A customer service expert who also doubles as founder and Business Manager at Duncs Consult, Ms. Sarfowaa Duncan, has said that poor customer service is a major contributory factor in the collapse of businesses.
According to her, a report released by the Institute of Customer Service Professionals (ICSP) titled ‘the Ghana Customer Service Index (GCSI)’ showed that most customers were dissatisfied with services provided by companies they engaged.
She pointed out that customer service is mostly poor in the public sector, while the opposite is mostly the case in the private sector due to strict supervision.
She advised business owners to invest in customer service training to keep their staff up to task, adding that customer service goes beyond what some business owners think.
Ms. Duncan emphasised a need to work on the mindset of workers so as to enable them appreciate the importance of customer service to the success of a business.
“Somebody has built this habit for 25 years and you want to change it; it will not just happen within a day, it will take time,” she explained.
She stated that in dealing with the mindset, one of the things that has to be done is for top managers and business owners to organise regular customer service trainings for their staff.
“Customer service does not happen by chance or prayer; it is a design,” Sarfowaa said.
She added that supervision on the side of managers and business owners should also be taken into consideration, and they should adopt ‘mystery shopping’ to know the services rendered to customers by their staff.
She explained that exceptional customer care cannot replace lower prices, and business owners should take note.
