Pasti Nyala products, we want it to be versitile with useful functions so that users are fully equipped to perform their interaction with the system. Let me sidetrack a little bit, did you know that if the users are happy with your products, they complain less.

6. Thinking on Your Feet - Here's the thing, no matter how long you work in support, no interaction is ever the same. Customers are a human being after all, they can act unpredictably and situations are not covered by our SOP or user guides. So staff - aside from being a people person and a problem solver - also needs to be "make the right decision quickly".

7. Being Patient - Customer service (we also call them Support) tends to be an emotionally draining and sometimes even thankless job. Therefore, support staff need to keep their resolve. Users reach out to Support when they are stressed and confused, so if the problem isn't solved quickly, they get irate. While speed is important in customer service, customers don't want the quality of support to be compromised. So again, a reminder to all staffs, do cut corners, do buried complaints under the carpet.

8. Persistence - An important character trait of being persistent is being able to stand your ground in uncomfortable situations. This may include having to decide whether a customer is being honest or deceptive in their language, actions or intentions. Ideally, we also want our staffs to have the ability to influence and don't stop until the customer is satisfied.

9. Product knowledge - We are aware the Support Staff will have difficulties if he or she does not have a thorough, hands-on-knowledge of the product and troubleshooting knowledge. They won't be able to help the customer. Thus, it's very important for the seniors or leads to impart their knowledge and spend time coaching their juniors. A good Support Staff will know when a user is having trouble, they will be able to pick up the user's pain points and use their knowledge of the product capabilities to address them. Since users usually contact Support because they don't fully or correctly understand the product (or functions within), staff will be able to make better recommendations if they're familiar with benefits (and shortcomings) of the complete product.

10. Progress Mindedness - One fatal mistake most businesses make is thinking of customer service as a dead-end or entry-level job. It's not. Pasti Nyala for one, is trying to empower staffs in making important decisions and reinvesting in employee development by grooming potential and nurture team spirit. We want this to be part of our working culture.

I can't help it but to say this to the customer who complains about nothing "Complaining is like vomiting - you feel better, but the people around you feel WORSE".

Put on your positive pants

Do you immediately get upset or discouraged by your non-stop work, your bossy manager or near-impossible clients? How do you react when you encountered unexpected setbacks and difficulties?

I have faced many setbacks and difficulties. It's part of my work hazard. Anyway, the way we tackled those issues at work or a home, help us form a view. That view could be a positive view or a negative view. That view or intent is yours and you can actually change it for the better if you desired so.

More often than not, I don't have a plan, I don't have an immediate solution to those problems, but I tried not to let is upset or affect it in any way but taking it for what it is and hopefully, I can learn something from it.

If you allow negativity to affect your personal outlook and ability to change things, it could hurt you in the long run.

Research indicates that Optimists and Pessimists approach a problem differently, and their ability to cope successfully with adversity differs as a result.

"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The Leader adjusts the sails". - John Maxwell.

If at any moment you have a negative thought, try to battle it will positive thought. As you focus to carry that positive thought with you, it somehow grows within. Wear your positive pant and show just how good positivity can look by doing the simpler things like giving positive or motivational words to your fellow colleagues and friends.

Model that contentment and others will want to know just where you got that look. You can share your key to showing satisfaction with your life. Positive energy never goes out of style.

Put on your positive pants and get nice stuff done.


Related posts:
When you have passion, anything is possible
Respond less to negative people
Avoid Unhappy People

#positive #positivepants #yougotthis

What type of Procrastinator are you?

Does this sound all too familiar: deadlines are looming, nothing's been done, and you're binging on YouTube and Facebook. But putting off work doesn't mean that you're lazy. Procrastination reveals our hidden anxieties and self-destructive habits.

Daredevil: You like to live dangerously, only starting work when the deadline is looming. You think you show grace under pressure, but the end result is rushed work that's full of errors.
Tips: Get organized. Set yourself tighter deadlines and use the adrenaline rush productively while managing your team (or self) - self-regulate with penalties for not meeting these targets, e.g skip lunch, leave office late.

Self-Saboteur: You're your own worst enemy, putting obstacles in your path to stop yourself working. That way, you can say it's not your fault - rewarding yourself for a job left undone.
Tips: Plan for obstacles. List potential obstacles to getting things done ahead of time, and plan countermeasures, e.g: "Whenever I check Facebook, I take a short break."

Ostrich: You like to stick your head in the sand and ignore the tasks at hand - avoiding having to make decisions. If you don't make a decision, then you don't risk falling or being judged.
Tips: Self-talk confidently. Notice how you are talking to yourself when procrastinating. Think positively - instead of "I can't", say "I will".

Chicken: With so many choices, how are you supposed to decide? By the time you've made up your mind, it's too late. You feel like you may as well put it off and let someone else choose.
Tips: Swiss-cheese the big tasks. Handle the biggest tasks first by breaking them down into smaller manageable ones. Devote small amounts of time and achieve as much as you can in each to boost your momentum.

Perfectionist: You'll settle for nothing less than perfection - which is essentially impossible. You're ruled by what others think of you, delaying work until you can be sure other people won't criticize it.
Tips: Keep it real. Set yourself reasonable targets that you know you can manage and do your best to meet them. Perfection is impossible, but you can learn from mistakes.

source: additudemag

Secrets for mastering Time Management

1. Declutter. Declutter your desk, your inbox, your task list, and your life.

2. Plan. Plan out your work day and stick to it (check off accomplished tasks as you go.) Use TASKPAD for this purpose.

3. Prioritize. Rank your tasks in terms of priority and align them with your job demands, your goals and management by objectives (MBOs).

4. Be effective. It's not a race. Don't try to be the most efficient; try to be the most effective.

5. Focus. Focus on the 'vital few' rather than on the 'vital many'. Your mobile games can wait.

6. Finish the job. Develop your 'finishing instinct' - when you get to a task, complete it no matter what. Simply defined as commitment.

7. Stop procrastinating. Most people tend to tackle easy tasks first and push out the difficult ones - don't fall into this trap!. Don't delay important tasks.

8. Stay organized. Once you get organized, stay organized.


In summary, learned several new ways to become more organized and efficient with your time.

Some of the steps were to declutter your life and plan how you are going to do things. From there it is good to prioritize. If you have your priorities in order it will be easier to move on to the next step and be effective.

Being effective means not focusing on how others are doing things, go your own pace that works best for you to get things done. Once you know how to be effective you can focus on that so that the job stays at a manageable level.

Now that your task is effectively planned and focus on it is important to finish it.

Don’t procrastinate and favor tasks that seem easier they all need to be done. If you can manage using these techniques you just need to keep them in motion to stay organized.

Related reading:

How to be good at Multitasking

We need Continual Improvement but How?

source: everwise

How successful business started

People mostly admired how certain business is so successful. What they are not aware of is that some of those businesses went through some tough times, really tough times.

However, business is usually started when the co-founders or owners came with some ideas to solve their own problem or someone else problem. Some ideas take times to be recognised and accepted. Only then the business can have some monetary return.

How AIRBNB Started: ideas to rent, got rejected by investors.

How ALIBABA Started: connecting with people

How ANGRY BIRDS Started: made a lot of games but all failed, never give up.

How LINKEDIN Started: professional social network, invite close contacts

How PINTEREST Started: side project, just do it -- without plan, switched ideas

How UBER Started: from file sharing, to car sharing

Related post:

Building A Company Brand and Product Brand

Forget pressure, think positive

Create meaningful, purposeful fulfilling lives for yourselves and learn how to use that to make an impact and a positive difference in the lives of others.



Related articles:

10 Things that require ZERO talent

IT Security - How to Spot a Phishing Email - Part 2

You received an email from someone claiming that your office email is BLACKLISTED and required you to click a button to confirm. Is this for real ?

STOP. Don't click. First, read the lines. Email service provider (the hosting company) do not simply blacklist your email account. That job is done by your email Administrator (usually someone from your IT Department).

Secondly, if you are a normal email user, there is absolutely no reason for your email account to be marked as a problematic account, unless you have been using it to spam other people.

Next, hover your mouse on top of the Confirm button and observe the link. The above example shows a link came from "primausaha.net". Is the URL sounds familiar to you? If NO, then it is obviously a scam, a phishing email trying to lure you their site and probably try to get you to reveal some sensitive information (e.g ID/password, credit number).

No further action should be taken on your part other than to delete the email and report the matter to your IT Department.

Even if your email account is suspended, the email Administrator will contact you directly. So it doesn't make any sense to receive an email from a stranger.

Going further, your IT Department will investigate further to confirm the URL from the email. The image below shows the result. The URL is a dangerous site.

On a side note, it also beneficial to install a Firewall to protect your local network. You may contact us for further details on IT Security.



Related links:

IT Security - How to Spot a Phishing Email - Part 1

Penview Mobile App commercial by Pasti Nyala

We did a short commercial on Penview Mobile App. This mobile app allows you to do a room booking, request stuff and check your member points.


Penview App is available for both Android and iOS.

Signs of a Dysfunction team

Creating a team is easy. Molding them into an effective team can be very challenging. And once you have a dream team, it can be destroyed in an instant. So watch out for signs of a Dysfunction team before it is too late.

1. Absence of trust

Team members are afraid to be vulnerable with each other. They're not willing to admit they may have made a mistake, not delivering or don't have answers.

The fix: Building trust takes time, but leaders should use tools to help the teams learn more about each other and grow their trust. Leaders can demonstrate their own vulnerability as an example to the team.

2. Fear of conflict

Team members hold back from expressing their opinions and are reluctant to engage in healthy debate.

The fix: Remind team members that conflict is healthy and encourage them to focus on the ideas or solutions, not the problem or people. Where possible, allow conflicts to resolve organically and demonstrate the desired behavior.

3. Lack of commitment

Because they are afraid of conflict, team members can be reluctant to buy in to decisions and commit to them.

The fix: Set clear deadlines and expectations. Encourage the team to close off and resolve outstanding issues and make their own commitments to achieving results.

4. Avoiding accountability

People don't take personal responsibility - or hold others accountable - for delivering results and may miss goals and deadlines.

The fix: Make goals and commitments public and ensure clarity around personal responsibilities. Monitor progress consistently and help team members identify and overcome blockers.

5. Inattention to results

Team members are less interested in team results than their own personal agenda, career enhancement, and achievements.

The fix: Ensure that results are shared publicly and attributed to all the team members rather than a few individuals. Reward desired results and reinforce the importance of holistic approach from the team.

Credits: Patrick Lencioni, ArcTree

Tag Care for women - Jaga Jaga

Here's our pitching video clip called Tag Care 1.0, a Mobile App for women with features for safety rating, online assistance and reach out functions for counseling, reporting of abuse as well as self-education via an online workshop and short courses.

Be Safe. Tag Care.

View our short video clip below:

Berikut adalah klip video kami bernama Tag Care 1.0, App Mudah Alih untuk wanita yang mempunyai ciri-ciri untuk penarafan keselamatan, bantuan dalam talian dan menjangkau fungsi untuk kaunseling, pelaporan penderaan serta pendidikan diri melalui bengkel dalam talian dan kursus pendek.

Ask the right questions

TO thrive in a digital economy, we need to be innovative and creative, and that requires the habit of asking questions, the right one.

Making it a habit isn’t very hard, but sometimes we find ourselves unwilling to ask questions – perhaps because we don’t think it’s necessary (apathy) or we feel we know ‘enough’ (overconfidence), or we don’t want to appear rude, weak, ignorant and unsure (fear) by asking ‘stupid’ questions.

Yet, asking questions is essential in innovation and entrepreneurship because it’s an effective way to find and identify issues that would come to define the nature of our product, service, or overall business.

Moreover, as we become more dependent on technology in our daily lives, it’s always helpful to know how the apps or devices we use function aside from knowing the basics.

For instance, if we’re not sure how to maintain our smartphones, we can find out with questions such as “How do we ensure our phone is always in good condition?” or “Why do some apps consume more power and space?” or “How can we protect our phone from being hacked?” or "How to spot a phishing email?"

Beyond just answers, asking the right questions can bring about other benefits:

A better understanding

Asking a combination of open-ended and detailed questions can lead to answers that clarify your doubts about a process, situation or issue.

The more in depth these answers are, the clearer your understanding becomes, and that can improve your critical thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

A more open mind

Making ‘questioning’ a habit, particularly when talking to people of different cultures and values, can broaden your knowledge, especially as you listen to their points of view without prejudgment.

This is also applicable to your tackling of new topics because it encourages new exploration and insight.

By keeping an open mind, your brain becomes more flexible, thereby enabling you to absorb and access information more easily.

A greater sense of empathy

Gaining new perspectives can also strengthen your empathy, particularly in being aware of the nature of professionals from different fields.

For example, non-IT individuals will be able to identify with IT professionals by considering their work function and process.

This is because, despite their highly technical proficiency, IT professionals need time to produce the likes of apps and software, given that these products don’t develop overnight.

A better lifelong learner

Above all, asking questions and finding answers constantly helps to boost your learning ability, and even enables you to be more aware of yourself.

This is due to your willingness to take the time to learn about a subject in depth, making you an active learner instead of a passive observer.

So, make it a habit to ask the right questions so that you can become a more capable individual.

How to develop a Can Do attitude

A can-do attitude can help you in work, school, at home and social situations. If you look at situations in a positive light, you can open yourself up to new opportunities and challenges.

Develop a sense of motivation by looking at every situation with a sense of enthusiasm. Work on tweaking your lifestyle habits.


1.0 Becoming Self-Motivated

1.1 See fear as a positive.
1.2 Reward yourself for completing tasks.
1.3 Have a sense of urgency about every situation.
1.4 Remember the big picture.
1.5 Learn from failures.
1.6 Develop your sense of self-efficacy.


2.0 Staying Positive

2.1 Embrace the fact you control your attitude.
2.2 Do not think about why you can't do something.
2.3 Avoid negative people.
2.4 Use positive language.
2.5 Challenge irrational thoughts.
2.6 Develop your resilience


3.0 Changing your daily habits

3.1 Express gratitude every day.
3.2 Smile more often.
3.3 Practice meditation or have a quiet time.
3.4 Adopt a healthier lifestyle. Reduce those nicotine and calories intake, move around and be more active.



Can-do Sentiments

Japan Can Do

If one can do,
I can do.
If no one can do,
I must do.

Malaysia Boleh

If one can do,
Let him do.
If no one can do,
What can I do.

Singapore Kiasu/Kiasi

If nobody do,
I better not do.
If everyone do,
I DIE DIE must do.

China Neng

If one can do,
I must copy the best version and do it even better.
If no can do,
I’ll let someone do first, then copy later.

PNSB Pasti

If SAINS can do,
Pasti Nyala can do better.
If no can do,
We pasti do but only if it is important.

12 Tips on staying Inspired

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily.", said Zig Ziglar and it`s very true… this is why it`s very important to keep a list of daily rituals you should do to keep the enthusiasm and inspiration up!

Below is a simple list of tips that can help you take your level of business or life success to the next level! It`s always a good idea to take notes or journal any thoughts that might come to your mind when reading them.


Stay Healthy

1. Drink a glass of water. When you wake up in the morning, drink a glass of water to start the day fresh.

2. Move and sweat. Daily exercise boosts your energy level, improves your mood and relieves stress.

3. Get some sleep. When you get enough rest, you have more energy to do the things that you need to do.


Plan your day

4. Top 3 tasks. Every morning, make a list of the 3 tasks you want to accomplish that day.

5. The 50/10 rule. Work on one important task for 50 minutes and then take a 10 minutes break to refocus.

6. Reflect daily. End your day with 10 minutes of reflection and self-evaluation.


Keep learning

7. Reading. Reading increases knowledge, which in turn keeps you inspired.

8. Browsing. Watching tutorials and conducting research increases your capabilities.

9 Brainstorm. Brainstorming can be a creative gold mine.


Focus on what makes you happy

10. Express gratitude. Thank about 10 things you are grateful for every morning - gratitude promotes happiness.

11. Clean your desk. A tidy desk gives you energy and inspiration and lets you focus on the work you need to get done. <- special reminder to RWS.

12. Indulge in your favourite things. Set time aside to relax, unwind and enjoy your favourite things like playing with your pet, movies or going for a bike ride. Ok, who wants to go for a beer pong?

Your job is to help your organization succeed

One of the great frustrations of being a middle manager is that senior leaders make decisions that go against what you would have done had it been up to you. Sometimes you are part of the decision process, and other times the decision is simply handed down. Either way, you are now responsible for ensuring that the plan is carried out.

A natural reaction in this situation is to begrudgingly go along with the chosen course of action. You might even be tempted to communicate to your peers and supervisees that you’re not convinced this is the right way to go.

Resist that temptation. Your job is to help your organization succeed. You won’t be fulfilling that role if you — intentionally or unintentionally —  undermine the decision. Instead, start by asking yourself whether you trust the organization you work for.  If — deep down — you don’t feel that senior management makes good decisions, it’s probably time to start looking for another job.

But if you do trust the organization, then begin by convincing yourself that the decision is actually a good one. This is what I did early in my academic career when I received peer review comments on a paper I’d submitted for publication. Without fail, there would be at least one reviewer who hated the paper. They did not get the point of my argument or they had reservations about the studies I had done.

When this first started happening, I hated those reviewers and assumed they hadn’t read my paper carefully. Eventually, though, after I served as a reviewer on enough papers to realize that the authors whose papers I was reviewing probably wanted to dismiss my comments as well, I began to trust that the reviewers had valid points. Perhaps those points reflected my own bad writing, or (perish the thought), perhaps my experiments were not as brilliant as I thought they were. Ultimately, trusting that they had valid points made my papers better.

To convince yourself of the decision, put yourself in the shoes of someone who believes deeply in the decision that was made. Ask yourself why someone would make this choice. Look for factors you may not have considered before that would make this option a good one. While you’re at it, also be explicit about all of your objections. Those will be useful as well.

Once you’ve wrapped your head around why this decision was reasonable, you’re ready to start working with your team to carry out the new plan.
This approach helps you – and your team – in two ways.

First, how much effort your team puts into making a plan succeed depends in large part on how much they believe in it. If you communicate a new course of action halfheartedly, you’ll get less than peak effort because people will sense that you’re not enthralled with the job to be done.

Also, even the best plans run into some difficulties for a variety of reasons: the plan might be failing, more effort might be required, or the team needs to innovate to find the right way to implement it. How the people you work with interpret inevitable problems and what’s required to remedy the situation depends on their commitment to the plan. If, spurred by your trepidation, they’re already looking for reasons why the option will fail, they are much less likely to be motivated by difficulties they face than if they believe deeply that the plan will succeed. Communicating a plan with confidence can help create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Second, the reservations you have about the decision can strengthen the plans you develop with your team. That list of objections you made when convincing yourself the plan is a good one comes in handy here: it reflects your beliefs about the potential obstacles to success. You are already aware of some of the reasons why the plan could fail. Use this list of obstacles to develop contingencies to handle what you think can go wrong. Research suggests that the better prepared you are for problems before they happen, the better able you’ll be to handle them when they arise.

Finally, teach this method of dealing with disappointing decisions to the people who work for you. When you move up in the organization, you are likely to make decisions that fly in the face of what some of the people believe is right. You want them to treat your choices with enough respect to give them the best chance to succeed.

~ by Art Markman. Source: hbr.org