The Customer In Naija

Merry Christmas and Happy new year everyone! With Christmas round the corner, organizations can use this extremely to their advantage How? Well its the time of the year when everyone wants to spend! spend! spend! What more could make a customer enjoy spending than excellent customer service ! So lets all remember that and give our customer's a long lasting impression about us and share the gift of great customer service this Christmas!  

Its Customer Service week! This week from October 7th to October 11th, organisations will be showcasing there commitment to exceeding customers expectations and delivering outstanding service! I got my own good feel factor on a visit to Stanbic Ibtc Bank with balloons and all on show! I think its great that organizations can take a week out to appreciate Customers. After all they are the reason we exist as organizations! Happy Customer Service week everyone!

Access Bank have recently set up an Internal financial Ombudsman service to resolve disputes between customers and the bank.This is certainly a step in the right direction in creating a more structured platform in dealing with customer queries in financial institutions which is currently being given very little attention in Nigeria at the moment. Ideally the Financial Industry in Nigeria should have an independent body that checkmates complaints from customers. For example in the United Kingdom, the Financial Ombudsman Service UK was set up by parliament as independent experts with the duty of sorting out individual complaints that consumers and financial businesses aren't able to resolve. However, the move by Access Bank to prioritize customer satisfaction is very commendable. Let us hope this becomes an effective trend in the Nigerian Banking Industry.

The NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) recently rolled out a Mobile portability system where customers can choose to migrate from one provider to another. We may start asking, what would make most customers migrate from one service provider to another. The top three reasons are usually: Competitive Tariffs. Great Customer Service. Quality of network service in comparison to cost. MTN recently launched its marketing strategy using various media tools(Television and radio) informing the general public about options of migrating to their network. But what kind of strategy would actually give a competitive edge in the migration process? What do customers really want? Recent customer surveys show most customers will stick to a telecoms provider that can successfully combine offering competitive tariffs, excellent customer services and a seamless network. In my opinion, focusing on excellent customer service will create a greater...

NIGERIA’S CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL LAMENTS CUSTOMER CARE CHARGES Issue no 322 The Consumer Protection Council CPC has lamented the charges imposed by Telecommunications Operators on Customer Care Lines. The CPC in a submission made to the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC stated that the customer care line should be made toll- free. It added that all care services are an integral part of after sales support service that must be encouraged in a highly unenlightened society as prevalent in Nigeria. The CPC stated that all problems encountered by subscribers such as System/Network failure which means product failure ranging from inability to make or receive calls, inability to recharge, drop calls, non access to figures on scratch cards, queried deductions etc.  cannot be the fault of the consumer hence the consumer should not be charged for calling the Networks concerned to complain about these failures because the consumer is not responsible f...

Zenith Bank bags KPMG’s most customer-focused Bank Globally revered audit and tax firm, KPMG, has declared Nigerian-owned Zenith Bank PLC as the Most Customer-Focused Bank in the country. In a release made available to Daily Sun yesterday, KPMG made the declaration in its 2013 Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (BICSS), which covered more than 14,000 retail customers, 3,000 SMEs and 400 corporate and commercial organizations across Nigeria. Information Culled from the SUN Newspaper, Article by Akeeb Alarape

How many times have we all waited patiently on a never ending queue in a Bank or Telecoms service branch only to be told when its your turn to be served that you were actually on the wrong queue! Annoying isn't it! Situations like this can be very easily avoided by organizations by ensuring a very effective Customer Interaction Strategy. It would help for all service branches to have a meet and greet team who interact with customers just as they step right into the branch. Customer service officers in this team are trained to politely make enquiries about why the customer is in the branch and efficiently guide the customer in the right direction. Many organizations are adopting this effective strategy as it ensures a better quality queue experience for the customer and greatly reduces the stress level of front desk officers who find themselves dealing with customer related queries that could easily be handled over the phone or through the customer,...

Customer Feedback Forms are a great way of improving on your service delivery to customers. Some customers are not very keen on filling these forms but these forms actually give your service provider some insight into improving their services to you! So customers, next time you are handed one, do take your time to fill in the blanks! You may just have improved the kind of service you receive on your next visit!

According to an article by Leon Paternoster, two thirds of consumers think social media is a better way to communicate with companies than call centres. 68% feel it gives them a greater customer "voice" and that organisations are using it as a way to win customer trust and brand advocacy. So what is Social Media? According to Andres Kaplan and Michael Hanlein, social media is defined as " a group of internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content. Put simply, social media allows seamless communication between Individuals, organisations and the community through the Internet. With popular sites such as facebook, LinkedIn and twitter, organizations can create a more interactive and cost effective customer care model for their customers over traditional media tools such as call centres and customer surveys sent through post.

So what's the difference between a customer and a consumer? Sometimes there is very little difference and sometimes there is a lot of difference A consumer is the end user of a product i.e the person that uses the product or service, while a customer is the person that purchased the product the consumer is using. A good example of where the customer is the final consumer is when buying a BRT bus ticket for work. In this scenario, you are the customer as well as the consumer. Meaning, you purchased the service and you are also the end user of the service. An example of when there is a difference between the consumer and the customer is when a Retailer for example Mama Simbi Shops, buys stock from a wholesale company e.g Okin Biscuits. In this scenario, Mama Simbi is the customer to Okin Biscuits while the people that patronize Mama Simbi's shop are the consumers to Okin Biscuits as well as customers to Mama Simbi. For companies, creating a marketing profile for your custo...

Today, we will be stating the eight basic consumer rights. All customers should know their consumer rights and must insist on them. Regulatory bodies such as the CPC (Consumer Protection Council) in Nigeria is dedicated to advising customers when they feel any of these rights have been breached. Visit www.consumersinternational.org or www.cpc.gov.ng for more information about your consumer rights YOUR EIGHT BASIC CONSUMER RIGHTS  Right to basic needs : With this right, consumers should be able to purchase basic commodities such as food, water and medicine at affordable prices and good quality. Right to safety : The Consumer should be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of services that are hazardous to health and life. Right to information : The consumer should be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising or labeling and has the right to be given the facts and information needed to make an informed choice. Right to choose : The Cons...

Not too sure about how to voice your customer service concerns?  Tell Us @ The Customer In Naija   Yes! we love customers and think you deserve the very best services!   Post your comments about your customer service experiences here!   We give you structured insights on how to approach your products/service provider when dealing with your dissatisfaction of a service or product!

We all know retail stores are notorious for bad services! so if you work with customers in retail, take a look at the list and challenge yourself to incorporate these tips into your customer service strategy. If you do, I assure you, your customers will start to notice and in turn remain loyal customers! 15 Tips For Excellent Retail Customer Services  Smile when greeting a customer and offer to pack bags. Use age appropriate greetings depending on who you are serving, for example you wouldn't want to refer to elderly women as 'Hi Guys!' Be proactive and ask how you may be of assistance. Stay visible and available but don't hover as this may make the customer feel he is being stalked! Don't walk away or turn away if you see a customer approaching. Never judge a customer by appearance -  all customers deserve equal attention regardless of status. Don't eat or drink in front of a customer. A sip of water now and then is fine especially if your dut...

Many Nigerians are very unsure of their customer service rights and simply walk away when they receive bad service. All consumers have certain rights and must insist on them if they feel disatisfied with a service or product. There are also regulatory bodies where complaints can be lodged if complaints are not handled properly by the service provider One of such regulatory bodies in Nigeria is the Consumer Protection Council. The functions of the CPC include providing speedy redress to consumers complaints through negotiation, mediation and conciliation. Visit www.cpc.gov.ng for more information on your rights as consumers

It may be quite daunting for some customer service reps to deal with customer related queries and complaints, however there are very basic steps a customer service officer can follow which will ensure the customer is being treated fairly. When a customer is dissatisfied with a service or product, the following steps should be taken in handling the matter quickly and professionally. Always start with a smile: Having a friendly disposition when dealing with customers will put them at ease and make it much easier for them to communicate. Take Ownership: Even though you were not the first point of contact when the customer originally purchased the product, you have to take ownership of the complaint and assure the customer, the issue will be resolve effectively Document: Always document the trail of events that led to the complaint as explained by the customer. Investigate: Ensure that the complaint is investigated using evidence you have collated from the customer and feedba...

With all the buzz about social media marketing and competition amongst brands getting tougher, customer service now plays a very crucial role in effective marketing. Companies can effectively market their products by providing outstanding service to customers. Customers then in turn indirectly promote service providers through word of mouth and partaking in social media surveys I would say customer service can be said to be one of the effective elements of marketing which can work along side other marketing tools like advertising and PR

Okay ! So Rachael wo ke up one morning and thought ! hmm .. won 't it be fun to talk about the shit y services in naija and even if we can't change it , we can talk about it and hope fully some customer service person may read this and lea r n a thing or two It's not all bad news.. we'll share the gre at customer servi c e experiences and also give hints and tips on improving customer service ! By th e way, I got some solid skills and certifications in customer services so if you ever need training ,  I'll be more than happy to train your staff and you because won't it be great to know that your business may be the only one in y our sector offering ne ver seen excellent customer service! I'm just a n email away @ nenekerry@gmail.com !  Cheers!!