Humanity as the first step towards improving client services in Namibia
By Anelie Petrus – The Beehive Girl /
At this point I think my curiosity towards Artificial Intelligence keeps expanding and I am here to share some of my interesting findings.
I was shocked when I came to the realisation that AI is already a culture amongst us especially in the client services sector.
What do I mean by this? Well, when last did you feel any type of personalised client services? I am not talking about the last point at the pay till because at this stage you might still receive a thank you, please or have a nice day communicated to you.
Well, we could include that too because the fact that you have the buying power does not even guarantee you any type of good customer services.
I think potential prospects receive the least customer services until they prove that they can afford that specific service.
During the inquiry stage we still lack customer services. There has been a great improvement, and it is evident across some industries, although more still needs to be done.
We tend to believe that customer services begin with an organisation. No! Customer service begins with us ordinary citizens. Let us become better citizens. I am relieved to see the way in which we at least treat our elderly prioritising them, for example by limiting the waiting time for them at service providers.
This is such a beautiful thing to see. Could we practice this more with mothers who are expecting? Or someone in a long queue carrying an infant.
By citizens taking action in being better human beings towards each other, organisations will be left with no choice but to step up their game in how they deal with us too. By our actions we are indirectly demanding for better treatment. Humanity solves a lot of problems.
I have been accepting the excuse of “Anelie, it is because you lived abroad and experienced how other countries are doing it. That is why you have high expectations”.
While there is a bit of truth in this, I still believe that by practicing humanity we could be finding solutions to most of our challenges.
To be honest it doesn’t take one to have lived abroad to understand that someone who chose your services over someone else deserves a little bit of recognition. I am not suggesting that you put up a billboard on Independence Avenue to tell your customers how much you appreciate them. Just show them while they are still in reach.
I personally cannot take another human being behaving like they are automated. Stop! Stop memorising answers to frequently asked questions without including the option of understanding what the customer is actually communicating.
Yes, it is important to understand what most customers are unhappy about but please do not memorise it unless you fully understand it. Some customers will demand a personalised experience from your organisation more than others.
Do not say out the excuses loud enough if you did not make an effort to understand the customer’s complaint.
In most cases we do not expect service providers to sympathise with us, but empathy is required in most cases if not all. Please understand that as service providers we are not the robots, we are here to help the robot make life easier for us.
We cannot afford to be on auto pilot when dealing with customers. I always advise business owners that complaining customers are valuable because they give us an opportunity to better our services.
It is also very important that we do not accommodate the same complaint for a long period without taking action towards solving it.
Customers complain and wish to see a difference the next time they come for the same service again. Otherwise why do we even expect customer feedback in the first place? The aim should be to improve our products and services.
While noticing were we need improvement it is also equally important to take note and appreciate the people that goes the extra mile to make client experiences a better one. As citizens let us practice acknowledging good customer services.
Give good mentions to the people and organisations who go above and beyond when it comes to excellent communication. Organisations should also recognise their staff members through recognition programmes.
Maintaining high client satisfactory standards is important; this does not only benefit organisations but the country at large.
– Anelie Petrus Eniola is a communication practitioner and marketing assistant with a heart for community development. She is also an upcoming writer and an entrepreneur at the beehivegroup. Instagram: @beehivegroup
