Who handles your business?

For every business to succeed, the clientele must be treated the best way possible. They must feel welcome and all treated equally regardless of their financial status and physical appearance. I once visited a salon at Kisementi.It seemed to be one of the best with classy decor, great interior design, good location and all possible equipment needed in a salon. The owner had spent a fortune and invested a great deal in it. The salon looked so attractive and probably a bit expensive. The magnificence of the beauty parlor made me believe they would do a super great job with my brittle hair. I got in anticipating the very best. My first surprise was the fair prices which were very normal and fair compared to the grandeur of the place. However the lady at the reception wasn’t receptive at all. She gave me that look like I were a rival or somebody who had just stolen her man or something worse than that. I did ignore that because I was too tired to start looking for another salon that had good reception. I sought comfort in the fact that I would come out with my hair looking striking, since the salon looked like the kind that would give you those looks of the girl on the cover of a magazine. So anyhow, the receptionist called the hairdresser who was supposed to work on my hair and she (hair dresser) gazed at me and walked out to receive a phone call. She talked on phone for over 20 minutes while I sat there waiting. When she returned from her long phone call, she couldn’t even pretend to be a little courteous! No greeting, no apology for keeping me waiting!!All I heard from her with an angry or perhaps ugly face was, “you come and we wash the hair.” My salon escapade is a long one and I would need another two pages to narrate it all. It was a rather ugly experience and I swore never to return to that salon however much I came out looking like a princess but a sad one. They indeed did a great job with my hair but had nothing like customer care. When I thought about my experience days later, I thought about how many people’s businesses are doomed and making huge losses through such issues that they take to be trivial. While doing cappuccino with my girlfriends weeks later, I told them this same story. Amazingly, three of them had been to that salon and came out with my same experience and for one, it was even worse, the hairdresser had the audacity to hurl insults at the client who contributes to her salary! So my friends and I shared experiences of the banks, restaurants, shopping malls, companies and many other places we had gone to and received no greeting and customer care at all. But just a bunch of mostly women with so much make up…no offence intended! but can’t even give a little smile to a visitor or client. We thought about the owners of these businesses who invest a lot but making only losses in return all because there is no customer satisfaction. Annoyingly, these people who handle our businesses will pretend to care and be hospitable when the bosses are around. They will be so receptive to give the boss a good impression. Vicky Akariza, a Communications Officer says she has encountered such scenarios countless times and says that this is the lead cause of businesses losing clients hence pulling out completely. “I once went to a Company that I had strong connections with. I asked the Receptionist to direct me to the CEO’s office. She first of all just nodded in reply when I greeted her. While I was talking to her, she was busy looking at her computer. I was almost sure she was either on facebook or playing solitaire,” narrates Akariza. Akariza adds that the Receptionist wasn’t minding her and even chose to first answer a phone call. Akariza lost it and called up the CEO who happened to be her father. They had just moved into a new building and she did not know her dad’s office. The Receptionist survived but got a serious lecture accompanied with a warning letter. Vicky Akariza says that so many businesses are facing this rather serious problem. The employees don’t make the clients feel welcome. They don’t offer them Customer care. She says that a customer should be made to feel like they are the king. Akariza adds that a simple smile and greeting wouldn’t hurt. She advises that every business should have a suggestion box. This way, they will get to know the complaints of the customers and see where there is need for improvement. Harris Mugabe, who owns a chain of Restaurants, says that how a customer is handled makes a huge impact on the success of the business. “I train all my staff twice a year. They are taught how to handle all types of customers regardless of attitude, financial status and appearance,” Mugabe says. He advises that business owners should emphasize to their employees the importance of all clients, and how they need to be treated like kings for the good of the business. m.kaitesi@yahoo.com