Adventures of an African Traveller

Traveling around Africa can be fascinating as you get to meet and interact with people from all walks of life. My recent trip to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania from Harare provided me with a unique opportunity to enjoy a truly African adventure. As someone with a Customer Service eye I was on the lookout for service experiences both good and bad. Let me share with you what I found fascinating on this trip.

My friend Nixon called and informed me that the check in process was closing in 15 minutes so I needed to hurry up. I was a bit far so I obviously needed to hurry to the airport. When I got to the check in counter they were about to close but they managed to check us in with no hassles. In my delegation I was traveling with a senior manager in our Customer Service department and he was nowhere to be found at the airport. My colleague called him and he said he was about 20 minutes away. The check in would be closed by then. So what should we do? We negotiated with the check in personnel to do the process over the phone as he made his way to the airport. They were reluctant to serve him over the phone citing a situation where someone was checked in in absentia and they never turned up to board the plane. With a bit of persuading they eventually agreed to do so and the check in was conducted via a cell phone. 

This got my customer service mind thinking. The standing rule at airports is that no one gets to be checked in in absentia and here is an employee who is bending the rule in order to serve a customer. Wow!! That is truly encouraging. We were amazed at the goodwill gesture shown by this employee. Hats off to such employees who are sensitive to customers’ plight, who can be empathetic and relate to a customer’s situation. In a world full of egocentric minds such employees are a rare breed and they need to be applauded.

The plane we boarded belonged to Ethiopian Airlines which flies to Addis Ababa via Lusaka. In order to complete the journey we were to board a connecting flight in Addis Ababa. Whilst aboard the plane one fascinating thing I noticed is that the flight attendants were all light in complexion and of similar height and built. It was quite difficult to differentiate one from the other, more so with the mannerism and way of handling passengers which was identical. This had its pros and cons. The advantage was obviously a seamless service that you got from them. They smiled, walked, behaved and talked the same even uttering the same words. That is consistency and uniformity at its best. One cannot reach such levels of uniformity without a deliberate service culture plan. I got to realise and appreciate the intense customer service programme that Ethiopian Airlines employs.

Now to the disadvantage! I ordered a glass of water as I was feeling thirsty. I did not take a good look at the flight attendant I had asked to bring me the water. The water took long to come. I waited and waited until the time I deem reasonable had lapsed but still she had not returned. I got agitated and frantically looked to the direction of their serving area until I grabbed the attention of one of them. She came rushing to me and enquired what was causing me discomfort. I explained to her that I had ordered water and it seemed the flight attendant had gone to fetch it from the Indian ocean. There was a problem here! When I am agitated I tend to speak fast, that is an understatement, I actually speak extremely fast. English is not the first language of the flight attendants all of them, so they tend to struggle to hear the English schooled Zimbabweans who speak better English than the British themselves. She looked at me in an astonished manner and uttered the magical words “sorry sir will bring it right away” and she dashed off never to return.

After what seemed to be an eternity to me I decided to get up and go to their domain to demand the water I had ordered a decade ago. When I got there the one who seemed the leader of the pack enquired why I had to resort to coming down to fetch water. I explained to her that I had made my request to two attendants but the mater never came. She wanted to know whom I had talked to about the water. I pointed at the closest attendant to us who immediately denied ever talking to me. I looked around and saw another one there and I pointed to her saying “that one.” She turned looked at me and said very respectfully, “sir you did not talk to me.” What everybody is denying? Yes they both denied and that is the challenge when the attendants all look the same and you cannot differentiate them. I got the water but was embarrassed I could not identify the culprit. When I shared my predicament with the gentleman sitting close to me he told me of a similar situation aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane as well. I concluded that the flight attendants take advantage of the fact that they look alike so it might be difficult to identify them.

  Addis Ababa was chaotic! It is the hub of travel in Africa with connecting flights to all over the world from Mumbai to New York, Frankfurt to Singapore, and Cairo to Harare. They all take their connecting flights here at the horn of Africa. We managed to get our connecting flight to Dar and off we went. There was no drama on this 2 hour flight as it was in the middle of the night and I was exhausted so the bulk of the time I was asleep preparing for another adventure which awaited us in Dar es Salaam. 

When we arrived at the airport it was in the early hours of the morning and the immigration officers were excited to have visitors from Harare. They demanded that we pay for business visas because there was no way we could come to their country for a conference only. Surely we were there to conduct business disguised as a conference.  We showed them all the proof we had that ours was a legitimate customer service conference. Convinced they then asked what gifts we had brought them from Harare? After tossing us for an hour they still wanted us to pay them something! No ways, we were not in the mood for that.

No one was given a special gift from Harare but the nightmare was about to start. Check out point was smooth and we got to the baggage area and waited for our luggage. It never came. We panicked and all four of us decided to storm the ground services to demand our luggage. The lady manning the desk was as calm as you can imagine. She was never moved by our panicky mode. She was used to these things I gathered. She explained that it was “normal” practice for luggage to follow the next day or two depending on whether there is space on the plane and no apology was given. What? Yes no apology was given. Welcome to Africa! 

My luggage took the longest time to arrive because I got it three days later and was promised a refund of the money I had used to buy a change of clothes and other man accessories. The money never came until I left Dar es Salaam two days later. The return trip was less adventurous but it had its fair share of memorable experiences.  This is Africa my motherland! I will not trade it for Europe, Asia or the Americas. When one travels across Africa they can see the need for service delivery to be increased. Our customer service experiences are still lagging behind and some of us who have decided to play a part in turning things around have a big task ahead of us. We will get there. We shall offer great customer experiences on this beautiful continent of ours. Yes it shall be done.

Dedicate 2013 to Improving Service Quality

The beginning of each year is met by resolutions and promises to improve one’s quality of life, alter undesirable behavioural traits and adopt new ones. Sadly for most people these resolutions are never implemented, they remain wishes on the To Do list. The challenge is that making resolutions and actually implementing them are two totally different things. They require different set of behaviours. For one to meet their resolutions they need to act upon what they have written down, keep the momentum and get better as each day passes.

The same approach is essential when it comes to improving service delivery. Service quality resolutions have to be me made, acted upon and continue to be acted upon until they become habits. Only then can service quality improve. Declare 2013 the year that you finally do away with poor customer service delivery. All the bad service, excuses and bad mouthing customers behind their backs should stop and be buried in 2012. Bad service has to be a thing of the past, it is really old fashioned.  

But wait a minute! Why do you need to dedicate 2013 to improving service quality? The answer - customers are increasingly becoming aware of their consumer rights therefore demanding  value for money superior service. Gone are the days when products and services would just be shoved down the throat of customers. Today they have choice and this choice gives them power. They can decide to abandon your product or service in favour of your competitor’s. This leaves you in a precarious state. It is either you improve your service quality or kiss business success goodbye.

You and I understand that you want to offer the best service, be profitable and stay in business for a long time to come. In order for that to happen you have to dedicate 2013 to improving service quality. How do you go about improving the service you offer in 2013? How do you differentiate your 2013 service from that of 2012? How do you offer outstanding service outsmarting your competition? 

The next articles in this series will offer you all of that. If you can’t wait and want to have a go at it right away get in touch with me today and I will help you make it happen. My email address is edmasau@customerserviceinter.com or you can send a blank message to info@customerserviceinter.com Get in touch today and let me or my colleagues at Customer Service International help you dedicate 2013 to improving service quality. This is your chance so go ahead and send me that email that will change the fortunes of your business. I can guarantee you that this will be the greatest thing that you would have done for this year. You will not regret this. So get in touch today.

Yours in service

Ed Masau

Customer Service Strategist

Harness the creativity of your employees in delivering service

Management behaves insanely by devoting its time in micro managing employees. The belief in the corporate corridors of power is that employees who are in middle management and below do not think. They do not use their mental faculties at work. They bring their bodies but do not apply their mind in executing their work and delivering exceptional service to customers. Due to this notion what do management do? They apply policies and procedures that detail how employees should act when they are in contact with customers. This reduces employees to behaving like robots. That is ludicrous.

What is unknown by most senior executives is that their employees are actually respectable decision makers at home. They successfully run their homes; have a beautiful garden they look after where they demonstrate their creativity. Some of them engage in social activities where they hold leadership roles and their input in these circles is sort after. Take the concept of running an extended family and the example of Alfred the Messenger. 

At work everyone looks down upon him and they view him merely as a messenger. No one turns to him for advice on human relations at the workplace.  The intriguing part is the roles that Alfred occupies outside of work. He is the first born in an extended family which gives him leadership of the entire family. No decisions are made in the family without his input and everyone seeks his advice and direction in their family affairs. He sits in the community development committee which spearheads development of his local community. To spice it up he is the chairman of his local burial society. The society is thriving and funeral parlours are looking at partnering them as they see potential in its membership ranks. Alfred can actually add more value to his employer through his creativity, wisdom and insight developed because of his leadership roles outside of his employment. But why is the business not taping into such a resource.

To the business the traditional hierarchy prevails. Senior management believes the low level employees do not have a brain; they cannot contribute to matters that affect them at work. How so wrong! Alfred and his colleagues at work share vital information that can help the company every day. They do it during lunch time in the canteen. The whole business is dissected there and solutions that actual work offered during these sessions. Why are these ideas not harnessed and used in the company? Because management is absent from the canteen! Management does not interact with low level employees. How do expect to gain from the knowledge of your staff if you do not interact with them?

The companies that will win the war on customers are the ones that harness the intellectual capabilities of all of their employees.  They do not merely expect their employees to be obedient but expect them to apply their mental faculties in solving business problems in order to serve customers well. Alfred exists in any business. The next time he brings you coffee, engage him about what you can do to add value to the customer experiences that your company offers. His answer will amaze and thrill you.

Do I Want Another Cup of Mochaccino? Yes Please, Why Not?

I was sitting with Ivan the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa engaging our creative faculties and sharing the ingenious thoughts. Whenever we meet, this is the kind of conversations we have. We like to explore new ideas and share how to turn them into reality. All of a sudden our conversation was interrupted!

“Good evening gentlemen, my name is Moses I am your waiter this evening. I have an assortment of hot and cold beverages that I am serving this evening. I will start with the hot ones. I have cappuccino, mochaccino, hot chocolate……..”

His General Manager replied, “You said you have a mochaccino, what is that?”

“It is similar to the cappuccino, the difference is that it has a bitter taste because of the strong coffee and it comes in a smaller cup than the cappuccino,” Moses replied confidently.

When it was time to finally order our beverages Ivan ordered the famous cappuccino and I decided to explore the mochaccino. Let me confess.  I had never heard about a mochaccino up until that time. So what made me order it? 

It is Moses’ amazing product knowledge. Not only could he remember more than ten beverages available that evening but he could also differentiate between them with so much confidence. I was impressed, sold out completely. This is the stuff that great waiters are made of!

Knowledgeable and confident personnel who deliver great service to customers do not come on their own accord. They require developing a service culture through an investment into strategy, training, implementation and retraining of employees. As an employer you need a well-crafted strategy that is implemented across board. All the facets of the organization should work harmoniously to deliver exceptional service. It should be like a well-oiled machine providing seamless service. New entrants into the organization have to be taken through the drill of service excellence. They need to understand the service philosophy and walk the talk.

Every three to four months a refresher course has to be carried out. This can obviously not be as intensive as the first one because it will be focusing on problematic areas that have been identified during the three months interval. This is a must do. In order to become great the investment into retraining cannot be over emphasised. 

Creating a service culture is the only way that guarantees exceptional service delivery. Go ahead and do it. You will reap the rewards and they are immeasurable. The next time I am at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa, guess what I am going to order? Another cup of mochaccino! 

Yes, you read it correct!! Another cup of mochaccino. Forget about its bitter taste. If it comes with great service, why not?

Charity Begins At Home

A famous saying states that, “charity begins at home.” This is so true and highlights the need to be hospitable in your own home before you attempt to practice it outside. Let me give you an example of what I have observed over the years where the phrase charity begins at home has been violated. A father is known for his abusive tendencies upon his wife and kids. They fear him and no one questions his authority, when he comes home children clamour for cover. They actually go to bed or lock themselves in their respective rooms just to avoid an encounter with their own father. But have you ever observed this same father interacting with the woman next door or her children? He is the best man you have ever seen. An angel in the making! In fact, the woman next door might actually envy this man’s wife, repeatedly saying how lucky she is to have such a wonderful man as a husband. This is a sad reality of “charity begins at home” gone bad.
 

A similar scenario occurs in most businesses today. They go all out to advertise their excellent customer service to customers. They spend huge amounts of money on billboards, running promotional campaigns and donating lots of money to charitable organisations. But they treat their customer facing employees as crap; they consider them second citizens. How so sad! This is a classic example of a father who is an angel in the street but a devil closer to home. 

Moment of Truth

The phrase “moment of truth” describes the point of contact between your business and the customers. This point usually happens between your customer interfacing employees and the customer. The same employees that you are ill-treating are responsible for making or breaking the customer service experience. Reality sinks when customers realize that the advertising campaigns do not serve them when they get into your premises but employees who are disgruntled, unmotivated and with no will power to offer service. Customers start to move their business to competition or they lodge complaint after complaint. What does management do?

The Stick Approach

Management calls the employees concerned and threaten to fire them. They should “either shape up or ship out”, they are told. “Bad customer service is not tolerated here, we are known by our customers for providing excellent service so don’t mess that reputation.” They go on ranting and raving. Does this leave employees feeling better, geared for service delivery? Your guess is as good as mine! So what should management rather have done?

The Carrot Approach

Management should learn the basic tenets of old age theories of motivation. Managerial behaviour usually suggest that they have never heard about the hundreds of studies in human motivation that prove that job satisfaction, self-respect and other intangible values motivate employees. Instead of threatening employees with termination of employment contracts, management should incentivise employees. Treat them as customers first. Show them you care for their welfare and are concerned when they face personal calamity. Employees should be encouraged to air out their concerns without fear of victimisation and their concerns should be addressed. Let them know what you are able to do for them and what you cannot do. Be frank, do not allow for grapevine to inform employees of what management thinks about them. Say it yourself. The boss’s real job is to serve the employee, and the purpose of the employee becomes to serve the customer. When this happens, the bottom line takes care of itself.

“Our first priority should be the people who work for the companies, then the customers, then the shareholders. Because if the staff is motivated then the customers will be happy, and the shareholders will then benefit through the company’s success”

                                                            Richard Branson

Richard Branson practices what he preaches. He has made lots of money by taking on giant businesses and outperforming them in their own backyard. How does he do that? He makes sure his brand, Virgin, concentrates on service delivery by treating his employees as customers first. You should do the same and treat your employees as customers first. Another example is essential at this point.

“We spend all our time on people. The day we screw up the people thing this company is over.”

Jack Welch

General Electric has been the most profitable business on the globe due to its emphasis on taking care of their employees and then allowing them to take care of their customers. The company spends billions of dollars developing, rewarding and taking care of their employees’ needs.  The current CEO, Jeff Immelt once said, “Developing and motivating people is the most important part of my job. We invest $1 billion each year in training to make them better. I spend the entire month of April in our talent development process. I spend about one third of my time on people. We recruit, we train, we develop, we improve, we think about people constantly.”(source John Tschohl, 2012. Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, 8^th Ed pg 32)

 
The writer Ed Masau is the Customer Experience Officer (CEO) of Customer Service International who is passionate about improving the customer experiences offered by organizations. He is a Certified Customer Service Trainer with Service Quality Institute (SQI) and a Competent Communicator (CC) with Toastmasters International. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on edmasau@customerserviceinter.com.