Never bank on smiles.

So rare have my positive customer service experiences been in Asia, I've been close to telling a client or two that if they're serious about building a resonant brand that perhaps they should funnel some of their marketing budget into staff training – especially as their communications output often consists of pointless super-saccharine spots and bleached out lifeless print. 

A far richer brand experience would be had with the original ambassadors of the brand (and the first or even only point of contact for many) delivering a truly premium and memorable service, bringing consumer interface with the brand inline with the (often outrageous) claims made in their advertising. Lack of service has, of course, as much to do with cultural conventions as anything else – but in the search for a unique identity service might not be a place to start.

The bottom line is that brands cannot be advanced by communications alone – especially when the behaviour of their key ambassadors is as wretched as the Kasikorn Bank teller in the Youtube clip above. 

Via Punk Planning.