SERVICEWISE CSA – HELP, I NEED GAS!!

Like any good homemaker, I like getting ahead of running out of anything so I don’t find myself in a desperate situation. That was why I decided to call my gas supplier well ahead of the time I suspected I would run out of gas (two whole days, though I didn’t know it then!)

He promised me that he would come the following day. I waited for his apprentice till well past the agreed time but he did not show up. So I called my gas guy again. He apologized profusely and told me that he was actually out of town but would be back that evening. He assured me that he would be there himself the following day to fill my order. Like any customer, I preferred waiting for someone I was used to doing business with, rather than go to a competitor.

The next day, I totally ran out of gas. I could not heat up any water for a bath and had to pack my little girl two breakfasts for school instead of a cold breakfast and a hot lunch like I usually did. You can imagine that I was quite irritated about that. I called the gas guy yet again and discovered that he was still out of town! I promptly informed him that I was going to look for an alternative if he could not send someone that morning. He agreed that that might be better since he was just leaving for Lagos.

Now I was angry; not only angry but also clueless as to where exactly I was going to get gas since I had only always used that guy. I had to go around my estate hoping that I would stumble across someone. Eventually I was directed to a gas seller by the lady I usually buy emergency food stuff from. He not only filled my order in record time but also gave me a little extra though he let me know that it was only due to the inattention of the person filling the gas. He did not neglect to mention that he knew my gas guy and aimed a few subtle digs at him.

My regular gas guy paid me a visit later in the day and apologized again, explaining that his apprentice misunderstood his instructions. I assured him that he still had my patronage. I’ve got to say though, that I’m really glad I have an alternative!

Customer Service Analysis

 Gas Guy #1:

Negatives

·         With him, I experienced what is known in Customer service as Service Breakdown. This was because he did not deliver on his promise to me. It’s preferable to under-promise and over-perform. As soon as he realized that he would be delayed longer than anticipated, he should have let his customer know.

·         Ownership: one of the qualities of a customer service person, this means that you do not shift blame but take responsibility for the service breakdown. The customer really does not want to know who was to blame; the customer just wants the job done.

·         Lack of Respect for the Customer: he was more interested in making the sale than whether or not I would be inconvenienced by his plans. He either felt that my need was not really as urgent as I made out or that I would accommodate him regardless. This showed a lack of respect for me.

Positives

·         Responsibility: He never avoided my calls.

·         Follow Up: He took out the time to come in person to verify that I had gas and apologized for the run around.

Gas Guy #2

Positives

·         Service Delivery: He fulfilled his promise that I would have my gas filled in good time, thus earning him a coveted place on my home vendors list.

Negatives

·         Respect Your Competition: Being in the same business does not permit you to badmouth your competition; it belittles you in the eyes of your customer and suggests to your customer that you are so insecure about your ability to keep her satisfied that you have to make your competition look bad.

·         False Representation: Though he told me I was given extra gas, he spoiled it by saying that it was because someone was not paying attention when filling my cylinder. He was sending me mixed messages. On one hand, I should use him because I can get extra gas by doing so; on the other hand, I only got the extra gas because someone wasn’t paying attention so I shouldn’t expect the same again.

My Verdict

Gas guy#1 – he gets a 7: he might have given me a bit of a run around but on the whole, I do get good service regularly so this snafu did not make me blackball him. As mentioned, customers actually prefer being loyal because it decreases the amount of time spent on deliberating on where to get a product. Unless you give them ample cause to switch service providers, you can use this to your advantage. So I’ll be sticking with him.

Gas guy #2 – he gets a 5: he helped me out in a fix but his negative comments about his competition made me perceive him as petty; and for a customer, perception is reality. I’ll probably give him a call if I find myself in another fix.

What do you think?

SERVICEWISE CSA (Customer Service Analyses) - Making My Hair on a Budget

I was desperate to make my hair but did not have much money. Any woman that has ever been in these shoes knows that a lack of finances is no excuse for bad hair. The key is to look for a hairpiece that is nice, durable and of course, cheap, a hairstyle that looks good with the hairpiece and on your face and a good hairdresser.

I was directed to a salon in one of the halls in University of Lagos. I had high hopes because University hairdressers have to keep up with trends in order to satisfy their clientele. There, I was met by a young man who escorted me to the washing area.

Now I’ve been making my hair for a long time so I can tell when someone is experienced. This guy was green, and it showed even in the way he washed my hair. I was really hoping that he was not going to be the one to make my hair since the other two ladies in the salon were busy with other customers. From the conversation flowing around me, I was able to determine who the person in charge was and wondered why she was not making more of an effort to satisfy me since it was my first time there.

My suspicions about my hairdresser were confirmed as he wove my hair and attached the weave-on and I was hard pressed to stop myself from getting angry. Apart from the fact that it would leave them a bad impression about me, it might antagonize them into not doing a good job on my hair. I remember vocally expressing my concerns once but was reassured by the same inexperienced guy that he would do a good job.

I had told him that I had an appointment and had to leave by a certain time. He did his best but his lack of confidence made him slow so he would not make a mistake.

My fears blossomed when he began to cut. I don’t know if my panic showed on my face but the lady in charge came to take over and finished up the job. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the work done but I received a lot of compliments, so it couldn’t have been all that bad.

Customer Service Analysis

Positives

·      Reassurance: The male hair stylist sought to reassure me when he saw that I doubted his competence. True, I was justified but he made the attempt and that’s important.

·         Courtesy: He was courteous and desirous of giving me a positive experience, as much as he was able.

Negatives

·         Perception: With a new customer, you always want to make a good first impression. Letting your most inexperienced worker take care of a first time customer is probably not the best idea.

·         Customer Satisfaction: When your customer alerts you to the fact that they are pressed for time, getting them out on time is more important than cutting your teeth or gaining more experience.

·         Customer Appreciation: On entering the salon, though I was welcomed by the male stylist, I was ignored by the other ladies.

·         Customer Importance: Even though the stylist in charge took over after a while, I didn’t get the impression that it was either to save me some time or make me comfortable. Rather I was left feeling that the male stylist was doing such a bad job that she just had to intervene. I guess I should be grateful that the only complaint I had was that my hair did not turn out exactly the way I wanted it to.

My Verdict

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give them a 2. This establishment will not enjoy further patronage from me. Even if I did not get less than what is normally expected in a typical Nigerian salon, I am happy to say that the salons that I usually frequent whether on purpose or by chance usually treat me better.

Ignorance is no longer an excuse for poor customer service and training might not be as readily available but common courtesy is not something you need to go to school for and I could have received just that in this instance.

What do you think?

A Word from Me

Hello there.

I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading my blog and for posting your lovely comments.

By now, I think you may have surmised that I have three series; 'From the Heart of a Young Nigerian Mother' where I talk about parenting; 'ServiceWise', where I discuss customer service issues and 'Teenspeaks' which deals with teenagers and their wonderful but confusing world.

Now, as part of our exploration of the exciting world of customer service in ServiceWise, I will be sharing some of my service encounters and pointing out where the service providers got it right and where they got it wrong.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t think that Nigerians do not have customer service skills. I think rather that they simply have not learned how to separate the few skills they do have from the issues that frustrate them into thinking that they have to be the way that they are. Anyone who is willing to take the time or make the effort to learn this is well on their way to customer service excellence and I believe these real life situations we will be treating will help .

Hope to see you there!

FROM THE HEART OF A YOUNG NIGERIAN MOTHER - Whose Life is it Anyway?

The other day, my daughter was playing with her father’s stethoscope. I was thinking how cute it was, you know, how she wants to be a doctor just like her daddy. My husband, on the other hand, was looking on with horror.

I have heard him often bemoan that the medical profession in Nigeria is not what it used to be. Nowadays, getting a well paying job in clinical medicine as a young doctor is next to impossible. He says the only young doctors doing well are those who have left pure medicine for a career in paramedical fields like public health or work with NGOs. Those prospering in clinical medicine are the consultants, his ‘senior colleagues’ in the medical profession; and even they are barely earning what an entry level salary earner in oil companies get. Consequently, he would not encourage any child of his to study medicine. He wanted her to make ‘real’ money while she was young enough to enjoy it!

But is it really his decision?

My heart goes out to parents. Being one myself, I know the many decisions we need to make to ensure that our children have the best chance at success in life and how easily, even with the best of intentions, those decisions can backfire on us. Which schools should they go to? Who can we allow them to associate with? What further skills can we encourage them to acquire?

It’s so easy to judge parents when their children are struggling with one thing or the other as a result of some decision that the parents made. However, there is a fine line between making decisions that we think are best for our children and making decisions that are best for them.

Now, I know that my husband would be the last person to stand in the way of our child, if she really wanted to study medicine and had worked hard for the opportunity, but how many parents, in a bid to promote their children’s success, have forced their children into doing what they want?

When I was younger, it was the ‘in’ thing to study Medicine, Law or Engineering. Anything else was simply out of the question. You were pushed to the Science class because that was where the ‘smart’ kids went and if per chance, you were more Arts inclined, Law was the only acceptable alternative. This meant that the universities were inundated with candidates for these three major courses and those who were not admitted for them, did their level best to change after their first year.

Most people who were unable to change found a way to be happy with what they had. Others retook JAMB, willingly or forced by their parents to reapply for the coveted course. I have a friend who was admitted for Mass Communication but was forced to leave in her third year when her father threatened to withdraw financial support unless she read Law. She was eventually admitted for Law but lost three years and struggled all the way through school.

Another friend of mine who, by popular vote, was brilliant in the Sciences, was categorically told by his father that he had to read Law because he wanted all the children to be lawyers like both the parents were. This had already been achieved with the two older siblings. My friend defied his father, who refused to pay for his university education, graduated with a first class in Engineering and presently runs a successful software development company.

I could tell you of two brilliant young men, who had nothing in common but parents with the same idea of wanting their children to be doctors. One nearly committed suicide after being chucked out of Med School because he failed the same medical exam twice. He eventually changed to another course where he thrived. The other, an exceptional artist with a flair for graphics, stuck it out in Medicine though he repeated exams several times before graduating.

There are hundreds of such stories, just as there are also stories of children who allowed themselves to be guided by their parents and attribute their success to listening to them.

But how far is too far?

I agree that it is the responsibility of a parent to do all they can for their children but we must examine our motives. In my day, many a parent enjoyed the prospect of being able to be known as the parent of a budding doctor, or lawyer or engineer; others saw their children as their ticket out of a life of continuous lack and hardship; still more thought they were doing their child a disservice if they didn’t push them to ‘be the best’.

But what is the best?

The best is when your child finds what they are good at and succeeds in it. The world calls people like 2Face and D-Banj who are not doctors or lawyers successful because they have money; but I tell you that Mother Theresa who was also not a doctor or lawyer, was a roaring success because her work has outlived her.

There is enough room in the sky for every star, no matter how little they shine. If every star shone as brightly as the North Star, then sailors would lack direction. After all, it is the combination of all the stars that make the sky as beautiful as it is.

The injunction is to train up the child in the way that he should go so that when he is old, he does not depart from it. Let your children find their own way, just like you did. Your job is to guide them aright, be their cheering section when they do well and their voice of encouragement when they struggle.

That way, both your dreams will be fulfilled – a successful child and a proud parent.

SERVICEWISE - Much Ado about the Customer

‘The customer is always right’, ‘The customer is king’ and other such venerations of that entity called ‘the customer’ have been around for years. Well, we know from experience that the customer is most certainly not always right, in fact he can not only be wrong but downright ‘stupid’ at times; and his monarchy is not only questionable but exists only in specific situations and only under certain circumstances (remember, the customer is not always right so it makes sense that he is only king when he is).

So why still all the fuss about the customer?

Why is the Customer Important?

Every need is born of a demand. It might not be wise to start a business just because you can or want to without taking the resources that will help make your business a success into consideration. You need answers to the following questions:

·         Who needs the product or service? (People)

·         Where are they located? (Place)

·         How much are they willing to pay for the product or service? (Price)

·         What are their preferences in terms of functionality? (Product or Service)

·         How do I let them know what I’m offering? (Promotion)

·         Who can I get to help me? (People)

·     How do I get things to work in the most effective manner to achieve my objectives? (Process/Procedures)

So you need people to buy your product or service, people to sell it and people to promote it. Though these people can be grouped into end users, distributors and employees and seem somewhat disconnected, they are important components in the life cycle of a thriving business. This means the way you treat them is vital.

Who is the Customer?

The stereotype definition of a customer is someone who buys a product or service that is available in order to satisfy a need. Before, when products were not performing as predicted, companies simply made a ‘better’ product or slashed prices. Nowadays, business owners are realizing that it’s not only what you sell but how you sell that makes a difference. It therefore follows that you have to think not only about the end user of your product but also of the people that help you get the product or service to them. They are also your customers.

Types of Customers

The world of customer service recognizes three types of customers:

External Customer: They are the ones usually conjured up in the mind when one thinks about a customer. They are the ones who walk into a store to make a purchase that would satisfy his need. The objective of exceptional customer service here is customer loyalty or retention and positive word-of-mouth advertising.

Intermediate Customer: They are less readily acknowledged. They are the ‘middle men’; the distributors or vendors that aid a business in getting its product to the end user. Since you need their goodwill in order for them to move and recommend your product, they are customers as well. They form part of your delivery systems. You want to serve them right also in order to achieve positive word-of-mouth advertising.

Internal Customer: These are your colleagues or co-workers, your human resources. They are potentially overlooked as you presume that because you work with them daily in the same organization, you are working towards the same goals. But picture a scenario where a co-worker is rude, unhelpful to a customer, doesn’t work with you to ensure your customers get the best service you can offer and is in essence not exhibiting the organizational culture. This will handicap your business so you also need to know how to deal with them. Here, you’re gunning for creating job satisfaction and positive, healthy attitudes to work. This cannot help but influence how customers are treated.

In a nutshell, the customer is everyone you interact with who can, in one way or the other, contribute positively to the growth and success of your business.

So if you knew that someone could help increase your profits, wouldn’t you overlook a lot of their ‘stupid’ faults (within reason), look for creative ways to resolve their problems so that they benefit the both of you, cause them to leave your business feeling like ‘kings’ and come back, bringing their friends?

That, my friends, is the definition of customer service.

TEENSPEAKS - Affairs of the Teenage Heart

Every parent can testify that from the minute they look into the precious little face of their new baby daughter, they begin to entertain fears for her virtue. It doesn’t matter that she has just been born and no one but God can really say how she is going to turn out; it doesn’t matter that her mother was once a little girl herself and turned out alright in the end (if she does say so herself!) or that her father is a member of the dreaded sex that he believes exists for the sole purpose of seeing to the ruination of his girl-child.

She must be protected, barred from the world of men, set in the highest tower of the farthest castle in the deepest ocean in the farthest corner of the earth until she dies either from age or sheer boredom- at least, she would have died safe!

Okay, I exaggerate. You will agree with me, though, that some parents of teenage girls kind of go ballistic when they discover that boys have started to find their daughters attractive. They get hernias whenever they see their daughters speaking with a guy; hyperventilate when their young lady is talking with some guy on the phone and has the effrontery to look happy while doing it; and go into cardiac arrest when they discover that their sixteen-year old has a (saints preserve us!!!) boyfriend!

I am privileged to work with teenagers on a regular basis and it hurts me to observe how fears about relationships not only fuel rebellion, but alienate the teens from their parents. Girls have been called promiscuous or worse, been physically assaulted or humiliated in front of their siblings and relatives, given irrational curfews and accused of all sorts of things just to scare them into submission. This may put the parent’s heart at uneasy rest, but it forces the teen to seek alternative outlets for their emotions like pornography, masturbation and premature sex.

Listen, I agree that this is not America. This is Nigeria, where social relations between teenagers of the opposite sex, is not viewed with as much license. It is not that American teenage rituals are necessarily harmful; it’s not just in our culture to indulge practices such as ‘going on dates’ and ‘prom night’. People, we need to understand that though we may disapprove of the manner in which those teens express their attraction for each other, we cannot ignore the fact that our teens have those feelings too and they need to be dealt with.

The kind of exposure teens of nowadays have doesn’t make things any easier. They watch TV, go on the internet and hear what other teens’ parents allow. Everything they see is encouraging them to break out, take control, and make their own decisions. But more than these, they can’t deny that their heats beat just that little bit faster when they see that special boy (or girl, for the boys), or that when they are with them, everything seems better and they don’t want the time to end.

Because teenagers are teenagers, their feelings per time are erratic so a parent cannot entirely be blamed for discountenancing some of their more passionate affirmations of ‘forever after’ feelings for so and so. A wise parent, however, would get close to their teenager and help her channel those feelings positively and productively. A paranoid parent would rather have their child deny the existence of those feelings and command her to face her studies, asserting that if she had been doing the latter in the first place, they would not have committed valuable time to thinking about boys (or girls, in the case of the boys).

We need to stop burying our heads in the sand, hoping that if we close our eyes, the teenage years, and their attendant complexities would go away. Every teenager is different and needs to be treated thusly. We need to take time to acquaint ourselves with their ways and their world (after all, how can we fight an enemy that we do not know or understand?), and more importantly, acquaint ourselves with our teens.

There is a lot of information out there in books and over the internet that can equip us with the skills we need to chart the choppy waters of the teen years. But having done all to stand, we need to arm ourselves with the Word of God and with prayer.

We need all the help we can get!

SERVICEWISE - How do You solve a problem like a Difficult Customer?

Steven Slater, a flight attendant with Jet Blue, an American airline, lived the dream of customer service professionals everywhere when he consigned a disruptive passenger to the nether regions, grabbed two cans of beer and bailed from an aircraft at JFK Airport. According to him, the passenger cursed at him, struck him with some luggage, though not intentionally, and refused to apologize. Apparently, twenty years of dealing with passengers of that ilk was more than Mr. Slater could bear.

It’s one thing to have to deal with the self righteous indignation of an irate customer who has a case. It’s quite another when the customer is clearly in the wrong, but still expects to get away with his infraction, simply because he is the customer and after all, the customer is always right; and more often than not, for reasons, whether good or unfair (these are highly subjective), our superiors bless his right to do so.

So, what do we do? In Steven Slater’s case, challenging the customer was thoroughly justified. Getting out of an airplane seat before being cleared, as this passenger did (let’s call him Mr. X), put not only him but others in danger as 80% of aircraft accidents typically occur during takeoff and landing. Slater certainly did not deserve the abuse he received for doing his job.

But he could have handled the situation differently.

Diffusing Customer Aggression

Sometimes, when a customer acts or reacts aggressively, there is usually some baggage, emotional or otherwise, attached to it. As a customer service professional, the onus is on you to draw on your training to identify the problem and deal with it.

1. 1)     First, understand that you are not the problem. Your company might be; something else might be. You just happen to be there. Unless there had been a prior encounter, there is no reason why the customer would take things out on you personally.
2. 2)     Do not return aggression. Two wrongs do not make a right.
3. 3)     Take control of the situation right from the start. It’s not about you or how you feel. Prioritize. In Mr. Slater’s case, priority was getting Mr. X seated so as not to endanger anyone else. Since it was a safety issue, he could have got his superior or even the captain involved which could have led to Mr. X being escorted off the aircraft if necessary. Since most passengers wouldn’t want that, it’s more likely than not that Mr. X would have complied.
4. 4)     Bring the customer to a neutral state, so you can focus on the issue at hand. A neutral state is a state of mind where two people can discuss resolving an issue without concentrating on what caused it.
5. 5)     Listen. This is your primary way of getting information from your customer.
6. 6)     Empathize. Put yourself in their shoes. You are a customer to somebody.
7. 7)     Admit mistakes when you are clearly wrong.
8. 8)     Accept responsibility.
9. 9)     Take immediate action to resolve the problem.
10. 10)  Know that a win-win situation is possible. Don’t lose the war before fighting the battle. Don’t make it a ‘them or me’ situation. Difficult customers are here to stay so you’ve got to decide, ‘well, so am I!’

Going head to head with a difficult customer produces no winners. You may prove your point, but you lose a customer and everyone else the customer could have brought to your business.

So how do you solve a problem like a difficult customer? You deal with him.

Because in the ‘service-verse’, the customer may be nice, nondescript or nestling on your last nerve but the customer is the customer and he is always right.

FROM THE HEART OF A YOUNG NIGERIAN MOTHER - They're looking at You, Mum and Dad

I remember the first time my two-year-old daughter wore her first bra.

I watched her little face, screwed up in concentration, as she pushed the first arm, then the other into the straps, and fitted the cups over her chest.

She then turned to me with a look of triumph and a huge smile. It didn’t matter to her that she was making a big deal over something as uneventful to me as putting on a bra; she had done it all by herself. It mattered even less that she was wearing my bra and it was, well let’s just say, definitely not her size!

Yes, she was imitating the ritual she had seen me repeat every day since she was old enough to understand what it was, even if she did not yet understand why I did it. As she doesn’t understand what make up is, or why I use it; that the high heels I wear , though alright for me just swallow up her small feet and that handbags sometimes do really need to be as big as she is.

My tiny tot’s antics remind me that whether I am conscious of it or not, I am her compass for all that it means to be a female. It started right from when she realized that I kind of look like her and it will end the day that I go on to glory.

Being a reference point to her of all things feminine and adult becomes a big responsibility for me. It makes me question how I comport myself, how I dress, how I handle conflict (especially with her father), whose example I follow, how I treat people, how I make decisions, how I handle money and a myriad other things.

Do I do the things that I ask her to do or do I just say them? Do I teach her to confront issues or ask her to tell Mrs. So and so that I’m not at home while I hide away in my room? Do I tell her to respect all people and then stop her from playing with Mama Comfort’s daughter because her mother owns the ‘buka’ down the street without a really good reason? Do I let her do what she jolly well wants and then take her to task when she makes a potentially embarrassing bad decision? Am I honest with her or do I tell her a little ‘white lies’ to make her aim higher like how I always used to come first when I was in school?

It is very sobering for me to realize that whatever my child becomes in life, starts from what she learnt at her mother’s knees as what I became started from what I learnt at mine’s. It makes me want to constantly put a magnifying glass on all that I do and ask myself what kind of an impact it will have on her.

I’m grateful to my parents for how I turned out in life. I would love for my children to be able to say the same.

SERVICEWISE - The Moment of Truth

No, it’s not the TV game show. Though why an individual would stand before millions of people to admit to matters that could potentially lead to character and career suicide is a question best answered by the participants themselves.

The ‘moment of truth’ I refer to is a terminology in customer service that describes any point during the interaction between an organization and its customers that leaves a lasting positive or negative impression about the business. In the hospitality industry, for instance, this would include, but not be limited to, booking the room, check-in, check-out, dinner reservations, dinner ordering, dinner presentation, quality and quantity of food and so on.

Why does it matter?

It matters for three major reasons:

1.      The customer has changed: In the past, it used to be that a business just produced products for the customer and the customer just had to take it or leave it. In the event that the customer did decide to leave it, the business would just make a better product. Nowadays, customers are more educated, better informed, more value conscious and demand more for their money. Their expectations of the companies and the people they buy from are much higher and the internet has brought more options literally to their doorsteps. They want better customer service and when they don’t get it, a typical dissatisfied customer will tell an average of 7 to 10 people about his problem and why they shouldn’t patronise you.

2.      The business environment has changed: Unless an organization has a monopoly in its industry, businesses today have more competition and globalization has ensured that this competition is not only local but regional and international. If you don’t offer superior service to your customer, they’ll just waltz over to someone who did, and wouldn’t mind paying the difference. That’s your money going to someone else simply because they performed better.

3.      The World Economy: The recession hit a lot of businesses pretty hard and so money is spent with a great deal more discretion. It doesn’t leave that much available for elaborate marketing strategies to attract new customers. The funny thing is, it has been statistically proven that it costs way less to maintain an existing customer than to get a new one.

So how do you determine this ‘moment of truth’?

·        Break down each process involved in the customer experience into its component stages to see where you can save your customer time or money. The best way is to ‘walk a mile in your customer’s shoes’. This is known as Mystery Shopping. A lot of businesses get expert help to pose as a customer and observe employee treatment and operational bottlenecks. You can simply get an informed friend to help out and then discover at which points your customer can potentially be frustrated. This Business Process Mapping can help you identify where money should be channelled and energies exerted.

·         

     Ask your frontline staff. Employees see first-hand the body language, nonverbal communication of the customer and the circumstances surrounding the particular incident, things that surveys will never see and that customers will sometimes not realise is happening.

Excellent customer service has the advantage of not only being an effective marketing tool but also a unique selling point for any company. By understanding the moments of truth, you can improve and even determine the perceptions of your customers. This would lead to positive word of mouth advertising and customer loyalty.

FROM THE HEART OF A YOUNG NIGERIAN MOTHER - Meet Rosemary Siggins, A Mom and a Half

Let me introduce you to a woman who helps me understand that, though I have a lot to deal with as a working 21st century mum, I've got what it takes to make it.

She is less than two feet tall but she remodels cars. She walks with her arms and rides a skateboard. Her name is Rosemary Siggins and she only has half a body.

Imagine a Barbie doll. Now imagine it with its legs taken out, leaving just the torso. That’s what Rose looks like.

Rose was born with a rare genetic disorder called Sacral Agenesis. This means that there was an abnormal development of her lower spine. Because her legs were severely deformed at birth and Rose was in danger of harming herself, her mother, after consulting several doctors, decided to have them amputated when Rose was two years old.

For years, she was forced to wear artificial limbs in a bid to make her look like everyone else. She rebelled when she was in the eighth grade and turned up for school one day on a skateboard. She insisted she wanted to be normal and refused to use a wheelchair. This meant that Rose uses her hands to move from place to place.

Rose met her husband Dave in 1997 and married him two years later; two years after that she discovered that she was pregnant. It was unprecedented for a woman in her condition to carry a baby to term, much less successfully deliver one. Only one doctor was willing to support the couple’s decision to have the baby as the foetus grew transversely, unlike normal pregnancies. Rose successfully delivered a baby boy and a few years later, a baby girl was added to the family.

After her mother lost the battle to cancer, Rose was faced with the added responsibility of not only running that family automobile business, but also looking after her mentally handicapped bother and her father who has Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.

This Colorado native cooks for her family and cleans her house. She goes to her local supermarket to buy her groceries. She gets her kids ready for school and drives a car she and her father adapted with hand controls for her use.

Her bravery, sadly, is not without a price. Walking with her hands means that she has been using her shoulder joints like a pelvis. This has led to a lot of wear, resulting in a weakening of her joints. Rose will eventually have to use a wheel chair to take the pressure off them.

Her response to her situation is this: "A lot of people with disabilities feel that life owes them something, and I was raised in a way that no, no-one owes you a dime. The world doesn't owe you anything, this is what you have and you use your resources and you get through life. My personal opinion is, get up and go for it, just do it." 

It was William James who said,”The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.”

Rose Siggins; wife, mother, business owner and primary caregiver has certainly made this discovery. I hope you do too.

Sources: UK Channel 5’s Series ‘Extraordinary People’

              THS Investigates (E! Entertainment Network Documentary)