‘‘He is my Customer’’---The Irony of Customer Service in Ghana

Background

There is always a behavioral tendency and pattern of life that any major phenomenon leaves men with. This explains why men continuously absorb themselves in the task of exploring avenues to mitigate and manage any circumstances or eventualities that nature and other artificial exigencies courts for them.

Unfortunately, the erratic power supply, a phenomenon that has found a place in the Ghanaian lexicon in view of its notoriety, has brought so much discomfort to the social and economic lives of the good people of Ghana. Personally, I have been compelled to adopt a mitigating tactics to shield the attendant effects of the ‘Dumsor dumsor.’

To be spared the discomfort of the excess heat and darkness, I have added a repertoire of ritual to my schedule. On a lightless Sunday night, I will spend some time at a drinking spot to parasite their lights while taking some bottles of soft drinks.

This is how I have been spending my Sunday evenings since the power situation took a nose-dive.

My Experience

In my earlier visits to the drinking joint, I have been served and accorded with every ounce of courtesy and chivalries that comes with the jobs of waiters.

The regular waitress I met in my expedition has been affable. She would greet with smiles and respond to my request as swiftly as humanly possible. The warmth and allure of her reception has been resounding that the relatively long distance I have to ply to her spot has never been an impediment.

Turn of event

On this occasion, however, the tortoise went missing from its shell. 20 Minutes had passed and the request I had placed was not forth coming. I walked in to renew my request to her. I came back waiting until such time I wasn’t able to bear the delay any longer. At this point I was almost panting for patience. 

Out of frustration and dismay, I shouted for attention. It was at this point that I realized my regular attendant was seriously engaged in a conversation outside.

One worker draws her attention to my outburst only for her to exclaim: ‘‘He is my Customer ooo.’’ Her response got me thinking and mulling over customer service generally in our country.

Commentary

Until I came of age, I never understood why my mother would haggle over prices with those she bought from. I misinterpreted her action, young minded as I was. Indeed, I thought she was over-demanding, a scrooge and almost insensitive to the sellers, most of whom were her friends. My attempts to question the rationale behind her purchasing behavior was without success.

But some bitter lessons and experiences that have come my way as buyer and essentially, a customer, have afforded me a better appreciation of my mother’s purchasing behavior. I have learnt to develop a cynical attitude and tougher skin towards sellers who will usually query: ‘Are you not my customer?’ 

I have come to realize that on many occasions that a seller alluded to our long standing buyer/seller relationship, I will usually end up either paying more for an item or making a wrong purchasing decision.

Perhaps that was why I did not take kindly and lightly the waitress’ remark. Did it make sense for her to mete out such treatment to me, especially as she could identify me as her customer? or my status as a customer warranted that I could be treated with impunity and such flagrant disdain. Was it a case of familiarity breeding contempt?

These were some of the questions that I had been broaching and mulling over while I sipped my chilled bottle of Coke.

But I couldn’t blame her, neither would I confront her on her rather rare behavior on that day.

Customer Service Generally.

I ordinarily do not like to generalize. But on this occasion I am tempted to do same, as many of my customer service experiences have not been good, generally.

I dare submit that most of the services that I have been provided with, even those at a higher corporate level have generally not been the best. Many companies take its customers for granted on many fronts. 

Need not I remind my readers of some of the unacceptable receptions and avoidable delays and frustrations people are subjected to before a service is rendered. In this regard, most Public institutions are highly culpable.

Rather than spend resources to better service provision, most of these resources are directed towards huge marketing campaigns which only goes to add up to heaps of unfulfilled and unfeasibly vague value propositions.

Some companies whose marketing efforts earn them customer loyalty end up falling to the jinx of familiarity. No genuine efforts are made to keep and sustain the loyalty they have obtained.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

• ·         A company’s, for that matter a seller’s, duty is not only to obtain customers.Strenuous effort towards retaining our customers must be an uncompromising priority.

• ·         Customer loyalty must never be taken for granted. It should never be the reason or an excuse for us to treat them with contempt.

• ·         The customer cannot be always right. While their needs and expectations are key, companies must never lose sight of the need not to compromise on quality and standards.

• ·         Consistency and Integrity must be the watchword grounding every customer service.

Samuel Osarfo Boateng

samuelcreasta@gmail.com

samuelcreasta.blogspot.com

Researcher/Writer