Celebrating the Kenyan Customer @50

Kenya’s Customer Service Week was recently celebrated at the end of November 2013 with an impressive figure of over 50 companies from both the private and public sector participating to demonstrate their commitment to appreciating and recognizing their internal and external customers. The week’s theme was “Celebrating the Kenyan customer at 50” in line with the country’s Jubilee Celebrations and organizations conducted various activities that left their customers feeling valued and appreciated including job swaps, provision of gift hampers, customer service quizzes, tips and training on customer service, red carpet welcome for customers, provision of refreshments and awards and recognition of customer service champions.

This then brought to the fore the question – where is the Kenyan customer placed 50 years down the line? Has anything changed? Has it been a good 50 years for the Kenyan customer? Does customer service in the country celebrate milestones in this period? Is the Kenyan customer celebrating and being celebrated?  I suppose the answers would be as varied as individuals’ appreciation of service and their levels of expectation, but in general some gains have been made and there are lots more gains out there to be made to raise the standards of service excellence.

Communication with customers has improved with many service providers setting up call centres, e-help desks and joining the social media fray in a bid to be more responsive and communicate and engage with their customers. Customers are now better able to demand service and communicate their feedback on great or poor service as rendered. The social media platform particularly has shifted the attention corporates give to customer service to placement of more concerted efforts by the sheer number of users reached by service posts. The over quoted postulation by Jeff Bezos about one complaint on the internet reaching 6 million people isn’t overrated in its virulence. It is so and organizations are stepping up to claim their social media space. Another positive trigger effect is that monopolies that had hitherto assumed that customers will always be yoked to them are now sitting up and listening because the brand damage on the social media streets is enough to get any CEO off their high backed power chair to demand customer service intervention to reverse the trend.

The fad of putting up customer service charters seems to have taken the country by storm as well. And in as much as the writing on the wall may not translate into actualization, the fact that the organizations have thought through the brand promise and service delivery standards they would like to commit to their customers and documented these and proudly hang them up on their walls and posted them on their websites counts for much. The next step would then be to have systems and structures in place to deliver on these promises and for customers to be discerning enough to agitate for the promises to be delivered.

The government is also stepping up its efforts to deliver service to Citizens with every ministry, agency and department subject to a performance contract and the cabinet secretaries accountable for the overall service delivery. The public rating of public service has also served to put leaders on their toes if for nothing else to avoid the shame of being on a list-of-shame for non performance. The country was also pleasantly surprised by the recent introduction of the pilot citizen services center – Huduma, put up as an integrated one stop shop where citizen services are to be provided from one central location.

By and large there have been major service improvement milestones in both the public and private sector and there is a growing consciousness to put customers at the center of every organization’s focus. The role of customer service is slowly being accepted as critical and appears in many organization charts albeit often not at the very top. It is important to celebrate these baby steps for the much touted adage about every journey starting with a single step holds true, and these baby steps will soon be fully fledged runners’ sprints in the direction of celebrating the Kenyan Customer. Customer service is the driver of business that fuels return on investment and thus requires due recognition. I laud the Institute of Customer Service Kenya for recently launching The Service Excellence Awards 2014 during the customer service week that cut across industry and will seek to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the success of corporates and individuals that provide exemplary customer service. Indeed the baby steps seem already to be taking off into a baby run at this rate?

The icing on the cake that would make the next 50 years a joy for the Kenyan customer would be to have customer service hold sufficient weight and take its rightful place right next to its sisters marketing, public relations and communications and have a comprehensive curriculum in the country’s institutions of higher learning. Customer service practitioners currently are persons who have studied other professional programmes, have a passion and flair for service and as an offshoot take up customer service roles. There is no degree programme that reads ‘Bachelor of Customer Service’ or say ‘Bachelor of Commerce – Customer Service’. This is indeed a cataclysmic cavity, a gaping canyon that needs to be filled towards the dream of raising the customer service game nationally.

I throw down the gauntlet to all customer service practitioners and enthusiasts to make dramatic history that will make for interesting reporting in the next 50 years by consolidating efforts and rallying together to develop curriculum, creating partnerships to institute customer service as a subject of focus and influencing  government policy, decision makers and opinion leaders to raise the profile of customer service in this country and fly its flag high. And that ladies and gentlemen is our Kenya@50 Customer Service Challenge. Are we up to the task?

Are Some Customers More Equal Than Others?

Most of us have either heard of or read Animal Farm an allegorical novel by George Orwell set in 1917. A simplistic novel about a farm where the leadership of the farm declared all animals on the farm equal in status, but as was discovered in their farm life and leadership tenets, some animals seemed more equal than others a depiction of the happenings in the Stalin era during the Russian revolution. An experience a friend of mine – Let’s call her Mahwam  narrated to me recently on her salon experience had me flash back to my high school days where we read this book with much intrigue, arguing passionately against the injustice of the unspoken inequality. 

So I now ask, in the salon industry, are there some customers that are more equal than others? Are there situations that call for unequal treatment? Mahwam for example, had booked her hair stylist whom we shall call Rose for a 1 o’clock appointment last Thursday to wash up, condition, gel and style up her locks.  She had tried to get a booking the day before but Rose had told her she had another booking, so the appointment was set for Thursday. So Mahwam called up at 1pm to confirm that she was enroute as her office is a 2 minute walk from the Salon and Rose informed her that her previous appointment was quite late, but she knows what she would do to manage the situation. What Rose had planned was to have someone else wash and condition Mahwam’s hair then she’d take time out from the late customer to twist up and gel it into a hairstyle.

So Mahwam went to the salon, and someone else undid her previous hairstyle, and washed her hair which she didn't mind. While the wash was ongoing, Rose came over to the sink and informed her that the late client had refused to have her take a break from her hair and would not let someone else do a bit of it while Rose attended to her. She then requested Mahwam to please have someone else do her hair instead. Mahwam who has had previous unpleasant experiences with other people doing up her hair and had specifically booked Rose  declined indicating that  didn’t  like that proposal  and that she had already made an appointment and wouldn’t have it ruined by another client who did not honour their timing. Rose tried to make the request again but Mahwam was not agreeable wondering what indeed then was the use of an appointment booked 2 days ago if someone else could come and interfere?

To cut the long story short, Mahwam left the Salon with her locks washed but not gelled and twisted and to use her own words ‘looking like a real Mungiki’. The outcome of this incident is that Mahwam has ditched Rose. She acknowledges that Rose does a very good job and she has been with her for a while – in fact she’d changed salons to this new one as Rose had moved from a previous place - but that if accessing her services has proved such a difficult process and that then after securing a booking she’s passed over for another, then she’d rather look for someone else.

I have a few questions to ask at this point. One – was it worth the business received to have a loyal customer leave with a sour taste in her mouth? Two – what could Rose have done differently in this situation to have a favourable outcome for all? And three – besides Rose, what did the management of the Salon do about the situation occurring between an employee and a customer in their establishment?

Thinking about this unfortunate incident, the message out to Mahwam as a customer was that she was indeed not as important as the previous customer and that the rules of the game could be twisted to suit someone else who turned up late for their appointment. Many of us have been in a situation where we are in the middle of having our hair or nails done and the stylist requests to do another quick job in between like an eyebrow shaping or quick styling. Whereas this multitasking does take up some time in between one’s already ongoing procedure, many customers do not mind if  the stylist makes a kind request. However, if the customer is not agreeable, their wish should be honoured for interruptions to service should be at the discretion of the present customer.

In Mahwam’s case, there was outright discrimination. One is left to wonder if the late customer was paying more or having a more expensive procedure done or what motivated the decision to choose who to disappoint?  Was the late customer more important? Rose was indeed out of order and should have had her late customer inconvenienced rather than the one who had followed the rules. Also, if Rose had judged that indeed there would be a problem, it would have been in order for her to let Mahwam know in advance when she called that there was a tricky situation at hand before she reached the Salon in order to have her make an informed decision to still come in to have her hair done or otherwise.

Customer loyalty in the service industry is pegged on how appreciated a customer feels. Does your customer special? Do they feel acknowledged? Do they feel important? If the answer to these three questions is a resounding yes, then you have a loyal customer who will be a raving ambassador for your services.

To have excellent customer service an avoid situations such as Mahwam’s we need to make sensible decisions and remain true to our brand promise and our word. If we have made a particular promise to our customers, we should stick by that and deliver as best possible. Our word should be bankable without second thought. Time is considered very precious with customers’ current busy lifestyles  and any situation deemed to be wasting one’s time or not honouring the preciousness of it, will have the customer easily ditch one service provider for another.

Special treatment should be accorded to all customers in a like fashion. There should be consistency of service and standards upheld for all customers. As is said, one unhappy customer tells 23 others about it and the experience gets wilder with each new telling. And in the case of Mahwam’s not only did she tell her story, but left the Salon and Rose’s services never to return. A bad reputation is quite a challenge to mend and we should endeavour not to ruin it in the first place rather than struggling to redeem it once dented.

So what is our extract from Mahwam’s experience? What does one need to do differently? What should be at the fore of our decision making when faced with two conflicting customer desires? We should at the very basic, look at what was promised and honour that. One may end up disappointing one customer, but even the disappointed customer will acknowledge that even if not in their favour, one stuck by their word and honoured it at all costs and may even reluctantly imagine that the same would be done in their favour if the situation arose.

The experts define a good brand as a promise made and a promise kept. The key question today is – What brand promise is your Salon making to your customers? And are you keeping that promise no matter the cost? Challenge yourself today and start making the difference that will have your Salon be a formidable brand.

Stoking the Fire

I am running, the weather's beautiful, the tarmac beneath my feet that are encased in fabulous Asics Gel Noosa 7 running shoes that cushion every step, feels great. Each step taking me toward restoring a child's sight. Yes I am at the Standard Chartered Marathon running 21km, I am doing my good deed for the month. Life is indeed beautiful.

I am with my friend Monica, who generally  talks nineteen to the dozen. We run and talk and run some more. We are going strong, It is indeed a beautiful Sunday morning. We get to the 10km mark, and the heel injury that has been dogging me for the past few months begins to knock at the base of my foot. I ignore it, willing it away, squashing it out of existence and push for another kilometer. By this time the knock has turned into a pounding, the injury refuses to  lie still and be quiet, it comes out guns blazing, asserting who is boss. I slow down to a limping run. Monica looks back at me. I point at my foot. She nods knowingly, and as is the case with everyone around me, they are acutely aware of my heel injury and had tried to persuade me to keep of the marathon or at least if I insisted on doing it like I had, to walk the route.

I wasn't about to listen to the nay sayers, after all what was a mere heel to put me down? A tiny part of my body that resides underfoot? No no no no - I had declared earlier that if it was some significant body part like my heart or lungs or brain, that those would be worth considering, but not my heel.

I was however eating humble pie. The heel I had dismissed was grinding me to a halt literally. I limped along determined, ignoring the sympathetic looks from fellow runners. As we got to about the 14 kilometer mark, just after the  turning near Panari,  I fell into step with other walkers, trying to block out my foot's protestations as we walked. 

Right then, I looked ahead and on the far left by the roadside near Eka Hotel, I saw my children. Standing by the roadside about 50 meters ahead, scanning the crowd of runners, looking for their Mum. We live not too far from Mombasa Road and my children had come out to look for me and cheer me on. I took one look at their anxious faces, looking out for me, then looked at my misbehaving foot  and then at them again and from sources unknown to me the power of Usain Bolt took over my body and I began to run, I ran with the wide strided gait of David Rudisha, and ran with the speed of Mo Farah.  I ran past my children, gave them an enthusiastic energy filled Olympic style wave, saw their eyes light up as they waved back, and   I kept on running. And as I couldn't quite determine just how far their little bright eyes could see, I kept running for about a kilometer then literally ground to a halt, dragging my bad leg after me. Walking painfully, inching along.

The people around me were decidedly perplexed at how I had gone from limping hobbler, to marathon sprinter, to foot dragger in minutes. I pushed on, ignoring their expressions of concern. I had to finish. The ambulance personnel drove up and said ' Mama Tukubebe?' 'Mama can we carry you?' I fervently turned down their offer. I was determined to finish and so I did. Crawled painfully to the finish line and received my finisher's medal. 

I got home to a heroes welcome. My children were extremely proud of me. My elder son put my medal around his neck and showed it off to the entire court. My younger son told anyone who cared to listen 'My Mummy was running so fast! She was passing people!' I looked at my proud children and the excruciating pain in my right foot suddenly didn't matter in the least. It was worth the pain ten times over.

When I look back at this incident, the lesson I draw is that  when there's something significant at stake, then one can surmount all manner of obstacles to achieve their dreams. What was at stake here was the need to not disappoint my loved ones that transcended physical pain. And so I put it to you that, when indeed there is something that means a lot to you at stake, you will go beyond your comfort zone literally to achieve it. Nothing will stand in your way. And so therefore when I took the bold leap to abandon employment and delve into the world of consulting there was too much at stake. Lives literally depending on me. And so in essence, when I start to make mediocre excuses and give my work less attention than it deserves to catapult me to the next level, I think about my marathon adventure and remind myself the ultimate prize I am gunning for, the vision for victory of the game I am playing and the high stakes I have wagered in the game of life - and I keep pushing and keep stoking the inner fire to keep burning. And I challenge you to do the same too.

The Techie's Dilemma on Customer Service

This article first appeared in Business Journal Africa - Empowering Africa's Entrepreneurs - Issue No 162 of Oct 2013

Picture this scenario and reflect on just how familiar it sounds… Your computer is frustrating you thoroughly, it is behaving in a manner likely to suggest that it will not cooperate with the instructions you are meting out. You are unable to retrieve the application you would like to use or your computer for no apparent reason is just hanging there winking at you, not responding to your commands, brazen with impunity. Had it been a youthful generation Y Kenyan it would have in brush script plastered on the screen ‘Uta Do?’ (So???) In the spirit of not giving up you have made several attempts at rebooting and troubleshooting that have borne no fruit. So you do what you need to do and call up the ICT support person in your organization’s ICT department. And right here begins ‘The Techie’s Dilemma on Customer Service.’

So the gentleman from support comes over( no gender bias intended – for some unfathomable reason, the support chaps are next to always gentlemen), listens to your computer woes, takes one look at you then at the computer, touches one thing and only one thing, clicks on it and voila! everything sorts itself out. And the good gentleman after performing this magical act looks at you like you are a complete dunderhead with regards to ICT matters. Ok yes yes yes you are and if you were not you’d have performed that magical thing that he did right there, but does he have to shoot those looks that spell ‘idiot’?

The thing about customer service which is the main function of an ICT help desk or support desk is that it requires a tricky balance between being a technical person able to diagnose and troubleshoot users’ problems whilst understanding their needs and being a people oriented customer service type person. Would this be an outlier? Is this something completely unexpected, out of the box and too good to be true? The two more often than not most unfortunately do not go together. People with customer service flair are very often found in their line of work, handling customer service portfolios and dealing with people, and people who are highly technical and great at working intimately with gadgets and gizmos are just that – techies.

So what does it take for the techie to be aligned towards talking to people and helping them out even when their queries and needs seem so simplistic and a total waste of precious techie innovation time? How does the techie balance between the need to quickly rectify the situation and have the user back on track and the need to explain to the user what has happened and what they need to do should the situation arise again? Is this an ‘outlying’ quest? Does this sound like something that would be the exception rather than the norm?

Given that most user support departments are very busy and support officers are in high demand in the organizations they serve, precious time that would be taken to explain to a user in completely lay terms to enable them understand the root cause of their ICT problem, what they would need to do to ensure it either doesn’t happen again or if it does how to sort out the problem on their own, is simply not available. The almost classroom nature that this conversation would need to take including a demo and the participant actually carrying out the troubleshooting process would indeed consume a significant amount of time, a luxury the support department does not have.

The key performance indicators for these departments always revolve around logging of support calls and the turnaround time taken to resolve user issues. The more users served in a day and the quicker the support person arrives and leaves behind a sorted out customer, the better the department’s performance against targets.

The million dollar question therefore remains – is the sorted out customer a satisfied customer? Is there truly a way to balance between dispensing of technical duty and providing good customer service? Or is this one of those ‘outlying’ situations, never to be heard of except for once in a green moon? The customer in question is generally the internal customer. Some of whom require the services of the support department to sort out the external customers coming to the organization directly or procuring goods or services from the organisation. So essentially it is important for this internal user to get the best out of the ‘internal service provider’.

So where does this leave the user support techies? First tip would be to have the support personnel adjust the way in which they look at and perceive the internal user. The user should be viewed as a ‘customer’ and not as a colleague. This will serve to have the support personnel’s attitude towards the user shift towards one of providing customer service literally and not support service. And as is said, attitude is everything. Once this switch happens, the values of helpfulness and patience will dock in of their own accord. Does this sound outlandish perhaps?

The support personnel would also need to literally put themselves in their customers’ shoes and imagine what the person’s frustrations are, their lack of technical aptitude to deal with them and the ripple effect of their not being able to perform the tasks at hand on the overall organization’s achievement of goals. Once the bigger picture is in place, sorting out an individual’s issues will be seen in the bigger picture of enabling the organization to achieve corporate objectives and strategy. This vision should have the values of helpfulness and patience once again dock in of their own accord.

Another initiative the support department would need to engage in that would add value, would be to document the most frequently asked questions that do not require technical support and can be resolved at user level, and to then develop a user guide with step by step simple pictorials and screen shots that outline how to resolve the issue. A ‘Help Desk 101 for ICT Idiots’ manual of some sort. This can then be sent out to the users to save in an easily accessible place. Once a call is placed through to the support desk and the support team establishes that indeed the problem at hand is one of these, they can refer the user to the guide and only if they are unable to resolve the issue then pay a well deserved visit to their desk. This will provide benefits two fold as the support team would save precious time and the user would feel empowered by the self sufficiency of problem resolution. Mission Impossible? Perhaps not…

In the mean time, whilst business are lining up their front office teams and customer facing teams for customer service and brand alignment training, the support team should be right up there in the budget allocation with the rest of them. Friendly and pleasant user support experiences will duly enhance internal customer service, a key ingredient towards achieving excellent external customer service and delivering on the organization’s brand promise.

Customer Service And Your Doctor

This article first appeared in Pregnant Magazine -Pregnancy & Birth Magazine For Today's Woman and Her Man.. Issue 50

Recently my good friend told me a story about a ‘nightmarish’ paediatrician. Her regular doctor had travelled and had someone else sitting in her place. This new doctor apparently was very brisk and all business like. Spoke only to my friend and did not even once turn to talk to or acknowledge her child. In the space of less than five minutes, this doctor had listened to the symptoms, opened up the child’s clothes, palpated his stomach, locating the pain point only by the child’s anguished cry of pain, prescribed medicine and quickly rushed them out whilst ushering in the next patient.  Needless to say after my friend’s narration, I quickly noted down the doctors name and full details. And although I don’t know her and have never seen her, I am completely certain that I will never visit her clinic under any circumstances. I have also told as many people as I know and care about who have children this same story. Bad news does travel fast.

This story got me thinking about why in the medical fraternity, customer care seems to take a back burner compared to other sectors. A doctor’s practice is indeed a business isn’t it? Would any business owner travel and leave their business in the hands of another practitioner who does not greet the main client or make them feel at home? Who doesn’t listen to them, proceeds to prod and pummel them, give them instructions and quickly send them on their way? How good is this behaviour for business? Does this kind of service guarantee that customers will be overflowing at the doorstep rushing in to patronize business? The answer is indeed rather obvious right?

Most of us feel completely powerless while at the doctor’s office. Whereas during interactions in other areas of life, we may be completely empowered and vocal, at the doctor’s we are quite mum and I often wonder why. Is it because we are still rooted in the concept that the doctor is ‘god’ that was installed in our childhood? Where the doctor was this wonderful being sent down to earth to cure us of all our ailments? That all one had to do was go to the doctor’s office, describe one’s problems and a magic pill would be prescribed that would take it all away?

Or is it the then and still continuing over glorification of doctors? Where the medical profession was and is still deemed to be more superior to other professions? Where one’s parents basked in the glory and elevation of societal praise if their son or daughter was studying medicine and were the subject of admiration and envy?

Much has changed and is still changing and the current patient is more discerning and requires much more from their doctor at a partnership level. No longer is the doctor- patient relationship a ‘superior –inferior’ relationship but has moved on to being a ‘partner-in-the-process-of-my- medical-care’ relationship.

Let’s take for example the waiting room experience. Many patients are not clear about the systems in place and the process to see the doctor. This is often left to the dictates of the personnel at the doctor’s front office. Some doctor’s offices run on an appointment system and some on a walk in basis. Whichever way, very often there are patients snuck into the register in between appointments or who are said to have come earlier( although not physically present) and are ushered in to see the doctor before others  waiting in the queue. The machinations of the front office staff, who manipulate the queue and appointment systems, leave many patients whispering in angry protest in waiting rooms.

It is important to rise above being a victim in such a situation and make a polite request to receive an explanation as to how the booking or queuing system works. The persons administrating the system will be hard put not to respond to a polite request to know how exactly the system works. This way, once you know how it works and they know that you know, it will be quite difficult for them to slip in extra patients and do favours to those who have not booked. If all the customers asked or if there was a request from the customers to have the process put on process map on the notice board or on the wall for all customers to be aware, it would curtail the underhand dealings.

Communication is also another area that is besieged with obvious lack and leaves a lot to be desired. What kind of communication does a patient deserve? What questions should you ask your doctor and when? Every patient needs to continuously ask questions. No question should be deemed too silly where your health or the health of your little one is concerned. Ask Ask Ask. We should take a cue from little children going through the ‘why’ phase who usually ask why? why? why? to every question, driving their parents insane as they think up reasonable and rational answers to the innocent questions. The same principle should apply. You should ask the doctor why why why until you have understood exactly what is happening, the reason for the choices being made and why a particular course of treatment or prescription is being recommended.

At no point should one be rushed into a procedure or coerced into doing anything. Seek to understand and be relentless in your quest for information. Conduct research and look up information from a wide variety of sources. Nowadays there’s tons of information online and there are many groups resourceful in providing answers. A word of caution though, is that one should not blindly follow lay advice from peers, but take the proffered advice and bounce it off your doctor for clarification. Do not hesitate to seek a second, third or even fourth opinion. It doesn’t hurt and will only serve to confirm the wisdom of your proposed choice or otherwise. Go with your gut feel. No matter how inexperienced or green you may be in the health matter you are dealing with, respect your instinct and your gut feel and ask for more information until you feel comfortable. You need not reach a point in your life where you say ‘I wish I listened’ Listen in advance. And should your doctor not be willing to answer your questions and provide you the information you seek, look for another doctor who will. Immediately.

And finally, have you ever wondered why there are some doctor’s waiting rooms completely full to capacity, where patients are willing to wait four or five hours to see the doctor? Where patients come ready to wait armed with their novels, tablets, toys to keep their children busy, office work to get on with, files and papers to read? Very busy and upward moving patients from all walks of life willing to wait out their turns patiently? What is it that sustains this phenomenon?

It is the doctor. You will find that once the patient is in the doctor’s room, their experience there is worth the long wait.  Every patient needs to be listened to, to be heard and to feel like they are indeed important. That everything they say however idiotic it may sound, matters and is addressed with the concern it deserves. What is the critical factor that should make one choose one doctor over another?  

A good doctor will handle each patient differently and address their unique and individual needs. A good doctor will remember what is important to you and seek to fulfill their promises. A good doctor will listen to complaints, however trivial they may seem and will take note of suggestions for improvement. Little things will be taken seriously. A good doctor will be available, respond to your telephone calls and texts, apologise should they be late and respect your time. A good doctor will take time to explain their course of action with regards to your treatment and ensure you are fully aware of your condition. They will be quick to let you know the repercussions, dangers and side effects of procedures and ensure you give informed consent. A good doctor will not feel that you are challenging them should you have new or contradictory information to what they have advised. A good doctor will not hesitate to let you know should they not have the answer to your question and need to consult their colleagues to provide you accurate information. A good doctor is your partner and friend who is as willing to learn from you as you are to learn from them. Does this describe your doctor?

Take a good look at the doctor in whose hands you are placing your life and the life of your little one and ask yourself this question – If this doctor made a mistake would they be willing to let me know? If the answer is yes, you are in good hands, if the answer is no, I invite you to take a good look around and find a doctor  whom you trust wholeheartedly – in the literal sense – ‘with all your heart’

Enhanced Customer Response Mechanisms for Manufactured Goods

This article first appeared in Commerce and Industry Magazine Vol 2 No 008 August 2013

When we conjure up images of well blended bone soup with the marrow and herbs all fused into a great tasting broth, the elements that make the sum total of the whole evoke a very warm feeling. When we list the terms customer service and the manufacturing industry side by side in pot, there seems to be some incongruence. No warm feeling emanates and the two are not seen to fit together like hand and glove as is the case with companies dealing directly with customers like those in the hospitality industry, banking, insurance or other retail sectors.

 

What comes to mind when we think of ‘manufacturing’ is lines, conveyor belts, machines, processors and power; all hard, cold, mechanical and functional elements. But giving it serious thought, we actually need to reconsider the fundamental role customer service plays in this industry. And as remote as it sounds with regards to the subject, customer service should in reality form the pivot around which manufacturing spins.

Let’s for starters take a look at the definition of manufacturing from various sources. ‘Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to make things for use or sale’, ‘To make or process raw material into a finished product’ and ‘To make or process goods, especially in large quantities by means of industrial machines’. All these definitions have once common denominator – end product. And naturally therefore, we ask the leading question about who this end product is ‘produced’ or ‘manufactured’ for. Yes - The Customer.

Why then is the end customer not given due recognition by the industry? To further explore this subject, I conducted a small poll amongst a sample group from my friends, colleagues and family and asked what they’d do if they found one of the manufactured products they’d bought had a problem. Many were not sure if they’d return the item to the supermarket or store where they bought it from or if they’d try and contact the manufacturer. What was clear however was that the procedure for complaint was definitely unclear.  Not one single person knew firmly what action to take in event of a product defect. When we juxtapose this with the service industry, it pales in comparison as there, aggrieved parties are very quick to escalate service failure to the supervisor or manager in charge.

I was inspired by these interesting results to further carry out an inspection exercise of the various manufactured goods on our super market shelves, to discern if the existing communication advises customers of what to do in event they encounter a product issue.  My scrutiny included a wide range of products including food products, a host of detergents, pet food, spices, toilet paper, beauty products and household goods. Much to my consternation, the products all have insufficient information on this subject.

 Most products had only the address and telephone contacts of the manufacturer under a title ‘Manufactured by’ or ‘Produced and packaged by’. Some had gone a little further to label the telephone lines ‘customer care’ lines and the closest to being remotely advisory, was on a box of cereal that read “in event of a problem with this product please return it with the label indicating the sell by date to our customer service department”. It didn't have specifics of their physical location or the location of the said customer service department. Three items had a toll free 0800 number that I called and didn't get through in two cases and in one case the number went unanswered.  These unstructured findings of my dipstick poll had me seriously consider preparing a proposal to interest our vibrant research firms to conduct a proper survey on the customer response mechanisms for our manufactured goods.

That all said, the question that still baffles, is how the manufacturing industry is driving change and innovating for the customer. There exists a concerted effort to check on quality control for products with in situ quality control departments, but what actually informs the initiatives in place to repackage, re-invent and revive products? How do they tap into customers’ direct feedback to assess the uptake of products and what needs to be done to tweak them to serve the emerging needs?  How does the industry innovate? It is said that innovative thinking is looking at the customer's routine outside the company’s existing products and then innovating to add value. How then should the manufacturing industry look at the customer and hear them first hand?

Having explicit information on product packaging on how to report a defect, complete with legit contact details should be the first and mandatory step. This packaging should also encourage other regular feedback to institute direct communication that enables the manufacturer hear straight from the ‘horse’s mouth’. This initiative would also have the added spin off of easier identification and reporting that would boost the government’s effort to curb the influx of sub-standard, counterfeit and contra-band good, as customers would be the first to call in to report fake products.

And although players in the manufacturing industry often view their main customers as the distributors and seek to streamline their orders, logistics and supply issues, the heartbeat remains unchecked. The 2011 study from Deloitte on Global Manufacturing Industry Practice says “The business model of global manufacturers is under attack due to changing customer demands. Confronted by competitors, escalating complexity of supply chains and ever-increasing customer demands, manufacturers ignoring the needs of the service business do so at their peril”.  The customer indeed needs to be at the centre of it all.

Given these observations and projections, the manufacturing industry in Kenya needs to rethink their service delivery strategy and build in communication streams that directly flow from the customer. Where applicable, a mechanism to channel back feedback provided to distributors in the supply chain should be built in.

With Kenya’s current economic lift off, manufacturing is among the key productive sectors identified for economic growth and development. This is attributed to its centrality to creation of economic stimulus, and the anticipated jobs for the youth in the counties countrywide, to alleviate poverty. It is therefore both our individual and collective responsibility to add value to the sector as an area that spurs growth towards the country’s achievement of Vision 2030 goals with specific reference to the economic vision in chapter 4 section 4.4 that challenges the nation to manufacture for the entire region.

So to all manufacturer s out there – I challenge you to ‘talk’ to your consumers and to all consumers out there – agitate to ‘talk’ to your manufacturers.

Of Banking and Nurah's Theatrics......

Today I have deeply reflected on the hugely devastating impact a single employee’s reckless behaviour on social media can have to the extent that it may result in bringing down a brand.

A friend put up an exasperated post on FaceBook about his extreme indignation that his bank, where he’d been a customer for the past 15 years, had as a result of ambiguous information, gotten him into a situation where a cheque he’d issued bounced.  For the sake of this post, we shall refer to my friend as Mahrin. In Mahrin’s frustrated post, he indicated he was now shopping for a new bank with the intention to close down his account. As you may imagine, there was lots of empathy and there were lots of proposals from his friends of banks with excellent service that he could immediately switch to. Mahrin’s flabbergast  was arising from the fact that he’d issued a cheque and received a notification alert that it had been paid out and he had a balance of -321Ksh, meaning  his balance was rendered negative as a result of this transaction. I would like to mention at this point that the overdrawn amount was so minimal in comparison to the cheque amount that should one care to do thee mathematics they’d need to multiply it by a hundred and sixty six.

Another friend in Mahrin’s friend’s list from the banking industry, and for the purposes of this post we shall refer to her as Nurah, came to the bank’s defence and explained to Mahrin that indeed it was his fault that he had insufficient funds to service his cheque.  I would like to point out here that this information was not put across politely. In response to her, many friends explained that banks have indeed changed their interactions with customers and that the least the bank could do in this case was to call up their dear customer and explain the circumstances and allow Mahrin to correct the anomaly or find a win-win situation. Nurah responded in quite a defensive manner that this was not the bank’s responsibility and that what was being demanded was not procedural and in fact in her words ‘a favour’ from the bank. This was then met with a volley of stunned responses commenting that banks are nowadays in partnership with their customers and Nurah’s postulation was quite the opposite. One friend quite aghast at this quickly looked up the bank that Nurah works for and indicated that he would soon publish on social media the atrocities she was spewing. And to my utter amazement Nurah responded to this suggestion and I quote “You may go ahead and go viral if you wish!”

I would like to proceed on here to report, that I noted with concern that indeed I wasn’t the only one who thought her behaviour and responses rather out of order. And when more comments appeared to confirm the same, the respondent continued on and on to explain technical details of why one must have sufficient funds in their account and not expect their bank to be their money monitor. And I once again reiterate – quite impolitely.  The friend did indeed fulfill on his promise and in 34 seconds had published the name of Nurah’s bank on the post thread.  As the bank is not one of the mainstream banks, one friend asked what bank that actually was and I couldn’t help but indicate that I didn’t know what bank it was but I was now aware that their employees had wanton audacity online. And like I am sure everyone on the conversation thread did, I looked up the bank’s website and noted with utter dismay that their brand promise is ‘Banking with a Smile’. I can assure you that I wasn’t smiling and I made a mental note to myself to never go near that bank under any circumstances. The said Nurah in various places further along the post kept putting out details quite impolitely,  of why the bank was ‘right’ and Mahrin was ‘wrong’.

At this point I cannot help but swing into my brand strategy management persona and point out three distinct things. One Mahrin’s fundamental complaint was that his bank did not value him despite long sustained customer loyalty, enough to communicate with him about his rather minor cheque situation; two, the bank sent a notification alert to indicate the cheque was paid out when in essence it wasn’t , a fact that the bank was unable to elucidate when he demanded an explanation; three, no amount of explanation on the technicalities of what happened was relevant, the complaint was about lack of and miscommunication and that was the only subject at hand.

So, Nurah’s reckless posting on social media has served to paint her bank in an extremely bad light, create a negative aura around it and have people who have never interacted with it completely switch off and dismiss it without a glance.  As a result of her being bullish, defensive and impolite, her bank has also been banded together with her and is now seen through this lens. For the readers of the FaceBook post and their numerous friends and friend’s friends – you may extrapolate as needed – the negative reflection remains. As we all are aware, brand reputation is built on positive word of mouth and recommendations. This is the most powerful tool a brand can use to build positive brand equity. If a random poll was conducted amongst the sample group roped into Mahrin’s post, the brand performance on the warm -feeling -meter would be in the negative realm. And yes, all of this as a result of one employee’s social media activity.

So what‘s the lesson to learn from all this? In one organization I worked for, employees had to read the company’s social media policy and as part of the employment guidelines and sign that they wouldn't participate in damaging social media activity that would link them to the brand. We are naturally associated with the brands we work for and we serve as either brand ambassadors or destroyers. What factors do those responsible for brand custody need to build in place to ensure that brand damage is not caused by internal customers?  As with this case, it is pretty apparent that the efforts made to protect brand reputation externally should be equally applied inwards, to the extent that employees are so loyal to the brand that they guard its reputation almost with their lives. How does a brand attain this level of internal brand engagement and subsequent passionate brand loyalty?

This is a subject for debate amongst the brand gurus for it is one thing to develop strategy and advocate for internal facing initiatives, and it is another to inspire the people to deliver on the brand promise – Always.

And yes – I will leave this debate for another day………………

The Forgotten Link - Riches From Within

This article first appeared in Business Journal Africa - Empowering Africa's Entrepreneurs - Issue No 161 of Sept 2013

I recently attended the launch of the UNDP report ‘Realizing Africa’s Wealth – Building Inclusive Businesses for Shared Prosperity’.  An in-depth and well researched report, providing the status quo on inclusive business and its promise in Africa, with insights from in-depth enterprise and partnership case studies, expert interviews and survey responses from across the continent. What struck a chord for me was a research finding that I have related to the largely unexplored area, of the role that the internal customer plays with regards to service delivery and business return on investment.

An excerpt from the report records ‘Our research shows that companies and entrepreneurs need support with information, incentives, investment and implementation in order to successively implement and scale inclusive business. Data from individuals enables the development of marketing strategies as well as information on new products and processes that companies can use to build inclusive businesses’.

This concept revolves around the importance of internal data and dynamics to make relevant and informed business decisions. What is often top of mind when organizations think about data and information gathering, is to outsource a third party research firm to conduct market surveys and product viability studies. The key resource that would provide pertinent up to date information is often overlooked and largely ignored. In a business environment, the persons with the most relevant information on what works or doesn’t work are the key players in the field. These are people that come to work every day, that follow the laid down procedures and that manufacture the products or provide the service.

The staff at every level interact on a daily basis with the processes, products and in the service industry, the actual customers. They are the first hand players who  know which areas on the field are bumpy, where the grass is worn out, where the markings have faded, when the goal posts are misaligned and require realignment, when the gradient is skewed and when it is time to take a step back and overhaul the entire field. What better source would there be to get information on what is workable or not, and which processes are time and resource efficient or otherwise? What better source of information could there be to advise on what makes a more user friendly interface and what would significantly ease the process and cost of production?

It is these same players who face feedback from customers on a real time platform and can at the drop of a hat articulate the pain points that customers face. It is the staff of an organization that are accosted by their relatives, friends and other members of their networks when the brand they work for has goofed or has excelled, with raw unedited feedback that would make excellent fodder for improvement strategies.

It is my postulation therefore, that more attention should be given to the internal customers in an organization. A specific strategy should be drawn up to seek feedback from staff on what they think would improve the products and services that the company offers. It would be useful as well to have information from them on what would improve interdepartmental efficiencies, and how processes could work better.  Every organization should have an ideas management system, complete with a methodology to manage the ideas depository, discussion structure and development mechanism if viable.  The richest resource of innovative ideas lies with staff that already have vested interest in making things better. If ideas are warmly welcomed and due acknowledgement is given when they morph into real tangible outcomes, the motivation for staff to think outside the box and explore new options will be limitless.

The internal customer strategy should take on a formal and systematic approach as would be assigned to any external parties. The mapping of interdepartmental customer service relationships, and the initiation of service level agreements between internal departments, should be given the same attention and seriousness that would be accorded to an external party that the company would be entering into a contract with.

Internal customers are also a brilliant source of competitor information. They are privy to what the competition is undertaking and receive information from parties in their networks who know they’d appreciate the leads and tips. Staff are also a good source of mystery shopping data, as they are able to scout about and compare similar products and services to the organization’s offerings, given their already intimate knowledge of what the company does. This information should be valued on receipt and a concerted effort made to encourage staff to seek out useful competitor information.

The beautiful spin off of having internal customers who feel like ‘resource consultants’ is that the employees feel valued as a key contributor to the company’s success. Word of mouth is the biggest seller and if an organization has a work force that are raving brand ambassadors, that serves to improve brand positioning and direct marketing at no added cost.  Pro­vid­ing great and focused inter­nal cus­tomer ser­vice is imper­a­tive to a company's suc­cess.  Invest­ing in staff with the same level of attention and focus as would be attributed to external resources will increase employee job sat­is­fac­tion. And having happy employees has a direct and quantifiable echo effect on external cus­tomer sat­is­fac­tion. In relation therefore, the effect of exemplary customer satisfaction on the company’s balance sheet is unquestionable. Organizations are literally sitting on a gold mine in-house unaware of the rich resources within their walls. 

According to the Service Profit Chain Report (Harvard Business Review 2010 ER/12-14) “businesses that look at their organization as a microcosm of many customers and suppliers within the overall company and within departments themselves are highly successful. Customer service must become a requirement for the entire organization with a key focus on internal service. There is a direct correlation between internal reflection and focus and the business balance sheet”.

The challenge therefore to all businesses is to place internal customer dynamics on a strategic platform and to include it as one of the key elements in the organization’s corporate strategy, and then sit back and watch the revenue performance. 

The Guy Sporting the Hot Pink Business Suit - Maybe not a misnomer?

We were in the supermarket aisle last Wednesday picking up our usual 10 pack of white tissue rolls, when my son pulled out a pack with pink rolls and asked ‘Mum, this pink tissue paper is for girls?’ I had a rather challenging time explaining that pink tissues can be used by everybody and are not the reserve of little girls. I then started to wonder where this whole pink and blue typing came from and how pink became a girl colour and blue a boy colour. And pretty much the entire world abides by these rules from childhood unto adulthood, for to date it is claimed that men that have been spotted sporting a corporate pink shirt, can only be described as a brave and daring lot. A slightly bigger group have increased their bravery and adventured into pink ties, but even as they wear them, they do so with a streak of bravado. And indeed when we come across this lot, we immediately chalk them down to being, bold, daring and dashing.

So, this provokes us to delve into the role that stereotypes and stereotyping play in our world of service delivery. Is this a good or a bad thing to do? Are the assumptions that we make about people from different backgrounds, religions, cultures, countries and socio –economic divides, helping or ruining our cause to up the service delivery bar?

Where do we draw the line between knowing our customers and ‘judging’ them? For it is not all West Africans that are loud, not all vertically challenged people sensitive or dread lock haired persons defiant right? When does one use their knowledge of a given group to aid the cause of handling a customer as they assume would be best desired, or cast these pre conceived ideals aside and put on a generalized good service format?

It does help significantly to understand a group’s dynamics and assume a stance that would make them more comfortable and make their transactions more enjoyable. I've thought about a strategy we used when I worked at a Hospital not too long ago. We felt that it was generally safe to assume that fathers with ill children unaccompanied by the child’s mother would be extremely troublesome, impatient and quick to react to delays or interruptions to service. We chalked that down to their not being in control, having a unwell child and generally operating out of their comfort zone, while playing the role of the comforter, many of who took to this circumstance like fish out of water. It was our general rule therefore to already be aware of this underlying factor and handle these fathers with a different set of gloves –pun-intended- to preempt explosive situations. But then again, isn't that stereotyping at its peak? Who said that all unaccompanied fathers fall in this category? There is in fact an increasing population of fathers completely in touch with care giving especially with the rise in single fathers raising children. These fathers would be completely offended to imagine they’d been classified with those ‘other fathers’ and were receiving ‘special’ attention.

Here’s my take …..

In customer service the golden rule is ‘know thy customer’. It is critically important for customer service practitioners to intimately understand their customers, know who they are, where they come from, what they like and do not like, their preferences, their quirks, their history, background, eccentricities and where possible their hopes and dreams. The better you understand your customer, the higher your chances of consistently providing signature service. So when it comes to stereotyping, more often than not the intervention put in place to more delicately handle whichever stereotype is at play would call for more patience, more understanding, keener listening, more sensitivity and generally more tender love and care. 

These aspects wouldn't hurt even if applied to persons that go against the grain and are exceptions to the assumed stereotypical rule. It would mean for example that the single father with an ill child in the hospital, who is already adept at handling the situation, would get more perceptive service. And as this doesn't hurt the situation, it would be more of a folly to not apply extra care when dealing with a particular customer than to apply extra care where it is not necessary.

So yes, let us be keenly aware of stereotypes, use them to profile our customers to provide them customized service, be extremely careful to not let our stereotyping biases confront clients and then use this ammunition to go out and give the best, most discerning service to those that walk in through the door or interact with our businesses. 

So next time you look at that dashing chap in a hot pink business suit – think twice, no make that thrice and then go give him memorable service. 

To Speak or Not To Speak..............

Early this week my bank sent out a notice on Twitter to all its customers, indicating that an ongoing problem with access to services on a multi-bank ATM platform had been resolved and that we could now use these widely available ATMS. I looked at their communication long and hard and being the wayward wandering teacher that I am, decided to fire a salvo given I felt that they were not empathetic towards us. The service had stalled for the last four months and at a personal level had caused great inconvenience as it had meant looking for other ATMs not as conveniently located.

I responded via the same medium and politely mentioned "it would also be really nice to thank us for our patience and apologise for the inconvenience we've faced in those months yes?"  And yes you guessed right – there was no response to my tweet. I felt taken for granted, granted that we’d greatly suffered (ok I exaggerate a little) and now that the problem had been solved the bank was happy to let us know that and toot their horn, but not acknowledge the inconvenience caused.

The second part of this story compounds this situation. On Monday I went to one of these ATMs and it rudely rejected my card. I got the same message that we had been getting during the outage period – "Sorry we cannot complete the transaction using your card". I paused inside this ATM for a moment to recollect if indeed the Twitter message had been real or if I dreamed it up and then remembered with clarity that it had truly been sent out.

I exited the ATM booth, called up the bank call centre and explained what had happened and the call centre agent took down my details and said she would look into it and revert. This didn't happen. The next day I sent a response Tweet on the same conversation thread where the Bank had issued their advisory and gave details of the ATM and time when my attempt to use my card was rejected. After about an hour a customer service agent telephoned and told me the reason I was unable to access services, was because the service re-collapsed and wasn't working and they were working round the clock to resolve the problem.

At this point I asked her if she thought it may be a good idea to write back to the same customers they had written to earlier to notify them of the change in status and spare them the inconvenience of going to try and facing rejection. She agreed with me and responded in some scripted form about talking to her supervisor about it. Right there I bet my grandmother’s most precious pearls that it wasn't going to happen, and true to form it is five days later and no such communication has come through.

Here’s my question..…….Why are organizations afraid to communicate when there is service failure? What is the underlying fear? What scares them? Do they think they will look bad? Is it the inherent need to not ‘air dirty linen in public’? What’s the motivation for it? Is it that they haven’t plugged into the stream that washes away ill will when a company pre-empts a customer complaint? Have they not empathized with the customer in that situation and thought of what they’d like done if roles were reversed?

This reminded me of an interesting article a friend sent to me on empathy and customer service that had this powerful ending - “Empathy, getting inside the heads of the people you're trying to serve, was my strongest lesson I had from that experience as a room service waiter. First-class customer service is all about empathy for the customer” Paul Hemp Contributing Editor, Harvard Business Review Group

If we put on the weighing scale balance tray on one end ‘dirty linen’ from the provider informing customers that a service is down so that they may plan accordingly, and ‘dirty linen’ aired by unhappy frustrated customers to their networks ranting and raving about bad service, which tray would weigh heavier on the bottom line? What would cause the bigger dent?

The wisdom of communication, in fact in some instances over communication, to customers in event things have gone awry, gives the supplier the opportunity to put in some positive element and throw in an update of what is being done to rectify the problem. This gives customers the reassurance that they will know in advance when things are not alright and they will be informed when the status is returned to normal. That’s reliability, and reliability is what customers are looking for and crave.

So the sooner businesses realize that when things are bad is when the over- communication stream needs to start flowing, the better it will be for them, their customers and ultimately their bottom line. The moral of this story? Put on your brave face and go face the spear wielders, you will be surprised at how your candid explanation will elicit sympathy, empathy and ultimately – loyalty. 

Of Muddy Communication

I had a very engaging conversation this Wednesday morning with quite a brilliant communications consultant on communication and what it takes to communicate effectively and to connect with various audiences. What stood out for me in that day was a story he shared about an unpleasant experience he’d had at the Out Patient Department of a major hospital recently. He went on to recount how the rather young doctor had very poor communication skills and didn't seem to care about his patient or their interaction. And how this irked him to the extent that he spewed his vent on social media with details of the specific hospital and the particular doctor’s name describing his experience. Interesting how one member of staff can have the entire organization’s brand mud slung right?

 We discussed modern day medicine and how in this day and age times have changed, and patients conduct extensive research about their conditions and could almost self-prescribe if it were permitted. We talked about how the doctor- patient relationship has shifted to one of actual consultation and partnership rather than a one way tight lipped conversation, with the doctor issuing instructions as has been the case in the past.

We conversed about how patients want to be seen and acknowledged as human beings and not just as statistics, like patient number X in the queue or patient in cubicle Y or in bed Z. We also talked about the need to recognize that each patient has their own unique needs and expectations. We agreed that it is of essence to acknowledge that patients are actually real people (someone’s father, brother, mother, sister, colleague in the office, friend or relative). They are real people and want to be treated as such. The onus therefore landing squarely on the doctor to handle each patient and meet them at their point of need. This calls for the doctor to be that much more discerning, attentive, intuitive and ultimately, caring.

This  brings to the fore the rather over spoken about but still very important notion, that it behooves the professional in whichever profession, to handle their customers as they themselves would wish to be handled. To actually walk in the customers shoes and understand where they are coming from and what circumstances they speak from as they put across their needs.  The communication then to the customer will be varied and tailored to suit the specific situation.

In this specific case it would be in the best interest of both doctors and their patients if the former would make special effort to literally wear the patient’s shoes and understand where exactly the shoe pinches. This simple move would up the communication game and up the level of service delivery in healthcare, making for quicker, smoother, more effective doctor-patient relationships and ultimately creating a healthier happier nation.

Service Failure and Business Integrity

This article first appeared in Business Journal Africa - Empowering Africa's Entrepreneurs - Issue No 160 of August 2013

I am convinced without a doubt that the famous Jamaican pop singer and rapper Shaggy has invaded my Sacco, held the Sacco officials captive and hard-wired their brains with his famous hit ‘It wasn't me’. I recently resigned from my Sacco and followed their instructions to write an official termination letter and wait for a two months notice period to receive my shares refund. Upon expiry of the two months, I called up the Sacco to request for my refund and there began an interesting journey akin to a chess end game, where the black and white kings were performing a shifting dance on the checker board.

The Sacco treasurer informed me that he’d been out of town and couldn't respond to my email enquiries. He advised that I should actually have been speaking to the Sacco Chairperson who writes out cheques.  I then called up the Sacco Chairperson who duly informed me that he doesn't deal with finance matters and that I should talk to the treasurer who is in charge of refunds. After I let him know I had already spoken to the treasurer who referred me to him, he exclaimed out loud and requested me to hold on the line so that he could conference in the treasurer into our phone call to clarify who was responsible for refunds.

At this point I explained to the Chairperson that I was actually not interested in the internal workings of the Sacco refund process, but only needed a response to when my refund would be ready. Needless to say it is now 3 months down the line and my refund has not been processed. The proceedings there between have been characterized by numerous telephone and email conversations, ending up in a cat and mouse game of call avoidance and non response. I am currently in the process of instituting legal action against the Sacco.

This brings to light the critical question about service failure and the integrity a business portrays in this delicate situation. As Professor Stefan Michel of the Orchestrating Winning Performance ( OCW) programme stipulates “ Service failure isn't necessarily a disaster for a company. If the service recovery actions are handled well, then customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty can actually increase”. This apparent paradox is true and has been proven time again.

Service failure will happen. Businesses and corporates are run by human beings and errors will occur. What matters most is how one swings into action post the service failure. Where possible, if the failure is detected before a customer complains, then communication with the customer in advance will create a feeling of goodwill, where the customer’s perception of the business will be ‘they care about me’.

If a customer complains about a service failure, without fail (pun intended) the business must acknowledge the complaint. Customers are always on the defensive when making complaints and their default reaction is the need to defend themselves and argue their case. If the customer is assured that their complaint has been received and is being looked into, it creates an instant feeling of importance. An apology would also go a long way to reassure the customer. This does not necessarily need to be in  form of the magic word “I'm Sorry”(for sometimes the failure may end up being on the part of the customer) but such phrases as ‘kindly bear with us as we look into this matter’ work the same magic.

Where an alternative solution can be found to address the customer need, it should be applied immediately and where applicable, compensate the customer. This may be in form of a complimentary product or service, priority in the service delivery process, upgrading a service delivery package or applying a discount. Acknowledge the customer for helping you improve.

Once the incident has been investigated, it is very important to explain to the customer what happened and what measures you have put in place to ensure it does not happen again. Explain to them what you have learned as a result of their pointing out this service failure and what measures of improvement you have now instituted to improve your service delivery. The customer will definitely feel like a hero. Everyone loves to be a hero and the complaining customer will definitely want to show off, about how their complaint translated into action. The critical turnaround will have been achieved. Entrenched in the customer’s mind will be the notion ‘If this is how they treat me when things go wrong, these are definitely people I want to be close to and to give my business’. People are always wary of being short changed, conned and taken advantage of. So if your brand is one where the customer knows that when things go wrong they will be listened to, they will love you for life and tell everyone about you.

Bearing  this in mind, let’s assume my Sacco Chairperson had explained to me with utmost integrity the exact reasons why my cheque wasn't ready, possibly the trouble they  were experiencing, the actions they’d put in place to prepare my refund and the reforms they were putting in place to address the service failure. Would I have gone ahead and instituted a legal process against them? Highly likely not. I may even have empathized with them and proposed suggestions of how I think they could sort out the problem. Customers very often have ingenious ideas that businesses may never have thought up on their own.

Having integrity around service failure is the biggest litmus test for any business. If one can uphold integrity when things are headed south, then therein lies the magic formula for success. Above all the cardinal rule that a customer must feel heard should be upheld.  They must feel that their anger, hurt, annoyance, irritation and disappointment have been registered and are important. And the crunch line is that the response must be genuine and not just formal customer service rhetoric. The customer must feel that you are authentic in your speak and that you are doing your level best to find a solution.

I therefore pose a challenge to businesses out there – simply put on your cap of integrity and face the customers head on when things are at their worst. You will see increased customer loyalty, commitment and patronage as a result.

Doing the same thing over and over again and this time………….yes - expecting the same result.

I've attended two consecutive breakfast meetings this week both held at five star restaurants, one addressing strategies to realize Africa’s wealth through inclusive business initiatives and the other addressing branding and business opportunities to be explored given the country’s new county oriented dispensation. 

The fundamental organization and venue provisions at both events have been exactly the same -a breakfast buffet spread accessible to the guests at 7am on arrival, breakfast service until about 8am preceding the main event commencement.

What has completely amazed me though, is how the two experiences I've had, have been radically different despite an almost replica product on offer. The food in both places was the usual breakfast fare of fruit, cereal, juice, cheese, chafing dishes with protein and vegetable offerings and a pastry corner, with the quality of food being pretty much the same.

What then made the marked difference that had me heaping accolades on one establishment and leaving with a sour taste in my mouth (pun intended) from the other?

Well for starters, one significant difference was that although in both places it was a self service arrangement as is normally the case, the first had a top hatted chef hovering about the chafing dishes, explaining to guests what fare was on offer, helping them make informed choices and manning the quantity levels for re-fill cues. That added a delightful touch to the breakfast selection experience. 

The other buffet was not only unmanned, but had items run out unreplenished, leaving guests feeling shortchanged at the empty troughs, with only the item labels to confirm to them the specific food item they had missed out on.

The table service at the first establishment was seamlessly choreographed with the waiters almost intuitively alert to clear away crockery as soon as one finished their last forkful, offer beverage refills as soon as one took the last sip from their cups and appear almost magically by one’s side at the first indication of a guest turning their head to look up for service.

At the second event, plates remained uncleared, with initial plates used for whatever first course guests may have had, competing for table space with the subsequent helpings. The sight was quite cluttered and unpleasant. The beverage service was completely wanting and guests pretty much had to cradle empty cups waiting for the 2 waiters to move from table to table to serve beverage requests to a room of 15 tables with 8 guests each. I leave it to the mathematically inclined lot to compute the total time taken to arrive at the last table given the average time taken to serve an individual guest’s order in relation to the total number of guests in the room.

It is almost cliché to repeat the often asserted point about an organization being only as good as the people working for it. But isn't that just the simple truth? The venue, food and drink may be the same in two establishments, but what makes or breaks the guest’s experience is how it is served.

Nothing beats attentive, courteous, timely and coordinated service. Provide this to your customers consistently, no matter the product, service or industry you are in, and that will have customers repeatedly coming for more and automatically telling everyone about it. The key that unlocks the door to customers’ hearts is predictable quality and unshakable consistency.

Sounds stolid, dull, humdrum and banal right? But that’s the name of the game troopers. Even if you think up an exciting way to delight your clients, keep it coming, each time, every time such that when they tell their Mum about it and she comes to see you, you’ll do the exact thing her child told her you would. And that right there is the key to keeping the currency flowing through your ledgers.

Sing Song Sing Along - 'Say My Name Say My Name'

I visited Pablo’s the coffee shop at the newly opened Best Western Premier Hotel in Hurlingham this past Monday. I’d been looking for a quiet place to sit and get some pending work out of the way and was curious to see what this new hotel had to offer. After being shown to a seat at the bar that was next to a power socket that I needed for my laptop, I was warmly welcomed by a waitstaff named Evans with such a genuine smile. He promptly asked what my name was and on telling him, proceeded to talk to me like a long lost friend, addressing me by name each time. After ordering some tea, one of his colleagues brought it round to my side of the bar and asked after my comfort. She too addressed me by name. I fleetingly wondered if they had some secret code thing going for I hadn't seen them converse and here she was, magically appearing by my side addressing me by name.

So for starters, being a long serving practitioner in the customer service arena, I was very well aware of the ‘tricks’ they were up to and their deliberate intention to  address me by name to  make me, a complete stranger, feel at home. I was therefore rather surprised at why a warm fuzzy feeling was creeping up on me and why I was feeling like Bwana Evans and his team were my fast friends. The level of our conversation also lifted a notch, from staff-customer to friend-friend. And when at lunch time I wasn't too sure exactly what I wanted to eat and Evans was trying to convince me to eat what he declared were simply marvelous chicken skewers, the conversation was such a friendly banter. I eventually passed over the recommendation and chose to have the soup instead. When clearing away my crockery, a new waitstaff who had come in on a different shift, asked me by name if I had enjoyed my meal. I was pretty impressed by their specific effort to create no barrier service. I am most definitely going to be a regular there.

So – what’s in a name? If the die-hard customer service professional in me was warmed by this encounter, what then? Why are names so special? Why is it said that the sound of one’s name is like music to their ears? What makes a name so special? Daniel Scocco captures this quite adequately when he posits  that “There is one word, that would catch your attention even if it was uttered by someone far away, passing through your filters (well, one word except “Fire!”). It is your name. That’s right; your name is the most important word in the universe for you. Did you ever turn your head involuntarily to someone that uttered your name, only to find out that he was actually calling someone else? When that happens to me I just think “Oh, another Daniel.” It is a weird experience nonetheless.”

So there you have it – your name is magical. You love it. It makes you feel important. People who get it right assume a new level of importance in your life. And the common wisdom that postulates that you need to treat the customer as you’d like to be treated, directly translates into addressing your customers by name. Make a specific deliberate effort to remember your customers’ names. 

Many people profess that they have difficulty in retaining and remembering people’s names, but as we say in customer service, if something is important to your customer and as a result therefore important to your business, then you will make a special effort to get it done. If this means using all the tricks in the book (and indeed they are many – we can make this the subject of another blog post) to remember names, then so be it – do what it takes. Create that song, that music to your customer’s ears and address them by name, all the time. Then see what happens. I await your feedback.

Fire Fire Fire!

We had a discussion this past Sunday with a colleague about Fire. A speaker had been talking about Fire being a good thing, something that flares up and causes one to rise up and be moved. And that when there’s Fire, there’s no peace and no peace creates action action action. He asserted that the Fires that we've experienced in our lives, shape us, mould us, make us and prepare us to fight and conquer even bigger Fires to come.

My colleague’s take on the matter was that Fire is destruction. Fire burns, brings down things, and causes devastation. And that even in the days of old, Fire was used to wipe out undesired elements, people, cities and generations.

So my question today is - what is Fire? Is Fire a good thing or a bad thing? Or does it all depend on how you look at it and what lenses you see it through?

Fire could be that stirring flame in your belly that burns and galvanizes you into action. It could be that Fiery passion that spins your soul and makes you unstoppable in your quest to follow your dreams.

Fire could also be an angry burning. One that makes one take up sword against a neighbour to avenge a wrong. Fire could be danger, a burning barricade that stands in the way, preventing one from rushing head-first into their doom. A Fire circle placed around a camp of pitched tents in the wilderness, keeps the danger of wild animals away at night. Fire too causes transformation. From the hunger of wild brush and raw meat, to the spit of roasting barbeque and potted vegetable.

Is it Fire burning in our hearts that has one stand up against one’s enemy? Fire that wouldn't let peace be until that injustice is put down?

I steal this phrase when I say the 20^th Century Kenyan Philosopher Juliani  in his famous piece Utawala says ‘Niko Tayari Kulipa Garama - Sitasimama Maovu Yakitawala’ – ‘ I am ready to pay the price, I will not stand by as evil reigns’ Is this his Fire?

What’s your Fire? Whether in evil or good stance, what’s your Fire? What is it that burns hard for you, making you not go down that route that you know without a doubt is going to burn you into tiny charred flakes? Or what is it that burns within you, lighting up that flame that gives you light and hope and sizzles up the desire to make a difference in the best way you know how?

Feel the Fire! And whatever message it burns and brands you with – Follow It. And Follow it NOW!