On the outskirts of the city centre, Aisha is a hard-working middle-aged lady and single mother, whose small business has thrived over the past decade, due to five words she tells every customer: ‘Thank you for supporting me’.
This simple recognition generates repeat customers, because it leaves them with a heightened sense of feel-good. That feel-good factor is what also makes them loyal customers and an effective marketing force to help grow her grocery business.
Aisha did not learn this in any business school. Instead, the challenging circumstances of her own life had taught her that in order to win people over you got to take the time and effort to care about their needs.
Customer Service Week (CSW) is celebrated annually worldwide during the first full week in October which this year falls between October 7 and 11. The 2024 theme is ‘Above and Beyond’. Several of Uganda’s leading companies will be pulling out all the stops in conveying their appreciation to not only their customers, but the employees who serve them.
Larger companies relish this chance to organise activities that enhance their brands and motivate staff to do even better. How they will mark CSW depends largely on their financial muscle. No doubt, the heavy hitters from telecoms, banking, beverages and the FMCG companies will make a big splash since the week comes during the interlude of Uganda’s 62nd independence celebrations on October 9.
One thing we can be sure of, against a backdrop of gifting, good works, and awards for exemplary performance, the smiles all round will be a lot wider than usual.
The importance of customer service week can be boiled down into one question: without customers of what use is your business?
At 50% of GDP, Uganda’s services sector is booming, though customer services can be a hit or miss affair. One day, you go to the supermarket and the cashier is friendly, fast and efficient. The next day, she is slow and grumpy, daring you to utter a word of complaint.
There is the mechanic who is always looking for problems rather than solving them. Receptionists, who cannot make up their minds which is of greater importance, serving you or scrolling down their mobile phone screens. It is irritating when they try to do both simultaneously.
There are some business establishments where the staff fawns on you. Other places are filled with employees merely going through the motions, just because the manager is watching.
When it comes to bad service, mentioning names would be pointless and also subjective. Still, there are some obvious culprits like public transport operators, notably boda boda riders, who have absolutely no idea what customer service means. Nor for that matter, do they care.
CSW has its origins in North America from 1987, but then in 1992, the United States Congress officially designated it a national event. Since then, it has caught on across the world as an international celebration of the importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis.
Business is competitive and customers have choices. This is all the more reason why it’s never a good idea to underestimate customer service. A dissatisfied customer is your loss and somebody else’s gain.
There is the story of Mzee, acoffee farmer. He had come all the way from Masaka and specifically Luwum Street, to buy his wife clothing material for making new gomesi. He entered one shop where the attendants disdainfully looked him up and down. They took in the dusty kanzu and his kikapu, then quickly teased him out of the premises, saying he could not afford their items.
Mzee then moved a couple of metres before entering a second shop which happened to be owned by an Indian. The Indian warmly welcomed him and even offered a stool so that Mzee could take a breather.
About two hours later, the attendants in the first shop were astonished to see Mzee majestically walk past their entrance, sloping down to the taxi park. He was closely followed by a porter carrying several rolls of fabric.
Consider this quote originally attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. While others have disputed his authorship nevertheless it neatly wraps up the meaning of being customer-centric: ‘A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider of our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so’.
Plenty of studies have shown a direct link between poor customer service and loss of customer loyalty eventually leading to steady falls in revenues. Recently, Forbes reported that bad customer experiences cost organizations throughout the world a total $3.7 trillion annually. That’s according to research done by the experience management company, Qualtrics. This figure is up 19% compared to the $3.1 trillion Qualtrics reported for 2023.
Qualtrics has other figures to think about based on research done across several service industries. Only four percent of customers report their dissatisfaction to the company. Ninety six percent of the dissatisfied customers leave without returning. Of these, 91% will never return.
The dissatisfied customer informs between eight and 10 others. One in five of these dissatisfied customers will inform up to 20 others. However, even if sometimes your service isn’t perfect, by quickly correcting the problem, 95% of people will be ready to continue working with your company and will tell five other people about the correction.
For anyone doing business, establishing and maintaining a good reputation is crucial. Today social media platforms and the countless millions of people who use them can at any time put that reputation at risk. As the owner, the first line of defense is always going to be your solid certainty that employees are doing their jobs well even when customers are sometimes rude and demanding.
Your frontline troops, those that actually and frequently interface with customers, carry a big responsibility. Indeed, they are the human face of your company. It is not an easy job, so they deserve all the available support in keeping customers happy, because complaining is very much a part of human nature.
Seen another way, the complaints raised are also opportunities to make relevant improvements. It’s much harder to win new customers than hold on to the ones you already have. Numerous Ugandan businesses fall into the trap of complacency, taking their customers for granted and neglecting to make the required investment in holding onto them.
‘Above and beyond’ means surpassing customers’ expectations; providing a singular experience that creates a deeply etched memory that in the long term results in unshakeable loyalty. It could be something or someone, but they will be back.
During CSW, not all business owners will have the resources to reward their loyal customers the way they wish too. You do what you can, because ultimately it’s the thought that counts. Borrowing a leaf from Aisha, don’t forget to tell them: “Thank you for supporting me.”