Customer service loss

Most of the time our customer service operatives in this country do not think. The customer is the reason that they have a job in the first place, and when you talk anyhow to such a person, he can, and indeed in Western countries almost always takes his business elsewhere. It is in Nigeria that CSOs behave like they own the world.

Three quick anecdotes.

This morning a caller to Smooth FM announced to Lagos that he was throwing his Globacom SIM card away. What was the reason? He went to the Adeola Odeku Customer Service office of the carrier, and they were rude to him. That's a customer lost to Glo because of a stupid CSO...

An acquaintance of mine, who has a DSTv subscription, as well as a HiTv subscription, went to a HiTv office to pay for his subscription. They asked that he bring his decoder to the office for reset. He reminded the CSO that his house was far away from the office, and he did not have the time to go and come back. He also reminded them that their main competition (if it can be called that), actually have facilities where you can pay from the comfort of your home. Finally, he reminded them that HiTv is not that interesting anymore, and that the only reason he still pays his subscription is the sentimental reason that HiTv is a Nigerian owned business...

Yet another acquaintance is closing his Intercontinental Bank account. Reason, the CSO at their Alausa Branch who kept him on a 3 hour runner, and still could not give him his new cheque book. Stanbic IBTC, a South African bank, will be taking on his business...

I have had my fair of complaints, and have indeed abandoned not one but two bank accounts because of inefficiency. Personally, I think our people will behave a lot better when we begin to boycott certain businesses...