‘Poor customer service is killing businesses in Nigeria’

Unless organisations in Nigeria prioritise a strong customer service culture and put customer first in product as well as service delivery, projected economic growth in the country may remain bleak, Sales and Market Strategist and business coach, Marie-Therese Phido has said.

Speaking at a workshop organised by Beta Sigma Fraternity International, Phido, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Elevato & Associates lamented that poor quality of service by most organisations in the country is bane to growth of businesses across the country.

“Poor customer service can actually kill businesses and we have many businesses that have been killed. We have seen many examples in the airline sector. In the hospitality industry, there are many places people don’t go any more irrespective of how well the place is because of poor customer services.  We can also see what is happening in the banking industry in the country,” Phido said.

Stressing the need for proper training, customer focused policies across organisation and leadership by example, particularly for startups, Phido hinged the growth of every organisation on robust customer relationship.

Although she noted that poor customer service is not peculiar to Nigeria, the expert bemoaned that Nigerians have accepted mediocrity. She said: “We have a situation where a company just reaches a minimum service level agreement and we say the person has done well. For instance, if a distribution company provides power for two days without interruption, people will just start to praise them when they are suppose to have power all the time. That is Nigeria’s problem. ”

Phido, who lauded efforts of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection Council (CPC) was optimistic that the country would go far in defending the rights of consumers.

Titled “Start, Grow and sustain: Entrepreneurship in today’s Nigeria”, the Vice President of the fraternity, Duke Igwilo said proper training is key to raising world class entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

He said the fraternity has concluded plans to host workshops that would enable Nigerians add meaningfully to the nation’s economy, particularly in the face of low oil revenue and the economic shortfall.

“Money is not the basic challenge of entrepreneurs in Nigeria, they need adequate knowledge. In fact we cannot sustain businesses because Nigerians don’t invest in knowledge,” he said.

Igwilo, who was hopeful that the fraternity would raise entrepreneurs to tackle social challenges in the country and make the country a better place, said the group believes in larger courses that would benefit the society at large.