Now more than ever before Bahamians are beginning to see the aftermath of this global recession. At the last count the unemployment rate stood at 14%. Budget cuts, increased taxes, the inability of the government to extend the life of its temporary job program all help to sound the alarm - the finances of this country is in a critical state of distress. But you know this already; you’ve exhausted all of your leads, you’ve tapped into your “connections,” you’ve called your MP (Member of Parliament) none of whom have been able to help you secure employment. The reality- things must be bad for real!
The employed however seem not to share this reality, for them it’s business as usual, as lackluster performance and mediocrity continues to thrive on many levels throughout organizations and service industries in the Bahamas.
Have they forgotten that when money is tight:
- People become VERY selective on how and with whom they intend to spend that hard to find dollar – That people shop around comparing prices, product quality, service etc. then exercise their power to choose!
- People want more BANG for their buck! Instead of jumping through 1 hoop, customers expect you to jump through 10 hoops to please them (and don’t complain while you’re jumping either). They want more for less and expect a greater return on their investment.
- Any business that expects to survive will have to craft a strong brand that provides exceptional service and builds customer loyalty – Customers MUST marry the brand
- Businesses must constantly search for innovative strategies to maintain top of mind status with it’s customers
- At the end of the day, the success of any business, large or small lies in the hands of the people they hire
- Proper training is critical for growth and survival of any business
Case in point
I carried out some renovations at my office recently and during this process I decided to have my conference table refinish and the chairs upholstered. What a nightmare! When the table was delivered it was still wet and rough looking and the chairs had more staples than Office Max. Needless to say I marched them right back - twice to be exact; like KB says ‘they don’t know me a?” What’s killing this business? Lack of skilled personnel who takes pride in their work.
I went into another local business recently and while waiting to have a service, the telephone rang. One of the owners of the business went to answer the telephone, but just as she picked up the phone and said hello, the person on the other end of the line hung up. This business owner became irate and started talking back to the telephone “ok you wan’ be stink! Call back here, see if I walking back to answer this phone again!” Like my grandmother use to say “Well blow me down!” This business owner is obviously confused. The customer is the reason she has a business in the first place. What’s killing this business? Bad attitude, arrogance, lack of professionalism, lack of management training.
I visited a local beauty salon recently (I wanted my hair to be curled with the sassy flip ups). I was unable to receive this service because the beautician, who by the way is the owner of the salon said she didn’t know how to create the sassy flips, she felt she needed more practice. Well I guess I should be grateful, at least she was honest, who ever said the truth shall set you free obviously didn’t know what they were talking about. I wasn’t about to have her practice on me! What’s killing this business? Failure to upgrade skill set, and failure to keep up with the latest trends.
During our recent Professional Edge For New Grads Seminar, The President of the Chamber of Commerce told a powerful story about an employee who felt that he was entitled to being five minutes late everyday. Even after constant complaints from the client and no doubt his employer the employee refused to arrive on time to service the guest. Fed up with this lack of professionalism and mediocre service, the client finally told the employer that they would be cancelling their contract. The cost of the contract – Half a million dollars! I felt his pain! Lack of attention to detail almost cost me a contract recently. My proposal contained three typographical errors. What were the errors? A dash (-) and a full stop (.) that were in the wrong place and a word that was missing as apostrophe (‘).
Points To Remember
The client doesn’t care about your problems and they certainly don’t want to hear your excuses. They want flawless execution of services promised EVERYTIME! So what if you’re having an “off” day? Nobody cares! Never let your problem become the client’s problem.
Research has proven time and again that the average dissatisfied customer has a distinct pattern of behavior:
- Ninety-six percent will not complain about the way they were treated; however ninety percent of these dissatisfied customers will not do business with you again.
- Each of the ninety percent that refuses to do business with your company will tell at least nine other people (and anybody who wants to listen) how dissatisfied they are and why.
- Customers may come into your business because of the products or service that you offer, but whether they return is determined by the way they are treated.
Therefore in answer to the question, “What Will It Take To Raise The Customer Service Standard In This Country?” My answer is -Punishment! It’s time to make people accountable for their actions. Sadly until people feel pain many are inclined to do nothing. So many more people will have to loose their jobs, many more businesses will have to close their doors, before they get the message. Change will not come if we continue to tolerate and make excuses for the low service standards in this country. There must be a consequence! . So I say when it becomes evident, that business owners and their employees don’t care about you, when it is obvious that they do not value your business, when they take your money and give you inferior service in return, find your voice, demand value for your money then take all future business elsewhere. (And don’t forget to tell as many people as you can about the poor service.) Then perhaps as business owners begin to see a drastic drop in revenue they will get the message. Sub-standards services will not be tolerated. Lets start a revolution against poor service in this country!
