Ace Broadcaster Dr. Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana believes poor customer service is one of the major issues killing Ghana's economy.
The Okay FM drive time host who is also a certified Tourism Operator in Ghana and CEO of Kaya Tours, pointed out that bad customer service is a silent killer of Ghana's economy, yet "we turn a blind eye to it as a nation".
He has written the piece below after an encounter he said he had in South Africa recently. Below he writes…
"WHY THE CONFUSION?
In recent years there have been numerous consumer and customer bad service experiences on Radio,Social media and in most cases the service providers don’t give a damn about it.
In my experience most customers start-off indignant, then become frustrated before getting just plain angry.
The most common issue for customers is the length of time it takes to resolve their problems. Companies have frequently hidden behind the issue that they could not get the parts, due to technical reasons beyond their control etc.
But for me, this is not only poor customer Service; it is plain bad management and arguably an abdication of responsibility.
Why should a customer suffer simply because a company cannot control its suppliers, repairers or manage its own employees. The frequencies with which these excuses are used is far from acceptable.
My question is why should a customer suffer as a result of a Company’s ineptitude?
How a company can justify anything more than 14 days, or 21 days at an absolute maximum. Even today, some companies expect their customers to wait up to six weeks and even exchanges are still at the discretion of their companies rather than through laid down standards.
When there is a delay in supply or handling problems, it is the supplier who is at fault. Poor attention to detail in a retailer’s handling process guarantees scratches, dents and scuffs none of which will please the customer. Remember that lower prices do not in general generate loyalty but genuine Customer service and attention to detail almost always does.
Bad customer service is a silent killer and derailed a Nations’s economy.
Ghana must kill it, before it kills the economy of Ghana.
You can never separate excellent and efficient customer service from economic prosperity. From public service institutions, private commercial institutions, and non profit organizations.
It is an open secret, from the airport, to hospitals and all public places that even security guards and car park attendants expect tips from visitors before they do their job well.
For some companies, the managers will tell you to find something small for the officer to do his/her job. This endemic attitude has unknowingly been transferred from the employer to employees and now it affects the customer service delivery.
“Let us assume that someone has made a mistake in delivering a service and the person has to be sanctioned, we’ll find people to immediately linking whoever is involved to one political party or the other, church member, opinion leader, relative or friend will prevent the person from being sanctioned. The untouchables are huge stumbling blocks to delivering excellent customer service. There are a lot of unhappy customers who trust very few retailers and hence they tend towards a price driven by decision. Poor Customer Service , a silence killer to Ghana’s economy, my humble opinion.
Writer:
Abeiku Aggrey Santana
Tourism Destination Markerting Professional
Email: [email protected]
IG:@abeikusantana
Twitter:@abeikusantana
LinkedIn @AbeikuAggreySantana
Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com
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