Well ,I should tell you about the bad customer service situation happening in Lagos. As someone who has lived in this city, I have experienced it firsthand!
It's a really problematic issue, especially at certain places like banks, telecommunications company offices, and even some local shops in my area. That kind of poor customer service is completely unacceptable in Lagos.
Let me start with the banks first. Please, the way some of these bank workers behave is very disappointing. You'll enter the bank with a smiling face, and they'll just look at you like you're a fool! No greeting, no politeness, just acting rudely as if they own the bank themselves.
And what pains me the most is when you have a genuine complaint or issue you want them to resolve, they treat you like you've wronged them in some way. Instead of listening and trying to solve the matter, some of them will just embarrass and insult you in front of other customers.
The same thing happens at some telecommunications company offices too. You might go to report an issue with your mobile line or data subscription, and they'll just look at you with stupid expressions like it's your fault. Customer care? What's that? Some of them have no manners at all!
I remember one day I entered a telco office, I politely asked the girl at the counter to help me recharge my line. The insults this girl hurled at me, I swear! She started shouting that I shouldn't rush her, that she had other customers to attend to. Meanwhile, there was only me and one other guy in the place!
And don't think this bad customer service only happens at big companies. Even at some small businesses and shops in my area, it occurs too. Sometimes you go to buy something, and the way some of these traders attend to you is just insult upon insult!
Like they can't be bothered to properly package what you've bought, they'll just haphazardly wrap it in a plastic bag. If you complain, they'll give you the side-eye, behaving as if you're the one paying them.
What pains me the most is that some of these businesses don't seem to value their customers at all. Instead of appreciating your patronage, they give you insults and poor service. It's like as long as you've paid for what you bought, they'll treat you shabbily.
But the thing is, it's this kind of poor customer service that makes businesses lose customers. If I experience bad service somewhere, of course I'm not going to go there again. I'll find a better option where they'll treat me well.
At the same time, I understand that sometimes it's the poor work conditions and environment that some of these workers face which makes them frustrated too. If they aren't treated well as staff, how can they be expected to treat customers better?
But still, that's no excuse to just treat human beings poorly. If you have issues as staff, try to resolve it with your employer, don't take it out on customers who just want good service.
For me, I've reached the point where anytime I experience bad customer service anywhere, I just remove my mind from there. There's no point arguing with workers who won't change their attitude. Let me just go somewhere else where they'll appreciate and value my business and money.
At the end of the day, it's the businesses and companies that will lose out if they don't buckle up on this poor customer service issue. You can treat customers shabbily today, but it will soon get to a point where you'll just be watching customers fly out to go elsewhere.
So these kinds of businesses and companies just need to wise up and do the needful. Package your services and products well, train your workers on how to attend to customers with the utmost professionalism and courtesy.
Once you start valuing the people that bring you money, that's when you'll see your business will really thrive! Customers will be happy to patronize you and they'll even bring more people along.
So in summary, bad customer service is a real problem here in Lagos! But they'll need to wise up quickly before it's too late, otherwise they'll just watch as their businesses collapse. There you have it, you've heard what I said! Just do the right thing.
My responses to the Hive Ghana prompt
