Dealing with Rude Customers

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14033&article=2087&week=40

CUSTOMER CARE: Dealing with rude customers

By Sandra idossou

Is the customer always right? Is he/she a king/queen and the service person a slave? Should the service person accept everything the customer says and does?

The reason why I want us to meditate upon the above questions is that I witnessed a scene as my friends and I were waiting for the gates to open at a jazz concert some weeks ago.

Just like many other customers, we were so much excited about the show and went there before the written time on the tickets.

As we were waiting patiently at the gate, a woman came from nowhere and passed in front of the queue. She insisted so much in getting inside this restaurant but thank God for service people like Hakeem who in spite of the rudeness of this customer; remained calm, smiling but firm.

I really do not want to believe that this woman behaved the way she did because she was a “muzungu” as this is unfortunately behaviors we often see in all social classes everywhere in the world.

Well, to cut the story short, this was a real embarrassment as this woman used negative and aggressive words towards the service person.

The other customers waiting felt so bad for Hakeem who remained professional.

Dealing with customers is such a tedious job that we have to recognize the efforts that service people put up in handling us. As customers, we are sometimes mean, unmannered, disrespectful, belligerent, nasty and impolite to service people.

It is not because we talk of customer service that we have to abuse the people who serve us. They are human beings with feelings and emotions.

They are not inferior to us. They are just doing their job and just like you and me, these service people have the right to civility and respect from customers.

You cannot pour all your anger on the service people you meet because you have a bad day or simply because you have your personal problems at home or at the office.

I heard of a story last time whereby the customer, after finishing his meal in a restaurant, told the waitress that he had left the bones for her.

How can you ever think of saying such insanity, such an insult towards someone who has just taken care of your stomach?

As a customer, if you treat service people with care, they will also show you the same care. I really want to say here that customers are not exempted from good manners.

Your good manners as a customer will attract good manners from service people. Your respect, friendliness and sympathy towards service people will generate the same towards you.

Anyone who works in customer service knows how difficult it is to be nice to rude people. But professional service people are those who do not yield to the temptation of returning rudeness to customers.

If you are in the service industry, rather than responding rudely and possibly losing your job, here are three quick tips that can help you cope with rude customers.

Stay calm

Remain professional and do not fall on the trap of unmannered customers as they just want to bring you to misbehave just like them.

Do not spoil your day because of such miserable people who do not know how to behave. Just remain calm, focused and well behaved.

Once the customer leaves, brush off the incident and continue serving your other customers. Remember the many nice and appreciative customers you have served.

The rude ones represent only 5 percent of your usual customers.

Do not take it personally

You can do this by politely ignoring these rude customers. This technique is hard, but effective. At times, a customer will rant and rave over an issue that doesn’t need to be.

Rather than getting mad or responding rudely, do not allow your heart to be affected by their rude words. Take a few moments to calm down. Learn breathing techniques and other exercises to help you relax

Pity them

Anyone who expresses rudeness for no apparent reason, especially towards someone who is trying to assist them, is likely an unhappy person.

Remember that they had their own problem before coming there. Their bad day should not affect your mood and your day.

Let’s all try to remember that customer service is a two way thing. Much as we want service people to treat us well, let’s make an effort in showing them respect and we will surely benefit from good services from these great and courageous people.

The author is a customer service consultant working in Rwanda.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.comhttp://www.sheiconsulting.com/

Preparing to Welcome more Investors in Rwanda

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14025&article=2066&week=39

Monday, 21st September 2009


CUSTOMER CARE: Preparing to welcome more investors in Rwanda

By Sandra idossou

Last week was a very joyful and soul lifting time for many Rwandans and people living in Rwanda as we heard about the World Bank Doing Business Report.

We are proud of the big jump Rwanda made and this calls for celebration not only here but throughout Africa.

This is a true sign that the efforts of the government and people of Rwanda is paying off.

As an African, this shows me that with good leadership in our countries, doubled with the hard work and determination of its people, we can do a lot.

But then, what this ranking actually means to the ordinary people like you and me is that, the whole world will see Rwanda differently. It shows a conducive and favorable business environment for investment.

Investments mean more businesses, job creation, more opportunities; simply put the growth of our economy. But as many tourists and investors decide to come here, we need to prepare ourselves to receive them.

Just like when we prepare our homes to receive visitors by cleaning our houses, backyards, kitchen, washrooms etc., we also need to get ourselves ready through our skills, attitudes and processes.

I would like to draw your attention to the following areas that need to be given consideration while awaiting more visitors here.

Airport

This is the first contact every visitor will have of the country. We need to make sure that our airport respects international security and quality standards.

For instance, the last time I was traveling out of the country, I was asked to take off my shoes to go through the screening security checkpoint leading to the boarding room upstairs.

But unfortunately, there was no mat under that screening machine. It meant that I had to walk bare footed and probably attract many infections and bacteria.

This is an international airport and things have to be done properly. In other western countries, there are specific socks available for passengers who have to take off their shoes to go through the security check point.

I will also like here to suggest to the authorities of the airport to kindly avail the immigration forms and now the health forms with the airlines so that passengers could fill them in the plane before landing.

After long hour’s flights, no one wants to waste more time in filling two different forms.

Hotels and Restaurants

Today there are many hotels opening up and this is a good thing we appreciate. But then, do these hotels respect the norms and standards expected of classified hotels?
Owners of these hotels should not just put “anyone” there to fill the gaps.
Hospitality is a real business that needs professional people just like any other business.

The National Press
Every visitor, upon arriving wants to have a feeling of the social, economic and political environment of the country through the local media. Our national press needs to be of good quality.

I acknowledge the effort the National Television is making but really, there is still a lot to be done to reach the minimum standards of at least the television stations in the region.

What amazes me is that none of my Rwandan friends watch the RTV and they do not understand why I do so because there are just two or three programmes in English or French.

I will therefore appeal to the authorities to support them more so that they can make this television more attractive not only to Rwandans but also to foreigners coming and living here.

Ministries and Government Institutions

Almost every investor will deal with a government institution when he/she arrives here.

It‘s often said that public servants are the worst in customer service but I want to believe that there are exceptional and professional people even at the public institutions.

Effective customer service trainings and Basic English courses should be offered to all public servants.And before I forget, let’s make sure that our offices are clean.

I have often seen many “cheap” artificial flowers, most at times, full of dust in many ministries and government institutions.

Could someone look into this? Government institutions are the mirror of this country and they should promote horticulture by having fresh and beautiful flowers available here.

I’m sure if we all pay attention to these details, visitors to Rwanda will definitely be even more impressed by this country.

The author is a customer service expert working in Rwanda.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

MAJOR CUSTOMER CARE CAMPAIGN IN PIPELINE

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14024&article=4924

Sunday, 20th September 2009

Major customer care campaign in pipeline

RDB Deputy CEO, Clare Akamanzi

BY TONY BARIGYE

The much anticipated national customer care campaign strategy though delayed is still in the pipeline.

This was revealed by Clare Akamanzi, the deputy CEO of Rwanda Development Board [RDB] service and operations.

“The pre-customer care campaign was supposed to run from April to September but we are extending it until we get a firm to carry out the campaign,” she said.

She disclosed that previously, Rwanda Public Procurement Authority [RPPA] responsible for finding a suitable firm failed to find one in the first attempt and had to re-advertise.“We didn’t get qualified personnel and we are repeating the process,” she said.

She said that the pre- customer care campaign would continue until a qualified company to implement the major customer care strategy was identified.

Amin Gafaranga , the coordinator of the customer care campaign in RDB said that the pre-customer care campaign is ongoing.

“We have finished part one. The most recent activities were done during the 2009 Expo where 200 exhibitors were trained on customer care.

The first customer care handbook was launched in Kinyarwanda and English. There has also been a sensitizing campaign and a road show,” he said.

Akamanzi said the pre-campaign has so far been carried out in various parts of the country.

“We have reached the police, southern and Northern provinces but we are yet to reach the East and West. We also hope to do a campaign in universities across the nation.”

At the start of this year, a 9-member steering committee was unveiled with the six months pre-campaign followed by a two-year major customer care campaign.

The latter, was immediately followed by an On The Frontier survey that disclosed that the state of customer care in Rwanda was the poorest among all East African states.

Akamanzi said that the pre campaign had yielded results because people were beginning to respond positively.

“We are having impact on the multitudes because close to 10 companies have come to us saying that they want to include customer care training in their programmes,” she said.

Customer Service, a challenge throughout Africa

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14018&article=2046&week=38

Monday, 14th September 2009

CUSTOMER CARE: Customer service, a real challenge throughout Africa

By Sandra idossou

Recently I was in three African countries and realized at what point many companies were striving very hard to be the best they could.

It seems like everyone is just looking for ways of getting the attention of their customers.

I don’t know if this is due to the global economic crisis that has somehow affected Africa but I had the impression that many businesses throughout the continent were grappling with customer services management.

Many are facing immense challenges in revenue generation and fighting over the mediocrity of service offered.

In one of the countries, I found a telephone company offering some free airtime for seven good months to their customers upon buying a Sim-card.

There were actually six different telephone companies in this country so you can imagine that it is a real favor the customer does to them when he/she chooses one network out of the numerous existing companies.

In one bank, customers were offered free snacks and soft drinks while they were waiting (I really can’t tell if they do that every day or if this was only on certain days as I was there on a Friday afternoon)

In another country, the lady at the counter simply came out from her counter to see me off when I was leaving her. She talked to me as if I was her friend. She touched my emotions through the way she made me feel.

When we talk of customer service in Rwanda, we all need to understand that it is a real challenge not only here but throughout the continent.

Customer service is neither a choice nor an alternative but rather an urgent necessity.

All over Africa, service providing companies are determined and working towards ways of keeping their customers and growing their market share.

Here in Rwanda, this should not be different. As part of the East African Community where I muss confess that people are very aggressive in their way of doing business, people of Rwanda need to wake up and roll back their sleeves. Rwandans needs to become more professional through their skills and attitudes while dealing with customers.

Of course, there are so many positive things happening here and we are all very proud of the development taking place in this country.

But hey, people of Rwanda, let’s be frank to one another. Good customer service in many areas is still lacking behind.

Since the time the people and government of Rwanda started complaining about service delivery, if you have not taking any corrective measure yet, then you should be ashamed of yourself. You are definitely part of the problem.

If you are a business owner waiting for the miracle of good service to come down from heaven just like that in a twinkle of an eye, then you are completely day dreaming.
If you have not yet trained your staff on their attitudes and skills, then you don’t value neither your business nor the development of Rwanda.

Today the private and public sector, retail and corporate company, small and big organizations, need to do something urgently. We all need to use customer service tools to ensure our customers satisfaction, their retention and ultimately our financial growth.

This implies that we mobilize each and every member of our team to deal with the countless challenges of good customer service; and this on a daily basis.

We need to make our people understand that offering good customer service will make our businesses gain the competitive advantage that will allow us to “retain” our current clients and “attract” many more customers.

We also need to avoid too much of bureaucracy in order to ensure that administrative challenges form part of your operations and does not become the core function.

Let’s also try to communicating clearly and concisely to our employees the knowledge of the products we are selling in order to avoid confusion and miscommunication with customers. Let’s equip our people as someone once said “The quality of our work depends on the quality of our people.

We should all keep in mind that we are the first beneficiaries of good customer service; so let’s not waste time.

William H. Davidow says that “The longer you wait, the harder it is to produce outstanding customer service.”

So today is the right day to put something in place in your business for your own benefit and for the growth of Rwanda.

The author is a customer service expert working in Rwanda.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

Congratulatation to the Rwanda Revenue Authority

Letter published in the Newtimes edition of September 11th 2009

Bravo to the Rwandan Revenue Authority (RRA)

By Sandra Idossou


Since I have registered my company here in Rwanda; it has always been a nightmare going every month to declare taxes at the Rwanda Revenue Authority. This is due to the long queues that I have to go through at all the 3 stages of the declaration process.

Last month for instance, I spent 40 minutes just to have the printed form; then 50 more to have it processed and then 30minutes again at the bank. In all more than 2 hours wasted even though I have always strived to do my declarations the first week of every month.

But today’s service was like a miracle and I have been so much impressed.

With the new online services that RRA is offering now, one can easily print out the form before going there. This morning, I spent only 12mn at the RRA office in Kimihura. They have also opened offices in other places in town and we don’t all have to go to Kimihura for these declarations.

I really want to congratulate RRA for this huge improvement and for taking our complaints seriously. I just hope many other institutions will take example on them and improve on their services.

As we all talk of customer service these days; let’s learn to appreciate the people and companies that are doing well. So RRA; keep it up and much grease to your elbow

Sandra IDOSSOU
Managing Partner
SHEI & ENZ Consulting
sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

Road Show on Customer Care

This roadshow was organized by the Private Sector Federation in Rwanda to promote good customer care in the service industry.

This was also a moment to promote the Customer Care Handbook. The banners are excerpts from the bank book;

The roadshow attracted many people in market areas; there were discussions on how to attract customers in buying one's products.

This was at the kimironko market

There were many local musicians present at the show

Why is Customer Feedback so important (part 3)

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14011&article=2024&week=37

Monday, 7th September 2009

CUSTOMER CARE: Why is your Customer’s Feedback so Important?

By Sandra idossou

Is customer service a department in your company? Is customer feedback something you have just heard about? In today’s economical environment, customer feedback is indeed important and should be alive and working in all progressive companies, large and small, private or public.

When we talk about customer service, it should not simply be a term or a department, but rather an attitude and a manner of doing business. Customer feedback boils down to caring for your customers.

For the past three weeks now, we have been dealing with the importance of customer feedback. We have been dealing with the different tools available for all business owners in getting feedback from their customers.

Two weeks ago, we talked about the suggestion box and feedback forms.

In last week’s article, we gave the advantages of using Customer Satisfaction Forms and doing frequent customer surveys. I hope you have at least one of those tools already existing in your business.

This week, I would like to share with you three other tools of getting your customer’s feedback.

Mystery shopping

This is an innovative way of getting customers’ real perception of service. When you decide to mystery shop your business, it means that you are ready to have the customer tell you exactly how they perceive the products and services you are offering.

We, at Shei and Consulting, for instance, propose trained individuals who come to your business as potential and real customers to experience and measure the processes of service delivery.

Mystery shoppers are able to fit your real customer’s profile. They are able to put themselves in the customers’ shoes to see the services that are offered to them.

After their visit, mystery shoppers are able to send you a detailed and objective report right from their perception of the cleanliness of your environment down to the professionalism of the staff they talk to.

As the real objective of this tool is to help you see the exact areas that need improvement, mystery shopping is an excellent way of helping your people see through a mirror what their customers see.

Customer complaints analysis

We can all agree without doubt that today businesses that really listen to their customers have the edge over their competitors.

Every complaint offers you an opportunity to gain insight into the customer, their perceptions and their needs. You should therefore be happy to receive your customers’ complaints. It is a favour they do to you when they tell their complaints.

Your employees have an important role in this complaint analysis. Your staff hear more of your customers’ complaints. Your front line staff see, hear and observe more than a survey online will ever tell.

Put in place a customer complaint book and let your staff fill it and record customer complaints anytime.

And on a regular basis, take time to go over those complaints. You might be surprised to see that the most frequent complaints are probably the ones you can easily correct.

Focus Group or Customer Forum

This is when you get a group of customers together for a discussion about your products and services.

This is most common with a new product launch but can also be used for feedback on existing products or services as well.
This form of feedback works best when you want your customers to become the center of your business.

Acting on the feedback and implementing reasonable changes based on customer feedback is a sure way to win over your customers and increase the success of your business.

To have an effective customer service in your organization, customer feedback plays an important role and you need to put in place a philosophy whereby many of the seven feedback tools we have dealt with are implemented.

From top management down to the cleaner, everyone should be committed because customer service is an attitude and atmosphere that should prevail throughout your organization.

Your customers are ultimately the ones responsible for your paycheck. Feedback is an excellent way of listening to your customers’ needs and desires.

It helps you tailor your product and service to better meet their demands. And this will ultimately lead to greater success.

The author is a customer service expert working in Rwanda sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

Why is Customer Feedback so Important (part1)

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14001&article=1973&week=35


CUSTOMER CARE: Why is your Customer’s Feedback so Important?

by Sandra idossou

In Butare last week, there was a customer forum held by one of the banks of the country. This forum that was organized in one a attractive environment was attended by many of the bank’s customers.

The main objective of this customer forum was to have a real face to face contact with all customers of this bank.

Customers were quiet impressive of being invited to come and share their opinions on the services the bank offers them. And the good thing about this forum is that all customers were invited to matter how “small” they were.

It was an opportunity to express their satisfactions but also the areas that needed to be improved upon.

Many business owners spend lots of money in promoting themselves through advertising when there is an inexpensive tool at their disposal that is being very often underutilized, or unknown to them. And guess what that tool is? Customer feedback.

Customers’ feedback is an important element in maintaining good relationships with one’s customers.

If you have a shop and have never carried out a survey on customers’ feedback, do not be surprised to see that your customers have just decided to shop elsewhere.
Sometimes; it is not because your customers are still patronizing your shop that they are necessary happy with your services. It might simply be that they are waiting for a better opportunity to leave your business.

Have you ever had customers who seemed happy with your services but suddenly stopped doing business with you? Did you ever wonder why? Was the quality of your products or services their reasons for leaving?

Customers’ feedback is essential to all service providers because it helps to know the exact way your customers feel about your products and services.

This is simply because the way you as the business owner sees or fees about your products and services is not always the same as what your customers really think, experience, feel about them.

Bill Gates says that “You need to know about customer feedback that says things should be better.”

Here below are different feed back techniques that can be used to help you evaluate your customers’ perception of your business.

1. Suggestion Box

This is one of the most common ways of getting feedback. It is a simple box that is normally in your shop where your customers can just leave a comment or suggestion for you.
This quality measurement tool has limitations because most customers will leave a comment only when they are very angry.
And also sometimes; in front of your staff, the discreet customers will feel bad to leave a negative comment. In short, you do not really have a good picture of how your customers feel about your business.

2. Feedback Form

This source of quality measurement can be used once in a while; either every quarter or twice a year to have your customers’ feedback.
Recently; I have seen for instance these feedback forms on the tables of the Bourbon Coffee in town.

The feedback form helps you to ask your customers questions that could reflect both positively and negatively on your products and services. You should always include an open-ended question at the end, asking your customers if they have any additional comments or suggestions to make.

This will surely give your customers a chance to voice any displeasure or come forward with truly constructive suggestions that could help your business.

In today’s modern way of doing business, you can use your website to have your customers leave you their feedback.

If you have a website, simply include a note on stating that you welcome any comments or feedback, along with an email address where they can send it.

This way of getting feedback has lots of advantages because the customer can just send you via his email his comments without anyone seeing what he has written apart from you, the business owner.

I know that certain international hotels have even gone beyond this feedback forms. They simply ask theirs customer to leave an email address and the hotel later on contact them to have a written feedback on their stay.

You definitely need today to use one of the tools of getting your customer’s feedback as this is surely one of the best ways of knowing beyond a doubt that your company is meeting your customer needs.

You may think you are doing a good job and not realize that you are probably off target until your profits have dropped and you have lost market share to a competitor who is probably more in tune with what your customers want than you are.

Remember today that “Feedback is the breakfast of champions” as says Ken Blanchard. To be continued next week

The author is a customer service consultant working in Rwanda.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

Why is your Customer Feedback so Impotant (part2)

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14007&article=2000&week=36

CUSTOMER CARE: Why is your Customer’s Feedback so Important?

by Sandra idossou

Since I started writing these Monday articles on Customer Care, I am continually amazed at the number of readers who contact me; either to give me their comments or simply make suggestions.

Many of the topics I write on are actually from the feedback I get from the readers. I have come to really appreciate them as these feedbacks are very valuable for my writing.

Regardless of the type of business you are in, getting input from your customers or people you deal with is critical to your success.

Whether you are in a big organization or in a small retail shop, or even in a liberal job, you definitely need the feedback from your customers.

No matter how successful you as an individual or as a business owner are, you will never cease to better your services by learning from your customers.

This is one of the first steps to successful improvement of customer service.

In last week article, we talked about the different tools that could be used by business owners to have their customers feed back frequently.

There are different tools available and the two tools we talked about were the Suggestion Box and Feedback Forms.

Today, I would like to share with you some of the other tools that you can use to evaluate the perception of your customers on your services and products.

Customer Satisfaction Forms

This is a form you use to ask your customers to rate your services on a scale for instance of 1 to 10. Once you have asked your customers their areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, you definitely need to take actions.

And on the areas of satisfaction, let your people know them so that they can maintain them and be proud of them.

On the other hand, on the areas that need to be improved upon, bring in all your staff on board to find solutions.

These satisfaction forms are supposed to help you improve your business. Let your customers see that they did not waste their time filling those forms.

Let them see the improvement of your products and services.
If you want to be very professional, send a response to every person who has given you his or her feedback, acknowledging their views.

Your customers are not forced to give you their feedback so learn to acknowledge their time and availability in telling you things that will make your business go forward.

And remember that your customers are the only reason why you are in business, so satisfying them will ultimately make your business more profitable.

Customer Survey

The customer survey is a tool that helps you evaluate the level of customer perception.
This customer survey can be done once in a while; and if necessary, associate your staff to this survey.

Making your staff be part of this survey will allow them hear for themselves what your customer say about them.

Remember that 68% of customers leave a business because of the poor attitudes of staff.
This means that 68% of the solution will come from them. So involve them in the process.
The last time we organized such a survey with the staff in direct contact with customers of our clients here in Kigali, the staff was shocked to hear certain things coming directly from their customers.

They confessed that they had always thought those complaints were coming from their bosses.
This exercise was really an eye opener for most of all the staff that took part in this survey.
The worst thing to do is to ask for feedback from your customers and not do anything about them.

You can be sure that the customer won’t waste his or her time next time you need his feedback.

Do take Action. Share your findings with all your staff. Correct your processes.

Remember that a delayed feedback loses its value. “It’s the knowledge derived from information that gives you the competitive edge.” Says Bill Gates’
So please use your customers feedback to improve on your services.

To be continued next week

The author is a customer service consultant working in Rwanda

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13990&article=1941&week=34

CUSTOMER CARE: Excerpts from the Customer Care handbook

by Sandra idossou

This is to respond to many readers on my last week article on the Customer Care handbook that was launched by the Private Sector Federation and sponsored by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

Many wanted me to give them more insights about this interesting book. In response to the many questions I received, I would like to share with you, dear readers some excerpts.

For the purpose this handbook, I spoke to some business people in Kigali to have their statements on why customer service was important to their businesses.

I was privileged to talk to Business owners, managers, government officials and even to my tomato seller at Kimironko Market.

The variety of the panel who gave their statements clearly showed that customer service is a national issue.

This indicates that customer care is not only for the private sector people. Rather, it involves every actor in the economy of the country; from public sector down to retailers and big organizations.

Out of the 12 declarations I got for the book, I will like to share with you some few ones.

Page 6: What some entrepreneurs in Rwanda say about Customer Care

“Customer Care is important for us in the health sector because it reassures and comforts our patients right from their first contact with us.

It makes them reassured and know that they can count on us,” Dr Diane Gashumba, Director of Muhima Hospital.

Mary Gahonzire, Deputy Commissioner General Rwanda National Police said, “Service Delivery ought to be done professionally.

The people we serve are our customers and we ought to treat them well. Policing, Service and Customer Care are all three inseparable.”

According to Janet Kayitessi, Tomatoes seller at Kimironko market, I have to welcome very well all my customers so that they will always buy from me.

I need to show them that I appreciate their patronage. “We are in business because of and for our customers; they are the drivers of our product and investment decisions.

Customers are the reason we are,” Andrew Rugenge COO MTN Rwanda said.
“We want our customers to feel good in our saloon because we want them to come back and talk good about our services to others.

There are many salons in town but it is the way we handle our customers that make the difference,” said Claire Nkulikiyimfura Owner Keza Saloon UTC Kigali

“Good quality customer service is when a client leaves our bank with a smile on his face and will have no reservations at all in returning to us for his next transaction or recommending the bank to others,” said Daniel Sackey MD Ecobank Rwanda

We can all agree from these statements that Customer Service is important for all but unfortunately miracles will just not happen if nothing is done.

One essential element of reaching the expected level of service delivery in Rwanda is through constant education.

First, the staff but also as consumers we don’t have to accept mediocrity or poor service anymore, especially if we pay for it.

As President Kagame often says when you go to a restaurant and the service is poor, sanction the service provider by not going there anymore.

For me as a customer and probably for all of us, the deciding factor in shopping in a particular shop is the quality of the customer service.

The coke or beer I’ll buy in a restaurant is the same in every other bar or restaurant in town.
The only difference is the service around this beer; the ambiance, the décor, the professionalism and friendliness of the staff etc…

If we do not get good service in one particular bar, let’s go elsewhere.

There are choices today. So dear customer, you have the right and today the obligation to sanction poor service delivery in Rwanda.

Concerning the staff, start today their training by offering each of one of them this new handbook on Customer Care. I can assure you that it is resourceful material that will help your people in contact with customers.

The 46 pages book is written in English and Kinyarwanda and is a must read book targeted at all service people.

Equip today your staff with the basic knowledge they need so that they will be able to offer excellent customer care to your customers.

If you want them to take good care of your customers, do take care of them by offering this handbook to all your team members. You will be the beneficiary of this kind gesture.

The author is a customer service consultant working in Rwanda

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

My Customer Care Experience at the Expo

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13983&article=1909&week=33

CUSTOMER CARE: My ‘Customer Care’ week at the Expo

by Sandra idossou

This week has been quiet an interesting one. I spent very good time at the International Trade Fair at the expo ground at Gikondo. I could feel in the air the excitement of exhibitors.

This excitement was not only due to the promotion of exhibitors’ products but also, I think to a large extent, to the ‘Customer Care’ Competition organized by the Private Sector Federation (PSF).

Every evening, one exhibitor was recognized by customers as being the Best Customer Care agent.

I have also been so much amazed by the ‘Customer Care’ stand that was put in place at the expo ground.

The hostesses at this stand were smartly dressed and did an extraordinary job in attracting visitors in their stand and education people on this important subject.

Visitors were given a brief presentation on what customer care is. This was done with the help of the banners on ‘Customer Care’ that were displayed in the stand.

During the day, they projected interesting films on Customer care; and in the evenings, the films on large screens attracted many visitors.

In fact, this is the first time I have ever seen an expo stand purely on ‘Customer Care’.

One other thing that impressed me was the launching of the Customer Care Handbook by the Private Sector Federation (PSF), sponsored by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

This handbook in English and Kinyarwanda is an educational tool that deals with basic knowledge on Customer Care.

The user-friendly 46 pages handbook is targeted at all people with a direct contact with customers.

The 14 chapters written in a simple language with many quotations is meant to be read within a short period.

Readers can even write in their actions plans at the end of each chapter.
The handbook deals with topics such as “Why is the Customer Important to my Business”, “My role as a contact staff”, Welcoming Customers”, “Selling Techniques” etc.

This handbook is really a must read material and all business owners should absolutely buy them for all their staff.

I think we can all agree that lots of effort is being put in creating awareness and sensitizing the public on the need on improving Customer Care.

What of you, what are you doing or what have you done already? What measures have you put in place since this issue has been raised?
President Paul Kagame is today the first advocate of the need of improving customer care in the country.

The last time I heard him talk about this issue was at the Parliament this week when he was presiding the presentation of the 2009/10 Performance Contract.

He reminded local leaders that the biggest challenge facing the country today is poor customer care both in the private and public sectors.

What is your solution to this problem? The time to complain and to sit back is over.

Today is the right time to do something. We can’t just wait for solutions to come from heaven. We are all collectively responsible and need to tackle this issue today.

This implies that both the private and public sector have to create a customer oriented environment by putting in place systems that will help team members improve on their service delivery.

As a business owner or a public servant officer, let your people know that the only reason to remain in business is to have satisfied and loyal customers. There is no other option in today’s economic environment.

Let’s all understand that good customer service doesn’t come by accident. We have to make sure that the basic and cutting edge customer service skills are consistently implemented.

You definitely need to offer basic trainings for your team members. Organize meetings and discussions with them and allow them to tell you also what needs to be done in your organization.

If you need your team members to offer good customer care, you will also have to establish credibility, reliability and responsiveness towards your customers.

When there are challenges in meeting customers’ deadlines, be proactive. Don’t just wait. Take quick measures to show to your customers that you are doing the best you can to meet those challenges.

You also have to become the first person in this change of mentality. Be the example that your staff can follow.

Remember that Management is nothing more than motivating other people. As says Natalie Calvert “Great teams need great leaders - leaders who inspire, motivate and instill pride, loyalty and a sense of fun at work”

Decide today to be the one who motivates your team and who instill this culture of good customer service and you will definitely see the reward on your bottom line.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com

The author is a customer service expert working in Rwanda

NewTimes Article on the Customer care Handbook

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13981&article=18510

Book Review: First customer care

Iddosou exposes her book “Customer Care”

BY PENINNAH GATHONI

“What is this culture of mediocrity, we keep talking about customer service-we have identified the problem but we don’t do anything about it…,” President Paul Kagame said, according to one of the quotes from this book.

In this essence, we must now embark on focusing our efforts in fighting back customer care culture and the best way we will do this is equipping ourselves in knowledge of the subject.

Customer care trainer, Iddosou, who has 10-years experience in collaboration with Private Sector Federation (PSF), recently launched the first ever Rwandan Handbook on customer care to begin the journey of transforming customer care in the country.

“We know that there is a problem in customer services in the country presently, we need top begin finding solutions for this,” says Iddosou.

The 10-years experience in customer care and marketing in over 19 African countries, Iddosou has tailored the book to fit Rwandan setup by exploring examples within Rwandese context.

“I started writing this book two years ago after realising the great hunger people had to learn more in customer care from my trainings in the country,” Iddosou notes.

The hand book is a timely and simple introduction to customer care and its preliquistites; it is a valuable resource to any organization and individual business owners attempting to improve their customer handling techniques it provides a straightforward review of relevant customer care topics such as communication tips, attitudes, roles of contact persons, telephone etiquette, dealing with complains and so on.

“The handbook is an easy to understand, one day read that has been designed for anyone who comes in contact with customers from private, public sectors to retail shops,” says Iddosou.
The handbook she says will also be useful for vocational schools trainings and in other institutions so as to engage people in challenging their knowledge of the subject.

Iddosou says that the main challenge following the launch is Rwandans poor reading culture.
“The 46 page book is an easy read with interesting pictures all meant to encourage readership, I challenge Rwandans to read the handbook for a positive change in customer care,” says Iddosou.

The book comes at a time when the National steering committee in the process of launching a customer care campaign. Director of Membership events and communication PSF Yvette Mukarwema said “This book will be an educational tool in customer care, and will be used in support of the campaign coming up,”

Yvette implores Rwandans to read the book so that they can understand what is expected of them when handling their customers since many people have remained ignorant of it.

Iddosou notes that the book comes to challenge people to engage in dialogue and to identify avenues present to better customer services in the country.

The handbook comes also as a gift to the companies that will be voted as practising best customer care practice during the ongoing trade fair.

Its retail price stands at RWF 3000 in libraries and bookshops country wide a subsidised price by RDB.

According to Iddosou, the handbook first 5000 print copies are in Kinyarwanda and English 5000 copies each. The edition will be followed by many related ones.

Customer Care Handbook

The Customer Care Handbook written by Sandra IDOSSOU has been launched in Kigali.

The Private Sector Federation (PSF) was the main partner of this handbook that was sponsored by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). This handbook is in English and Kinyarwanda is an educational tool that deals with basic knowledge on Customer Care.

The user-friendly 46 pages handbook is targeted at all people with a direct contact with customers. The 14 chapters written in a simple language with many quotations is meant to be read within a short period.

Some of the 14 chapters in the handbook are :

1. What is Customer Care?

2. The Prerequisites of Customer Care

3. Why is the Customer Important?

4. Role of Contact staff

5. Welcoming Customers

This handbook is really a must read material and all business owners should absolutely buy them for all their staff.

How to have a succesful expo

http://newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13979&article=18424

OPINION:An expert’s call to having a successful Expo

With the ongoing Rwanda International Trade Fair at Gikongo, there are over 419 exhibitors from different sectors and countries all trying to sell their products.

Some have been lucky to go through the Customer Care training organized by the Private Sector Federation (PSF) to help them boost their customer care attitudes. Unfortunately, there are also many staff there without any basic training on what is expected of them.

When I went there on Thursday I passed in front of this stand where the lady who was just reading. She didn’t care about the number of people passing in front of her stand. She was not attracting people to enter her stand. And no one was entering her stand either.
I’m sure customers had the impression that they might be disturbing her, so they just decided to “leave” her do her reading.

If you are a business owner who has just put “any” person at your stand there, please take time to share this article with them. If your people at this expo offer good customer care, it will cost you about 80 percent less to secure a new customer than to make sales calls or attract new customers to your usual business.

Here are 7 criteria to have a successful expo and boost your sales.

1. Make your stand accessible and attractive
Please avoid plenty things at the entrance of your stand. Le your stand be appealing. Put effort in the decoration. Make sure your product stands out as a one-of-a-kind item. Don’t make customers jump over the products before entering.

2. Create a very good first contact
This means that you are standing at the entrance to attract people into entering your stand. Greet automatically all the visitors who walk by.
Products, no matter how great they are, don’t sell themselves. You must generate the excitement that gets people to buy. Know the styles and tactics to attract a crowd into your stand.

3.Welcome all visitors
“Good afternoon Sir”, “Hello Madam”, “Karibu client” must be said to all visitors. Let your staff show some eagerness when the customer walks in.
Of course, the greetings will be with a big smile. There is no way people will not be sensible to your smile. Your smile will show that you are happy to see the customer.

4. Know all the products you are selling
If you are a business owner at this expo, I will kindly request you to spend some time with your staff to explain the products to them. Let them know where they come from, how they work, what are the advantages.

Make sure your product stands out as a one-of-a-kind item. People won’t purchase a product if it’s readily available in other locations. Let your staff know the qualities of your products.

5. Learn to convince your customers
A sales person should be able to convince customers that his/her products are the best for them. Convincing means creating impulse sales based on a demonstration or a person trying out a product.

People are more convinced. Make visitors participate in a demonstration or interact with you during your presentation. That involvement will dramatically increase sales.

6. Avoid non professional attitudes
Have your stand look active at all times, but make sure people don’t pass your stand because no one is available to talk to them.

A successful stand needs a dynamic and cheerful staff. Avoid reading, chewing gum, discussing your private matters on the mobile phone in front of the customer; chatting with your friends while the customer is there.

Well, note that you have just few minutes with each customer. Let them leave your stand with a positive image of you and your business.

7. Thank every customer whether he buys or not
Expos are meant to create awareness of your company. Aim for the “after” expo as well. Give your contacts, flyers or brochures so that customers can visit your business even at the end of the expo.

This Trade show is a forum to display and demonstrate your products to potential buyers. Out of the 10,000 visitors expected everyday, make sure that at least 10 percent enter into your stand.

Make the calculation yourself. Everything lies in your hands as your own success depends largely on how well you will show customer care to all the visitors.

sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.comThe writer is a customer service expert working in Rwanda.