Are Your Customers Running Away?

Have you recently had a bad customer service experience? Let me tell you about mine.

A few weeks ago, I went to Adlife Plaza in Hurlingham to shop at the supermarket before rushing to attend a meeting. I was lucky enough to get parking near the front entrance and dashed out with only my purse and car keys.

Moments later, on returning to my car at the now near empty parking I found a huge dent on my bumper. I hunted down the security guard, hoping he would at the least have seen the car that scarred mine. Yet that turned out to be harder than I hoped. His initial reaction to my problem was denial, denial, denial followed by complaints of his own: they were understaffed and they did not have a cctv camera at that parking spot.

The back and forth with the guard seemed futile so I insisted on speaking to someone with more authority. Off we went to see the building manager who, believe it or not, turned out worse. First, she kept on insisting that the car could have been hit before I entered their premise. She then preceded to tell me that whether or not I was hit at their premise I should have read the sign at their parking entrance which, dismissed them of any and all liability. It was then that she turned from me, stared back at the documents on her table that I realized I was dismissed. 

I’ve never gone back. 

So is there such a thing as good customer service? Sure… 

Check the social media platforms, there are plenty. With some people dedicating whole websites to tell stories of exceptional service. Remember the Safaricom employee who was photographed assisting a disabled customer and in the process got nationwide recognition. It’s the kind of story that you’ll remember, refer to constantly and feel the need to share. Unfortunately, in Kenyan businesses, this need to serve is also a rarity. 

In the recent years, Kenyan companies have been giving more attention to customer acquisition, but why isn’t there more focus on keeping and delighting the customers with exceptional customer service?

Reasons for Poor Customer Service in Kenya

At the root of our poor customer service in Kenya are these five reasons.

1. Good customer service is hard. It is emotionally and mentally taxing to deal with annoyed, rude people. Dealing with customers is not easy. No two are the same. While one customer might be reasonable and understanding the other may be argumentative and illogical. But giving equal attention to both of their problems in a professional manner can lead you to discovering better solutions to your customers’ needs.

2. The right hire. A lot of our companies don’t select the right people or train them properly to deal with customer issues. Although they might be cheaper initially to hire, they can end up costing the company a lot more if they are unsuitable for the role and not properly trained for the job.  

3. Companies don’t put enough emphasis on the importance of good customer service. Because it cannot be directly measured and it isn’t as sexy as sales growth, customer service usually ends up being ignored. However, technology has opened up platforms for people to share and compare their experiences. How well or bad the company is rated can now inevitably affect its bottom line.  

4. There is an overemphasis on cost as companies’ scale. This causes the replacement of caring people with automation which does not always translate to more sales. The continual growth of customer centric companies like Zappos dispels this myth.

5. Companies don’t treat their employees in a service-oriented way, and thus the employees don’t see the need to service customers. Catchy statements like “Delight Our Customers” sound great in a marketing aspect but it should also be translated into reality. Employees are the first ambassadors to the company, management should treat them as they would the customer.

Urgent Need to Fix Things

In the era of mobile communications, social media, and heightened awareness, the importance of excellence in customer service is more urgent. Those companies that adapt, listen to customers, treat crisis urgently, and understand the impact and importance of good customer service will thrive. Emphasis on building a great relationship with the customer and their loyalty will help grow your business. If not, then like me, your customers will be saying goodbye to shopping in Adlife.