Since there are such programmes all through the year at various centres, employees are selected at random for a particular round of training. While the training is on, there's hardly any such thing as hierarchy. For instance, it's generally a blend of senior and junior employees attending the training programmes together. The idea is to bring about effective communicationbetween the employees at all levels, and also between the customers and the employees.

Outsourcing the training programmes, TimesBank has got Malcolm Stephens, Director, Trident Communications & Management Services, to hold workshops and lectures for its employees. Ujwal says that the bank has deliberately chosen an outsider to conduct the training programmes for two reasons.

First, because a third party will not have a biased view of the bank and its employees, and will therefore be more open and free about the whole thing. Second, a consultant like Malcolm is bound to bring in the collective experience of a host of industry that he is associated with, thereby making the training programmes an enriching experience for the TimesBank employees.

However, senior executives of TimesBank also turn teachers occasionally, if only in the form of visiting lecturers. This time round, it was Ujwal Thakar taking over the workshop for an hour, in between Malcolm's classes. And while his colleagues tele checked himjust in time for his evening flight to Mumbai, Ujwal carried on till the last minute with those precious little tips for the employees attending the workshop at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi recently.

"What is our mission statement?" Ujwal began. Some raised their hands, eager to answer the question. And what about the others, did they not know the mission of the bank? "It's obvious that we know, after all we're part of the bank," the other lot said. But Ujwal is not the one to go by what is obvious and he made a declaration there and then.

"The countdown to becoming the number one service bank begins now," he said. And one by one, he unwrapped all the magic tricks.

The first one was an age-old law -- It takes seconds to lose a customer, months to acquire one and constant vigilance to keep him happy. And the employees of this bank had little choice in the matter. They'd just been told to keep the customers, not just happy, but very happy.

After that, it was the turn of "new wisdom", whichmeans that the customer has ceased to be a king. For he's the emperor now, stressed Ujwal.

Then it was "new maths". That is, calculate the value of your customer today, keeping in mind his changing requirements through his lifetime. Also, important is to consider the value of a customer acquired from his family and friends, added Ujwal. The moral of the story: Deliver the right product and right service at the right time.

The next lesson was on the important constituencies of the bank. Ujwal said: "Customers, employees and shareholders are the three most significant components of the bank." And the point to be noted here was that the interests of the three were not in conflict with each other.

Ujwal also spoke of that one "irrefutable fact". Which is: Service quality is the differentiator. That is, everlasting commitment to the customers is a must to be the top service bank. Like a glossary, the service beliefs were read out again: