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You walk into an office and greet the first person you see behind the desk with your Monday morning winning smile hoping to get one in return or at least a semblance of it. But that isn’t happening today.
The personnel behind the desk responds in the iciest manner they can muster like they will give anything to have you walk back the way you came. Your presence somehow signifies a nagging irritation that they will rather not deal with which will persistently hurt and itch till it is addressed.
Welcome to the world of customer service in Nigeria.
Customer service personnel are the first contact points between thousands of businesses worldwide and their numerous clients.
They offer clients an insight into the heart of a business, brand or product even before they ever get to use them. Their duty spans across providing a client an excellent experience before, during and after a business interaction with a service being provided or a product being sold.
Despite being the face of a brand/product, customer service personnel are still largely known for their characteristic nonchalance towards clients and potential clients much to the detriment of these businesses.
Think about how many times you have turned down the idea of patronizing a particular business because you did not have a pleasant first experience with them. You may not have met the owner of the business or the Sales manager to see their zealousness about seeing the business succeed. However, you may have been put off by your first interaction with the customer service personnel you interacted with.
A friend of mine urgently needed a laptop a while ago and called into the customer service desk of an online store to make enquiries and place an order. After his interaction with one of the customer service agents who attended to him over the phone, he went on to contact a rival online store as they did not have the model he desired.
While the rival online store he contacted did not have the model he desired, he says he ended up making an order for a different model because of the pleasantness of the agent he spoke with and even added an additional item to his order when she pitched a complementary product to him. One client lost, one sale gained.
Esteban Kolsky is the first and foremost customer strategist with a one-of-a-kind in- depth analysis into customer relationship management (CRM) best practices, research and analysis as well.
According to a 2015 research he conducted, 66% of customers who switched brands did so primarily because of poor service. For a business owner who realizes that it is 6-7 times harder to attract new customers than keeping existing ones, it is key to select the right face and tone for your brand by way of your customer service team.
I believe the problem with the customer service culture in Nigeria is one of a misinformed mind-set and lack of depth into how much of an impact a first few minutes of interaction can make in securing return customers for your business.
Majority of youths employed as customer service personnel unfortunately do not share in the vision and drive of the business owner who they may or may not have ever interacted with in the course of their jobs. This definitely translates to the manner in which client and potential clients are handled.
Furthermore, customer service jobs are what a lot of young people use in passing time till the ”proper”, ”well-paying” jobs come along. People also attribute the grumpy attitudes of customer service personnel to poor and unrewarding working environments.
Sometimes, customer service personnel may encounter difficult customers who have no interests in the assistance being provided to resolve their issue maybe because they have been mistreated greatly in the course of their interaction with the company. As an overflow of anger and frustration, a customer becomes the casualty of poor service from disgruntled and hassled personnel.
As a business owner, what face and voice are you giving to your business? Your decision of the team that interacts directly with your customers can make a huge impact on your revenue and value in your sphere.
First, it is important that your customer service team understands what your business is about and your vision for your business. If they are aware, they will be able to take the right actions to see that the visions and goals of the company are being achieved with every interaction with customers.
Are you out to add value? Are you out just to make profit? It must be communicated clearly with your customer service team. Remember that business that grow in customer loyalty and base add value to their customers not just take money from them.
Customer service personnel need to undergo trainings too. Courses that enable them improve on their tone of voice, body language, knowledge about your business and especially how to handle angry customers are very key.
From the Kolsky research, 85% of customer churn could be preventable and 67 % could be preventable on first contact resolution. Your customer service team must therefore be fully equipped to handle your clients in a manner that keep them coming back to your business.
Providing a conducive environment for your customer service team may mean different things depending on your staff needs. However, according to Maslow’s theory of human needs, one of the basic needs of humans is a sense of belonging.
Your customer service team must be made to understand that they fit firmly into the picture of success you are trying to paint with your business. They are not just at the desk taking calls and notes and answering customer inquiries.
Just as described earlier as an issue of mind-set, customer service personnel must be made to realize that they are pivotal to the success or failure of a business with every interaction they will have with a client.
Having worked as a customer service representative myself for almost two years, I have come to realize that the Nigerian customer is unique. They really do not expect much anymore because customer service is an illusion at best in the country; definitely not pleasant but something to cope with.
Truth remains, for as long as I worked as a customer service representative, it was important for me to keep in mind that without this person at the end of the line, I didn’t get paid at month end, the company did not break even and my friends were laid off work when profit margins were affected. These were occurrences that were heart-breaking but something we had a measure of control over by making sure our customers came back to buy from us.
As a business owner, it is very important to provide your customers with a great experience every time they interact with you. It is a certifiable way of staying ahead of competition as people love to do repeat businesses at places where they have had a best first experience. They are also more likely to recommend your business to another person, increasing your customer base without paid advertising.
On the downside, poor experiences will not only result in loss of clients but also loss of potential clients. Kolsky reports in his survey that 13% of angry customers are likely to tell 15 more people about an unhappy experience with a service.
It all starts with a great customer service team with the same vision of success you have for your business.
