It is so annoying when you go to a neighbourhood shop to get stuffs and the seller ends up getting you treated as one who has come to beg for the things you actually came to buy with your hard-earned money. That's how it is with most Nigerians, especially, those that sell provisions, foodstuffs and other little house-hold items. Immediately they get a handful of customers, they become lords and turn arrogant! One could lose the numerous customers one has made over the time if your customer service is bad! You can actually improve your customer service through the following ways:

1) Readily having change to give to customers: I know that there are times when it seems difficult getting accurate change for customers but you shouldn't make it a duty for customers to come with the exact money for the purchases they would want to make. There are shop owners who even quarrel with you when you don't come with the exact money . The Northerner in my neighbourhood makes more money than any other shop owner I know of because he has change readily available except on few occassions. This is in sharp contrast with the seller who frowns and quarrels with you when you come with 50 Naira to buy pure water of 20 Naira! Though, some buyers are annoying sha! How you go bring 1000 Note and talk say you wan buy 30 Naira groundnut?

2) Value every customer that calls in: If you sell something worth 20 Naira, you are richer because you must have made profit. You can't tell me that the market price was the same as the amount you sold it!!! There are people who sell reluctantly to you when you are buying something of small quantity but observe how they react to the man who has come to buy more. My guy, life nor be competition o! Treat your customers well, whether big or small and watch how your sales increase!

3) Always say 'Thank you' when someone patronizes you: Money doesn't grow on trees. People toil and sweat for it, so their purchase, whether small or big must not only be appreciated but must be shown to have been appreciated. Saying 'thank you' when someone buys from you is a sure way of making them come back again. There are people who will never say 'thank you' even if you buy something worth thousands of Naira from them!!! Absence of courtsey in business can make someone to patronize your competitor even if it takes them a longer time to get there!

4) Make sure customers are comfortable while they wait: You can increase people's patronage when you treat them very well whenever they check in. Do not leave customers standing unattended to. There are people whose business outfits you would visit and I bet you, you would regret calling in. Some would be seen discussing and laughing on phone or with a friend in the shop while you are waiting. If you own a shop and it is always crowded, make sure you talk to every customer that comes in, make them comfortable and assure them that you will soon attend to them. Don't make them stand, waiting without any pleasant word to ease the stress of waiting. It is easy to lose customers when there are other competitors!

5) Always avoid the temptation of selling bad goods to customers: This is one sure way of giving your business a bad image! Some years back, I had a woman who operated a provision shop close to my house. She was fond of selling spoilt and expired stuffs to people. When she discovers that her packs of noodles have been eaten by rats, she would still package them and sell to an unsuspecting buyer!!! She thought she was being clever but she got to know better when her customers started decreasing!!!

Your attitude in business matters a lot. It doesn't just end in packing your shop full with variety of goods.

You can contribute yours...Happy New Year everyone!!!

#6.. Do customer ritual..

lalasticlala prefers to be the number 10,001 waiting on the queue to buy iya sarafa's fast food that is always salty than iya awele's very sweet food in the same area because iya sarafa went an extra mile..

Nice Nuggets

ichommy:
Nice Nuggets

Thanks

adren:
#6.. Do customer ritual..

lalasticlala prefers to be the number 10,001 waiting on the queue to buy iya sarafa's fast food that is always salty than iya awele's very sweet food in the same area because iya sarafa went an extra mile..

lalasticlala, oya come see o!

Spot on... Honestly most retail outlet are so irritating, at times frustration piles up their mental capacity.

Collenshy101:
Spot on... Honestly most retail outlet are so irritating, at times frustration piles up their mental capacity.

Bro, this stuff has really been on my mind for some time now

But Mtn dey try... Dem collect my #100, I come dey Para for dem o.. After calming me down with the sir on it, dem return Asap

Op God bless yu for sharing this information, I would like to contribute by adding vendors should learn not to transfer aggression, if a customer irritates yu don't always think the next person is the same therefore he/she deserves wht yu fail to tell or do the one that made yu angry.

6. Dress well

7. Stop anything that can irritate your customer e.g picking your nose, blowing mucus and serving raw foods withouth wearing gloves or fork

8. Don't blow air into a nylon with your mouth(my biggest turn-off): this is why i don't buy roadside breads..

Customer service in Nigeria is laughable at best.

However, all negatives boil down to orientation. The more people start to change their mindset about it, the better it gets.

Last time i visited Naija, I noticed it had improved a lot, although most of the improvements are with larger companies.

If more average Nigerians start thinking along these lines, the changes will be positive at all levels and lead to economic growth.

Remember, the happier the customer, the more they buy. The more they buy, the more your business grows.
The more it grows, the more people you employ. The more you employ, the lower the unemployment rate.

et cetera et cetera et cetera...

adren:
#6.. Do customer ritual..
lalasticlala prefers to be the number 10,001 waiting on the queue to buy iya sarafa's fast food that is always salty than iya awele's very sweet food in the same area because iya sarafa went an extra mile..

Now I see reason why your roasted plaintain & groundnut business is booming

That's why Omo IBO will always triumph above others in Nigeria, it's like they are born with business strategy. When u go to their shop to buy one item ,if care is not taken u will buy more than what u bargain for.

I MUST print THIS AND POST ON EVERY ECOBANK BRANCH I SEE...


THANKS op...

I don't even know what to type.

You are so on point OP, even if u are frustrated as a seller, u are not supposed to vent your frustration on your customer

Y

Its worse in banks these days..
Even the so called customer care agents are mannerless and have a bad attitude towards work in general.

This post shoud be addressed to MTN!!!

Na wah oh!

Reading

You are right , the customer service some of this small and medium size businesses have is annoying to say the least, only if they know they are the bedrock of our economy.

Freemanan:
I MUST print THIS AND POST ON EVERY ECOBANK BRANCH I SEE...


THANKS op...

I dey tell you. You made my day with this comment of yours!

Thanks for this insightful post OP

You're so right. A woman in my area will never give me change, she will hold on to my change for weeks then later claim that I've collected it or I came to buy something with it. I stopped buying from her.

thats if they are ready to grow in business

[size=15pt]A TYPICAL TRADER WILL BE ON A SPOT FOR 10 YEARS AND FEELS EVERYTHING IS OKAY...[/size]


AFRICAN MENTALITY

Nice piece,, IYA SHADIA, u dey hear??







CHECK MY SIGNATURE, PLEASE

Nice read. This issue of bus conductors and retailers believing that it is the responsibility of the passengers/customers to come with the exact money is irritable. Here in Nairobi, I can boldly buy 2 fingers of bananas for 10 shllings (N20) and give the seller a 1000 shillings note (N2,000) it is the seller's obligation to get the change not mine!

Vanquay:
Make sure the customer rep is a blonde, preferably NAtural, with Big titts, nice voice and an equally dumb brain and she must be very friendly.

When i start my business i will make sure those that interact first with customers are sexy women with phat asses and nice titts...Sorry Guys but its all abouta money

Ill be the first to patronize your business
Dont care what U selling

Vanquay:


LMFAO, it will probably be crack but na white customers i dey target

Hahahaahaha. Then Ill be bringing my white friends over