Poor Customer Service is also the fault of Customers

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14242&article=3342&week=17

WEEKLY » Business Times » CUSTOMER CARE: Improvement of a bad service comes with positive criticism
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CUSTOMER CARE: Improvement of a bad service comes with positive criticism

By Sandra idossou

Recently, we were doing a customer satisfaction survey for one of our clients and approached several of our client’s customers to collect feedback on the services rendered.

Many customers made constructive suggestions, however one of them abstained from making any comments. He said, “I don’t want the staff who served me to have problems with the management, so I’ll prefer not say anything”.

Apparently this man had received very poor services but felt talking about it could earn the staff sanctions. How can we expect service to improve if we do not want to complain of things that go wrong?

Failure to criticize a bad service is not a gesture of kindness but rather lack of responsibility. If you do not complain, it means you are satisfied with the service you receive. It means the bad service is acceptable. It means the staff doesn’t have to change or improve anything.

These days as a lot of effort is being done in improving service delivery in Rwanda, many customers need to know that they also have a big responsibility in service improvement.

Good customer service does NOT fall solely on the hands of the service provider but also on the customer/consumer as well. When as a customer you notice poor service, it is your duty to express your disapproval.

Many of us are quicker in criticizing poor performance especially among our friends and relatives. Unfortunately, this doesn’t change anything. The service people concerned should be the ones to know your feelings about their services

And when service is also good; we should compliment as well. That is how the staff knows that they are on the right path and that they should keep it up. When you compliment, it is like you are giving a tap on the back of the staff.

When the service provider goes beyond the call of duty to make our experience an enjoyable one; we should learn to appreciate them. You will be surprised to know how a simple “Thank You” or a Smile can motivate employees.

Let’s be generous and express our gratitude for the great service we receive. Sometimes, we could even go a step further and contact the management of that organization to let them know how happy we are with their services.As customer service is a two-way relationship; let’s remember this.

Customers: Do not be silent. Please express your opinion about poor, mediocre and excellent services you receive. Provide feedback, give your suggestions because without these, the organization cannot positively grow in the right direction.

Service Provider: Listen to your customers and put into effect many of their suggestions. Offer good customer service and your customers will become your ambassadors.

Sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

THERE ARE DAYS I DO NOT FEEL LIKE SMILING

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http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14240&article=3291&week=16


WEEKLY » Business Times » CUSTOMER CARE: Attracting people through our smiles
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CUSTOMER CARE: Attracting people through our smiles
By Sandra idossou

There are days I hate going to work, especially when I feel moody, depressed and less motivated. I am in a job where I need to pretend to be friendly. As I write this article I wasn’t in the mood of smiling and being positive towards customers.


As a service provider, I am constantly in direct contact with clients. The main objective of my job is to satisfy them and I understand the importance of satisfying them.

Customer satisfaction is quite relevant in this business. We need to be cheerful and enthusiastic in any kind of interaction we have with out clients.

I am supposed to work five days a week, from 7 am until 4 pm. However I still can’t remember the last time I went home before 6pm. Because of the nature of this business, I find myself struggling to get a 30 minutes lunch break.


I am not complaining, because I love my job. I work with a travel agency, a hotel, a bank, telecom company, a hospital, a filling station, a government institution, the supermarket next door, a bar, market, a hair saloon and so many others.

The issue I am trying to raise is that despite the hassle I am still meant to be HAPPY and CHEERFUL every other day. That is where we earn a living.

Last week when a customer with a bad odor entered my office, but I still showed a big smile. Sometimes customers do not even respond to my greetings but I still have to continue to be professional and friendly so that they can return and do business with us.

Sometimes when I wake up I am not in a good mood. This is probably due to the personal issues some including my the house rent, my children, my in-laws, my husband, the house boy, my past, the ambiance with my boss and many worries.

However after dressing up I try not to carry the same mood to work. I deploy the actor’s trick of separating one’s personal emotions and the role that one has to play.

In this business we are like actors, preachers, singers, doctors, pilots etc … who need to have a border line between their real personal problems and the role they have to play once on stage.

Our minds are like bank accounts. We can deposit in them positive thoughts, good ideas, pleasant experiences and they will yield in positive mindset and inevitably to positive behaviors.


Some mornings I feel moody because of the negative thoughts I have allowed my spirit to embrace. Being someone who deals with clients I don’t find this easy because I need to find joy in the job and be proud of it everyday no matter my own personal issues.

Yes, sometimes the customer is wrong, sometimes he is mean and rude. Sometimes he even tells lies and drives me crazy. But my job as a service person is to be so skillful that even in such instances I am still able to show professionalism and friendliness.

I have to behave like an actor performing on a stage. When I do not really feel like smiling or simply being friendly, I need to act “as if” everything was alright. Obviously, it takes a great performance to swallow one’s personal problems and give a good service.

As an actor, I understand that the spectator has paid for the “show” and the “performance” must be a good one.Let’s think appreciate the power and opportunity that rest in our hands. We are lucky to be in a job where we can easily market ourselves.

Let’s find joy in what we do. With continuous positive attitudes; we can attract great relationships and people to our lives through our friendliness and smiles.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14240&article=3291&week=16

THE DAY I SPENT 6 HOURS IN A DISTRICT OFFICE

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14221&article=3194&week=14


WEEKLY » Business Times » CUSTOMER CARE: When I spent six hours in a district office

CUSTOMER CARE: When I spent six hours in a district officeBy Sandra idossou


For those who know me, you must be wondering how I survived this. Well, you will be surprised because instead of getting mad about this long wait; I rather felt so bad for the service providers I met on March 30, 2010 at the district office of Nyarugenge and at the bank.

I needed to renew my visa and was told at the Immigration Office to get a local tax receipt called “patente”. Since I didn’t know that I needed this “patente” for a visa, I didn’t pay for it at the time I was clearing my annual taxes at the beginning of March 2010.

When I arrived at this district, I first thought that something had happened. There were hundreds of people queuing. First, I panicked before realizing that the big crowd was there because it was the deadline for tax payments.

I simply can’t understand why people just wait till the last day to pay taxes they know they have to pay anyway.

People were fighting to get numbers in order to be part of the queues. The security guard was overwhelmed by aggressive people who all wanted to skip the long queues.

As I had no alternative because I needed to renew my visa; I calmly queued for two good hours. I was so relieved when my turn finally came.

But this was for a short while because the angry, exhausted and furious lady in that office asked me to produce a copy of my 2009 receipt before she could issue a new one for me.

Well; I had no idea at all where I had kept the old one. I never knew that I needed it. Last year, I used it just for the renewal of my visa.

I couldn’t understand why a big district office such as the Nyarugenge one could not have a computerized system where they could retrace all payments.

Obviously, this lady had no time for explanations. She got angry again when I asked her what I should do as I didn’t have the old one. I was frustrated to realize that I had just wasted two good hours in the heat for nothing.

Then I decided to look for the Executive Secretary to explain to him my predicament. The wait was still there because many people will just skip and enter the room without following the queue.

But I was impressed when I finally met a professional person who listened and found a solution for me together with one of his staff.

After the “Patente” issue was finally solved, I was faced with another ordeal. Apparently; I was supposed to pay another monthly tax called “Taxe de Nettoyage” meaning a Cleaning tax of 10,000.

I am one of the people who appreciate the cleanliness of the city and would have loved to participate but unfortunately; I never heard about this before.

Even though the queue was becoming bigger and wilder as the heat became unbearable in this office that wasn’t planned to receive hundreds of people at ago, the same gentleman took time to explain this new tax issue.

He even offered me a brochure of all the different types of taxes to be paid at the district levels but unfortunately everything was written entirely in Kinyarwanda.

After spending in all more than six hours between the district office and the bank; I think something needs to be done and some people need to be more responsible.Solutions should be found for the long waiting moments in most public institutions.

My friends told me that I needed just to send someone there to do the queuing for me.
Everyone says that is how things happen and my experience was not an exception.

But should we just keep quiet and accept this type of service in our public institutions? Well; I didn’t know the simple operation of paying a “Patente” will take me six hours. Moreover; this has helped me to understand better service in certain public institutions.

And whether this queuing was done by someone else or by myself, it’s still a waste of time…and a waste of time means a waste of productivity not only for the individual but also for the nation as a whole.

The morale of my ordeal is on three aspects.First, I think people should be advised to pay their taxes earlier instead of waiting for the last minute.

Probably a lot more of education needs to be done again by districts and by Rwandan Revenue Authority (RRA). Another suggestion could also be to have different deadlines for different tax payments.

I know people in certain banks who worked until 3am on March 30 and 31. I was also made to pay penalties on taxes I could have gladly paid before if the information had been disseminated in English.

Customer service is not only about people but also about systems. Important documents should also be in English or on official websites.
I also felt extremely sorry for the staff at the district office that had to manually write hundreds of receipt in a day.

We are in a modern time today and having to fill the same form for hundreds of people is archaic. A computerized system could be much simpler and make the staff lives easier.

Martin Luther King Jr says that “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” So let’s talk about these issues so that solutions can be found for the development of our country.

The author is a customer service consultant working in Rwanda

www.sheiconsulting.comsandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com