Great customer service is not about being perfect

I start this article with one huge fact and that is – no one is perfect which is why we are called humans! So before your vocal chords burst because the waiter knocked over your glass, just remember that it could be you. If the waiter is apologetic and every bit concerned on how to solve the problem then please keep those screaming chords intact. But if he/she doesn’t seem the slightest bit bothered about the mishap then by all means, sue! I’m just kidding. Most businesses have a standard motto and that is – the customer is always right. And when it comes to making money, no one can dispute that. What does it really mean though? It means owning up or taking responsibility for the problem regardless of whether it was the customers fault or not. That means being taken advantage of sometimes. But when it comes to pleasing customers, you have got to suck it up.It’s not so much that the customer is always right because in all sincerity, some customers are not easy to please. But arguing with them or telling a customer to shut it won’t help the situation. You might win the battle but you’ll definitely lose the client or more importantly (at least to you) your job!Edison Mugire an IT consultant from Kacyiru says that the customer care in Rwanda is nearly non existent. “It hasn’t picked up because owners of these enterprises do not know how to treat customers right. Some of us have been to countries where customer care downright blows you away. The really few businesses with good customer care service here are getting major profits,” he says.Yelling with a customer is unacceptable. It may not cause immediate loss of the client but there will be a crack in their loyalty. They will feel betrayed, resentful, wronged, embarrassed, whatever. And who wouldn’t? If you take a minute to think back on situations you’ve been in as a client and how you were taken care of, or not, you’ll get the picture.“Owners who emphasize customer care will always attract clients because of that quality service. I hate going to place and sitting down for almost an hour before someone even thinks about attending to me. My lunch break is usually an hour so I do not have much time to waste in a place that takes hours to cater to someone,” the IT consultant explains.Like Edison, I too have been to some places where the customer care is just out of this world and this is in Rwanda. I went to a supermarket in Gacuriro called Woodland and smiled from ear to ear when the assistant carried my shopping basket for me as I walked around the place not even certain what I wanted. I tried to tell him it was alright and that I could carry it on my own but he wouldn’t hear a word of it. He smiled the whole time and everyone else was smiling and the place just felt so warm. I have been to places where an attendant will watch you struggle with shopping bags and just look the other way. Like, “okay you’ve done your shopping, bye now!” Speaking of bad customer care, I went to a salon in the UTC building and the second I handed over my money to the girl at the front desk, that was it! I found my own seat and just sat there for ages waiting for someone to tell me where to go or what to do. Nothing! All the workers just kept passing me by. It was very frustrating because I am not familiar with the language. I watched about three other women who came in hours after me get attended to. At the peak of my irritation, I just got up and demanded to know what the hell was going on. The girl spoke in French while filing her nails and with a look that suggested she was bored. So I turned to another lady and asked what that was about. She was like, “She’s said someone will be with you shortly.” Shortly? She had said the same thing 3 hours ago. I just turned to my translator and with all the courtesy I could gather, told her to tell the lady to kindly refund my money because I was going to scream if I sat for even one more minute!This wasn’t a common mistake like knocking a glass over. It was sheer malice. I wasn’t asking for chocolate truffles to munch on while I waited. To succeed in business, you have to make every customer feel special; not just the common ones. That is how customers become regular at a place. The second they love the service, guaranteed they will be back. “Rwanda still has a long way to go,” says Joseph Mukama, a soon to be entrepreneur. “These people have to understand the value for our money and that without it they can’t survive. That said, they need to give maximum customer care in order to keep their clients. When I start my own business, I will do exactly that and make every customer of mine happy”Conversely, handling customers concerns well - whether it is a company’s fault or theirs - can deepen the relationship. They appreciate and respect an employer’s willingness to own up to a problem and they will most likely extend a certain amount of grace. Provided the problem is fixed quickly, all with a caring and courteous attitude (also known as humility), of course