I walked into one of my favourite spas during the week to get a massage. It’s a spa I have used over the last year and a half, and I love the treatment of their masseuse – that take-you-to-heavenly-spaces kind of massage where you are in a flux when you wake up. The result of a truly good massage.
“My question would always be, how many organisations train their staff in customer service and brand awareness?”
I love a good massage. This is not news to my readers. Every six weeks, I get my body stretched, and the hard-to-reach places like the nape of my neck and my clavicles are kneaded by a well-trained masseuse who understands the assignment. They target my lower back, my head, a slight rub, a deep swivel, my temples and the cracking of my toes and fingers as well as the tingling of my spine. A massage is my go-to to centre me, and the aroma of the massage oils, lavender, citrus oil and the heady aromatherapy oils send me to never-never land. I love my massages. A good one gives you a spring in your step and re-energises you while giving you a relaxed body and mind. A bad one might give you an oily body and no treatment or a broken finger. Choose carefully. A massage should not give you a painful neck or a stiff arm. So I go to the best masseuse. Highly recommended. And once I find you are good…hmmm, you have to shoo me. Always ask for a recommendation or try it out; be adventurous, but take no risks.
But I digress! So I walked into one of my favourite spas and was warmly welcomed.
My therapist was ready, and she was really good. The massage of a lifetime. Then she did the most unbelievable thing. She switched on the bright lights and received a good massage. After your massage, you are meant to lounge for at least eight to ten minutes before you leave the massage table before you stir. You are meant to savour the massage, feel cocooned for a while, then rise for a shower or whatever you choose to do, and then shuffle home for a ride that may be too long because all you want to do is sleep. Bright lights? Never.
So this customer service failure got my goat. A seasoned and trained masseuse should know better.
But we were on a roll. Then I called for a beverage, which came in a fancy teapot made of metal. No serviette. No teaspoon. Carrying the teapot blistered my fingers, and I called for a serviette. This took all of 15 minutes when the tea had already started cooling. Then the teaspoon came 10 minutes later. A fiasco! Although I was losing my mind at this point, like most customer service failures in Nigeria, the culprits were as cool as an evening breeze. They took their sweet time and acted like nothing was amiss.
My question would always be, how many organisations train their staff in customer service and brand awareness? How many have been trained and fail to do the needful? How many are still chewing gum noisily at the arrival of a customer to the front desk? These are the issues.
But beyond all of these is the fact that follow-ups are poor and brand management is a pipe dream. What is your brand known for? Do you have institutionalised discounts? What is your brand known for? What are your selling points? If your staff have no idea what they are, then why are we in business?
So at another business concern with a tucked-in ten percent for all guests in the hospitality outfit, some staff acted like they were not aware until the manager was called in. Something is wrong when your staff act like they do not understand your business or did not get an orientation. All staff should get a break. A week’s orientation at least, to understand the business, to understand the organogram, to believe in what you sell.
It is imperative that customer service becomes the sine qua non in your business. If there are no customers, what then drives your business?
Enough said!
