The challenge of poor customer care

Poor customer care is a still a challenge to the tourism industry despite the fact that the industry has registered tremendous growth in the last eight years, according to an official from Rwanda Development Board (RDB).Rica Rwigamba, the Head of Tourism and Conservation, told The New Times that customer care needed urgent improvement.“It’s top on the agenda of things; we really want to improve this year. It (customer care) has been identified as the biggest concern we have in the industry,” she said. “We have engaged the private sector tourism chamber to address the challenge of customer care in the tourism sector. Owners of hotels and bars have been tasked to keep an open eye to see whether their staff make mistakes in terms of customer care,” she explained.She pointed out that once the Tourism Bill is passed, it will enable them fully address the challenges brought about by poor customer care in the industry.In March this year, RDB embarked on a nationwide sensitisation drive to improve customer care in the country.The campaign dubbed Na Yombi (Akirana Urugwiro Abakugana) loosely translated ‘receive your clients with courtesy and open arms, seeks to influence behavioural change both in the public and private sectors.RDB, in partnership with the Private Sector Federation, have also developed a set of tools to address poor service. They include a service Toolkit and customer care handbook. A study conducted three years ago by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research indicated that poor customer service was costing the country $40 million annually.

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The challenge of poor customer care