Nigeria is a great nation with great people, great business owners and great entrepreneurs. A place with diverse language, tribes and cultures. Across the country you can see business activities in almost every nook and cranny of every city, town and village.

There’s never a dull moment in this part of the world as everybody is doing all they can to put food on their tables. For this reason, you’ll see small shops, stores and kiosks scattered in every street across the country.

One thing that is typical of these small business owners is their poor customer service. I’m afraid this norm is crawling into reputable business organizations.

If you’ve never been to Nigeria you may not understand this “abnormal normal” everyday life. This is always the case of poor customer service which is interwoven into our tradition.


Only a Nigerian buyer will understand…

-“you get change” (Do you have change?)

When you got to a store you expect the store keeper to greet you with a broad smile and perhaps a hand shake but that’s not the case in my beloved country, Nigeria.

When you enter a shop the first welcome song they sing to you is, “you get change”?. It can really be frustrating when that’s all the money you have and you want to buy something in a little amount.

It is the responsibility of the shop keeper to serve a customer in all ways possible and not the customer to look for change.

Read also: 13 Things Only an Entrepreneur in Lagos will Understand

I remember going to a shop to buy recharge card and the seller asked me, “you get change”? I was like: I no be beggar? (I’m not a beggar?)

-if you no go buyam commot” (go away, if you won’t buy it)

This usually happen when you don’t bargain to the seller’s favor. It pains me so much when I hear those cold words. Saying those words to a buyer makes him feel unimportant. This only shows that you don’t appreciate the patronage of the buyer.

The possibility that a buyer will come back to buy from you is slim. If you say that to atleast one customer for one month you’ve lost 30 customers.

It is quite funny that some of them do return.

-“I no dey sell credit” (I don’t sell on credit)

Go to most stores and you’ll be greeted with the “No Credit Today, Come Tomorrow” notice. This does not only scare customers away, it also makes them feel uncomfortable doing business with you. In this age of credit card it is absolutely outdated to post such nonsense on the front of your shop.


source: southpawgroup.com

-“e don finish” (it has finished)

This is usually a case of telling a buyer that what he wants to buy is finished where as you don’t sell it at all. It is the height of insincerity in business.

Many sellers say this so as to gain the continuous patronage of the buyer. No business ever becomes successful that way.

If you don’t have a product or service to offer refer the customer to someone who does.

-“we done close” (we have closed)

This is usually the case of late night buyers. How frustrating it is to rush to a shop keeper to buy something and he tells you he has closed for the day. Sometimes it seems the seller does not care about their customers.

It’s also funny that the buyer will start pleading even with his money.

-“no change” (there’s no change)

There’s no person who has not heard this one. Just imagine that you’re in a place for the first time and you’re very thirsty. On reaching the nearest shop to buy ‘pure water’ (sachet water) for #10, the seller seeing that you have #100 with you tells you no change.

What can you do? Nothing. It’s like being denied oxygen. Only a Nigerian buyer will understand this.

Then there’s also the case of trying to buy recharge card of #100 with #500 or #1000 to call someone and you’re told no change.it

-“go buyam wia dem dey sellam cheap” (go and buy it where it is sold cheap)

You’ll often hear this one when you under price a product. Buyers are usually tongue lashed when th

More>>>http://maverickexcel.com/10-phrases-only-a-nigerian-buyer-will-understand/

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Who cares

But






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And apy new me 2

kenonze:
Nice topic but poor work from you @Op.

Those phrases are common in places/shops managed by non-igbos.
When you see someone who is not a business man and not ready to progess, thats how they behave

I don't mean to be tribalistic but whenever I go to eat food at an Ibo person's restaurant I'm usually given one sachet of pure water for free but Yoruba women will charge me for pure water and sometimes might not even have water and will have to go and buy from somewhere else.

But bad business practice is prevalent everywhere in our society as there are no laws guiding how businesses should be run and there is not much of set standards as to the practice of starting a business. Lack of adequate funding is also an issue as Nigerian banks seem to have a policy against supporting start ups