Exploring new sites and basking in the delight of new discoveries is one thing I like to do. Be it museums, eateries or even tranquil sit outs. However, first impressions always matter a whole lot.
Whenever I'm in a new place as a customer, I observe. How are people treated here? What activities go on here? No, I'm not an undercover agent but I certainly can pass as one.
The popular saying “customers are always right” doesn't sit well with me in the actual sense. This is because I have seen customers who were indisputably wrong at some points. As such, I would like to interpret the saying thus; irrespective of how a customer may behave or act, confronting them instantly isn't always the best approach. This applies when the customer is in the wrong.
How about when the customer service providers are in the wrong?
I have had my fair share of bad customer care service. One of the most recent occurred at an eatery. An eatery I was warned against visiting a few months prior to my visit.
In the spirit of celebration, I decided to visit this eatery with a friend. It would have been easier to simply order the food from home but for some weird reason, the customer care line kept going to voicemail.
After so much contemplation, my friend and I decided to go to the said location, get take outs and return home. I had already planned how the whole journey would be; walk in happy, order with a smile on my face and return home even happier. One thing with plans is that they can be altered in a matter of seconds.
Long story short, I got into the eatery and received one of the worst customer services I had ever received in my whole life. The lady at the counter was being extremely saucy and disrespectful to all customers who appeared in front of her. Sadly, I was one of them.
I got so pissed that day I even started playing out scenarios where I called out the lady for her poor customer service in my mind. My friend must have noticed my extreme silence when she reminded me that it was just for a while and in a few minutes, we would be leaving the eatery.
After I had eaten all the goodies we got from the eatery, my nerves were relaxed and then I got to thinking. Why was the lady over the counter treating customers with such disdain? Was she having a bad day? Was she normally like this? Or what could have upset her so much?
There could have been a thousand and one reasons why she acted that way but irrespective of her reasons, I'm certain some people vowed never to return to such a place after how she acted.
How can such a situation be curbed?
One way would be training and supervision. Such a scandal would have been avoided if these customer service providers were indeed trained on how to treat customers . Also, if there is a supervisor watching over the employees from time to time, good treatment may be given to the customers.
Another way would be employment of more labour and rewarding of the outstanding employees. I wouldn't say that the eatery was understaffed but I can assume that pulling a 7am–10pm job every single day of the week can make customer service providers miserable. However, rewarding these people for their outstanding services can go a long way.
One last way to curb such this situation could be by ensuring these service providers aren't underpaid. One reason why a service provider may conveniently be harsh to a customer is because they are underpaid. As such, they act as they please, knowing fully well that their employers may not fire them because momentarily, they are too valuable.
The implementation of these measures could help alleviate poor customer service, leading to potential growth and optimal performance for these businesses.
Love🤍