Customer Service
‘Yaaaaayy’….
…Was my first expression at the moment I found out I was to do an article on ‘Customer Service?’ Why? I assumed it was the easiest thing to talk about, plus, it happens to be something I am ‘tres’ passionate about.
Fast-forward a week coupled with a missed deadline, it dawned on me that the content for the article was fostered on ‘Customer service in Nigeria’ a phrase of which I am sure most of you will agree is Non-existent.
‘Deliver me from *insert the brand that pisses you off the most*’.
I embarked on a rigorous yet intriguing search for those 10 brands that I could truly ‘in my hearts of hearts’ give my stamped approval.
…And thus began my research…
Susan Ward’s ‘8 rules for customer service’ was quite insightful; especially her 7th Rule – ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep’. I find it hard to get over the countless number of times I walked into a fast-food restaurant, asked for a ‘chicken and cheese burger’-which, if I might add, is almost always on the menu- and got told “we don’t have cheese” almost with a complete nonchalant ‘Give-away’ expression.
A few of you might think I am being a bit too ‘fussy’ but this has happened over 20 times and at different branches of one of the most popular fast-food restaurants. But then again I am quite certain most you share my opinion on this.
‘If you don’t have it then why is it on the MENU?!’
…and cheese can be gotten from almost any neighborhood grocery store so what then seems to be the problem?
Jevenik Restaurant on the other hand crosses my mind as a brand that is excellent at customer service.
You walk in and there are ‘tons’ of waiters willing to attend to you, and they sure don’t make promises they can’t keep. A restaurants MENU is its first promise to its customer; and at Jevenik, they have everything on their menu; plus a refreshing breath of cultured staff and a meal you struggle to finish – sounds like a ‘win win’ to me.
So I walked and crawled in my research until McKinsey had me on my toes with an article that talked about how ‘Blue chip organizations’ mistake CRM’s (Customer Relationship Management) for excellent customer service. Most companies fail to realize that the way customers are treated is a reflection of how their staff is treated in house, and not a result of how sophisticated their CRM software is. A noteworthy research from Forrester buttresses this point, as it states that only 10% of business and IT executives surveyed, strongly agreed that business results anticipated from implementing CRM were met or exceeded. I am almost certain that this percentage would have been even less in Nigeria.
Have you been privileged to attend any seminar at Lagos Business School?
You will be blown away as to kind of service you receive, from the gate, to the cafe attendants, all the way to the academic staff. It definitely wasn’t surprising when I learned their academic library is open to ‘all and sundry’.
Just in case you missed my point in my ‘Plenty grammar’ – ‘TRAIN YOUR STAFF!’
I can hear you say enough already with the research so I’ll give you one of my own… BE CONSISTENT! Incase you missed it that was me yelling to all the ‘Nigerian brands’ out there.
So BANKS! You may have every member of staff say hello to me, from the ‘high way’ leading to the bank, up to the banking hall…
… Or even respond to every query I make on your numerous social media platforms…
… But as long as you deprive me of my ‘basic’ banking rights… you need a customer service intervention and all that aforementioned is known as ‘Eye-Service a.k.a Oju Aye’.
Personally, I will prefer you come out straight as the thing we popularly refer to as tissue/wipes (no offense, as I mentioned earlier I am a bit too passionate).
‘Wakanow.com’ strikes me as a consistent brand though, their online platform is super cool, their response to query is fast and apt, and they deliver on their basic promise which is, for lack of a better term, when you wan’ (want to) WAKA (fly), you can do it NOW.
I like the sound of my voice so I’d yell again ‘BE CONSISTENT!’ Dominoes and Coldstone– technically are two brands but to most of us, they stand united. Admittedly, their mindless and incessant chants can be ‘tres’ upsetting, but I’m sure you will agree on my stamp of approval for their customer service and ‘boy! …Are they consistent’. At every branch you are sure to get a full doze of that annoying chant, a box of pizza and a cup/cone/bowl of ice cream.
Now my next two brands might come across as controversial cause they will really challenge your definition of customer service – Dana Air and Fashola – and who better than Forbes to help me justify my choice of these two brands?
“You did not just include an airline that killed over 150 people in the country now, did you?“
Yes I did…and you should allow me my ‘day in court’.
I do agree that for airlines, safety is definitely customer service, but so is admitting your mistakes –as Forbes aptly mentions in its ‘10 keys of excellent service’. Dana does this well, you get apology mails if a flight gets delayed (unlike one of its biggest rival *insertdeliver me from the airline that comes to mind*), ‘thank you’ mails for flying Dana, their attendants are courteous and respectful, they don’t delay flights just to try and fill up their plane. Now if only, they had put that much work into safety…
Fashola, apologies His Excellency Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola – admittedly is not a brand but if you think about how often Nigerians especially Lagosians refer to him as a standard for politicians; more often than the political party (ACN or APC or whatever they are calling themselves now) under which he operates, you would be assured he must be doing something right.
‘If an individual becomes a standard for his peers, it must mean that individual’s service is one to emulate.’ – Azeezat Bishi
Again I refer to Forbes ‘10 Keys of Excellent Service’ which talked about “Pests” and the need to quickly identify and replace them, as they usually have a significant but negative role in delivering excellent service.
Now you know I did not put up ‘His Excellency’ just because I’m a proud and true Lagosian (not just by birth *chuckles with pride*). Anyone that knows him knows he doesn’t have an iota of patience to dispense on pests.
Oh you disagree don’t you?… Find out about the controversial deportation of Nigerians from the Centre of Excellence awhile back!
‘Smile folks! ‘Cause Smile is here!
I only just came in contact with this brand two weeks ago and not only was I impressed (I am hardly impressed) with the two members of staff I came in contact with, I literally ‘smiled’ all day soon as I started using their product.
First, it was convenient as a representative of the brand came to us (the team) with the product. Second, he allowed us test run ‘Smile’ with his personal data; the point of which I was impressed.
We then bought the product, and ‘boy! Were we smiling!’– As the Internet was super fast, plus a lot more.
Quite frankly it stirred up a bit of ‘wahala’ at the office ‘cause the rate at which the data depletes is preposterous, so much so that we are starting to think it is a setup to make us spend more… I surely hope not!
Conclusively, Brands should realize that with excellent customer service, they can position themselves in a place that they will constantly be the ‘choice brand’ regardless of competition, that is to say they have a decisive advantage. I should go on and explain decisive advantage but I think we have exhausted that in our previous posts.
Is this the end?
Have you scrolled up to recount the brands, because you are almost certain it’s not up to 10? Well, I know this is a write up of 10 brands in Nigeria, but I can only give my stamp of approval to 7 brands.
But hey, you couldn’t possibly think that your role here is just to read and digest (hopefully) now did you?
Hit the comment box ASAP and help me out with the remaining 3 from your perspective(s). I will love to say you’re free to disagree with my list of brands with excellent customer service in Nigeria, but I am a fan of the Black Mamba (Kobe Bryant) so I’ll just say you are free to trash-talk.
PS – Feel free to add your #DeliverMeFrom… {Insert brand that drives you nuts}
*Swallows mic and struts out*
Article Written By
Zee Bishi
Enjoy our other #Gr8an10 posts: Effective Touch Points , User Friendliness,Visibility and Frequency In Marketing, Delivery Speed And Turn Over, Friendly Product Pricing, Tone Of Voice, and Product Design and let us know what your thoughts are.
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