CUSTOMER CARE: Let’s all embrace “The Service Magazine”

It is not news that customer service is still a challenge both in private and public institutions. Many service providers have still not been able to find the exact way of improving their services to customers. As customers, we are still waiting for the time where the service people will respect us and give us the services they have promised. As a trainer, I believe that people behave the way they do because they have not be taught. Many still do not understand the importance of a customer to their businesses. Others still think that the customer has no option and will continue to patronize their services. If we want service delivery to improve, we need more than just talk and debate. We need to take concrete actions that will help people providers. Even though there have been a number of initiatives here and there, the service gap is still high, which means that there is need to do more. Many people still do not have access to either trainings or the customer care handbooks. It is for this reason that with the sponsorships of fifteen companies in Rwanda, a free quarterly magazine titled “The Service Mag” will be launched at the end of the month. Creating and maintaining a positive attitude is the most efficient and low-cost investment one can make in order to change their life. A positive attitude is a habit and must be learned through repetition and conscious effort on your part. A positive attitude is not dependent upon your genetic composition. It depends upon your decision to face your world with enthusiasm and to create a positive environmentSir Francis Bacon, an English author, courtier and philosopher is famous for his famous quote “Knowledge Is Power” Actually, attitude is the driving force in our life and without the right attitude, our llives become directionlessThe starting point is to believe that you can change. If you don’t believe it, then you won’t do it. I’m not asking you to think it’s going to be easy or an overnight thing. The hardest clients that I have to deal with are ones that lack commitment and/or belief because most of my time is spent working on those issues and they are seldom the ones that prompted the contact. The magazine will be largely distributed among all service providers in Rwanda from taxi driver, down to waiters, to hospitals, to ministries and to all service outlets. The main objective of the magazine is to sensitize everyone on service and offer basic education on what needs to be done. We are all collectively responsible for the service image of Rwanda and we just can’t sit and wait for a miracle to happen. The well designed and very attractive magazine will be printed in 5000 copies and distributed throughout the country. It will also be published on an interactive website. Segments such as the Human Resources, Hospitality, Quality, Sales, Marketing, Taxes, Communication, Attitudes, Motivation, Lifestyle, Tourism, Hygiene, Personal Development, Branding, Grooming and many more topics will be tacled. The 48-pages magazine will be written in simple English with some articles in Kinyarwanda and French to be able to attract the diverse readership. As the magazine will be free to readers, it will therefore need the contribution of many corporate and private organizations. The publication cist for the first edition was borne by the kind sponsorship of fifteen companies. We are hereby kindly requesting your partnership to make this magazine a successful one for the benefit of business owners, for people in the service industry but generally for Rwanda as a whole. We would like to invite business owners to be part of this magazine. We will appreciate their sponsorships so as to offer this magazine free to everyone in the service industry. Also, we would like to welcome your customer service experiences with our readers. And lastly, do write to us and give us your feedback after reading this first edition that will be launched on March 25, 2010. sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com