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!