Customercentrix

. It's the festive season again. That time we all love because of the merriment and colour it adds to our relationships and lives. It's a season individuals, families and businesses look forward to. Customercentrix is not left out of this frenzy,we also love the festive season As lovely as the season is, it has its share of challenges and opportunities for those who look be yond its rush of activities. For many retail companies, it's the 'all-must-go season'. Old stock that have refused to go with the earlier months of the year just have to go. Some customers see the festive season as a time to do bulk shopping for the long stretch of holiday and also in preparation of the likely high prices that usually accompany the new year. We do know that goods and services get sold at ridiculously cheap prices at this time,but we also know that many customers get stuck in the purchases they make during the festive season and carry the burden through the new year. Wha

Easily overlooked attachments to your business can give your customers a wrong impression about your business.  Imagine a salon with an unkempt convenience(toilet).If you're customercentric,you would know customers who sit for hours to make their hair would definitely have need for a well kept convenience . HOW A CUSTOMER'S MIND MIGHT RUN If the convenience is so dirty, I wonder if their combs and t owels are washed. They just might be using same dirty buckets from that convenience in the salon.The salon is the best around but will I sit for a million braids and not even have a cold drink? What if I have to use the convenience? I can't subject myself to such filth, I would rather go for a place where I won't have to burst my bladder. The customer runs into a friend. Friend : Hi Customer : Hello Friend : You're still wearing this hair style of yours after how many weeks (Customer's reputation at stake) Customer :Don't mind me,I ought t

GIFTS THAT SPEAK It's that time of the year when businesses show some appreciation to their customers. How do you intend making your business the preferred choice this festive season and in the coming year? At just a little cost,you can engrave your business in the hearts of your customers. You might have such excuses like 'my business has just started', 'my business is small', 'I have just few cus tomers', 'my competitors have a larger market share' and so on. As true as all these might be, do you also remember that: Your business is not the only one in the industry? There are new entrants almost every day into any industry? That customers still own the purchasing power? That gifts could be memorable? That customers still own the power of choice? So much needs not be spent to show customers appreciation for their patronage . The gimmick is getting the right gift that creates the longest lasting memory . It needs n

Tipping is a service culture in some regions while it is unheard of in others. In South Africa,it is not a strange practice. While in Japan, it is out-rightly wrong. What puzzles me about it however is how some waiters or waitresses request for tips and put up attitude when they feel displeased about the tip you give. Excuse me! It's hard - earned money! Are tips included in the bills charged for meals and drinks at restaurants,hotels and eateries? If yes,why do some waiters/waitresses ask for tips from customers. If tips are not included in the bills,should the waiters/waitresses ask? Shouldn't it be the customers' discretion to tip or not? I suppose some customers would also wonder why they have to be the ones to tip the waiters/waitresses when they are employees of the service companies. I have had two similar service experiences revolving around tipping and they make me wonder if that's what service is about when it comes to eating out. On this love colo

A Sim card marketer approached me yesterday at Shoprite, Randburg Mall, Johannesburg, South Africa while I was shopping. The following conversation ensued: Marketer : Hi pretty, what a lovely thing you have on you, it's too long to be a scarf, I think the Indians call it Sari or what?   Me : hmm (some show of displeasure) Marketer: What network do you use? Me: Why do you ask and why should I tell you?   Marketer : I want to tell you about Virgin Mobile.   Me : (With an attitude of let's hear what he's got to say) what’s different about virgin?   Marketer : We charge 99c per second for international calls, I know you make lots of international calls   Me : So does my network, Cell C   Marketer : We charge 67c for local calls and run on MTN facilities which exist all over even farther than Cell C's   Me : Really? So Virgin doesn't even have its own facilities, without MTN you do not exist. I am glad I have Cell C as my network   Marketer : We are f

Customer Service staff have or rather should have a vast knowledge of the companies they represent; that's why they are front line employees afterall. Some customers, even though they visit a company daily and should know where the company's wall clock and trash can are located, would still ask questions whose answers are known to a two year old. What do you think of the picture below? Obvious customer question, polite answers, no one's stupid. Your customer is not and will never be stupid regardless of your opinion . No matter how obvious the answer to a question is, a customer service employee should still answer politely as many times as possible. It is frustrating you might say, but how much better is sitting at your desk without having to attend to a single customer? How much better will it be to receive a notification that your company will be downsizing because sales has dwindled drastically?Or would it be better to have your products rot before your very ey

Communication versus connection Customer Service is a fast evolving field and customer service employees could get stale at a single turn of events. No thanks to the ever changing taste and attitude of us humans, customer service employees need a lot of catching up at all times. That notwithstanding, customer service is an interesting field that entails connection to our humanness in far reaching ways that words won’t be sufficient to capture. Important as good communication is to a successful customer service, it is no longer sufficient. Customers want a customer service representative that can communicate in simple, understandable terms, as well as understand all they request. They want someone who can meet their demands and possibly even surpass them to give the customers satisfaction. Customer demands could be a daunting task to customer service employees who merely communicate but don’t connect with customers. Ever heard this before? ‘Immediate

BAD SERVICE TURNED EXCEPTIONAL Got exceptional service delivery from Akhona, a service consultant at Telkom, Cresta Mall, Randburg, Johannesburg, SA. He came to our rescue after we waited for about 25mins to be attended to by the only available service consultant because it appeared to be lunch break time at the Telkom sales and service centre. Akhona's attitude demonstrated his customer service training. He apologised for the delay, asked how he could be of help, and took us straight to his desk to attend to us even though he was not the cause of our delay. He explained all we asked with precision, notified us of a free package on our data plan that we were not using, and was successful at changing our earlier opinion that the Telkom Service centre was a delay centre. Today's service tips from our service experience 1. The action or inaction of one customer service staff rubs on the entire organisation. 2. All customer service staff should not go for break at once. 3. Effectiv

It's a common sight to see females as front line customer service staff. I sometimes wonder if this reflects population dynamics, recruitment preferences, gender sensitivity, employment bias or a baseless observation on my part. Some non-research findings tend towards the use of the female gender as sex -appeals to gain male customers. Whether in formal or informal organisations, a head count needs not be done to ascertain the wide difference in male to female ratio of Customer -facing staff. Some questions that come to mind however are: Is the customer service field considered a weaker field just as the female gender is considered the weaker gender by some?  Is the customer service field a match for all that defines what the female gender represents? Since women dominate the informal industries, could it be that the customer service field requires little or no skills? Do more women than men apply for customer service jobs? How does the society view men doing customer - se

As humankind varies in taste, wants, needs, preferences and affiliations, so do businesses and organisations spring up in every nook and cranny of the world to meet the unique demands of the 'new' kind of man that evolves daily. Though appearing like a 'varied variance', one factor remains unchanged - at every point of man's existence, he is either being served or he is a servant(serving someone). Whether it be in exchange for money, an act of charity or a role -imposed duty, life is a service chain. Presidents are elected to serve their countries,governors, their states, Councillors  their wards, parents, their families, teachers, their students, doctors, their patients, employees, their organisations and so on.It is note worthy that all of these people are also receiving service in return in other circumstances.If all this be true, would it be too much of a generalisation to say the quality of service we give and receive determines what the world becomes? O