Skip to main content

Customer Is King.


'I am not going to patronize your store anymore, you sell inferior items. You are fake'. 
She said all this at the top of her voice, visibly upset. 
'I bought expired yoghurt here. It landed my kids in the hospital for food poisoning'.

People around her gasped.
One lady glanced around furtively and returned the yoghurt she had just picked.
I demand a full refund and I will tell everyone I know not to patronize you guys anymore. You are a bunch of fake ass people.

Other customers looked on, uncomfortable with the scene unfolding.
One of the staff approached her, wary and standing far off, 
'We are sorry Madam, I have gone to call the manager, he will sort this out' Sorry Ma'.
He moved away quickly.

I knew then that if care wasn't taken, this situation would get out of hand. I also came to shop but the store had a good reputation and would not knowingly stock expired items. They were known for having variety and good items.

She was fuming quietly, tapping her feet on the ground, muttering to herself.
I approached her quietly, 
'Madam so sorry about the incidence with the yoghurt. That must have been quite tough. I understand how you feel right now, I have kids too and I would be really upset if something I gave them to eat or drink landed them in the hospital' 

At this point she broke down crying, holding on to me, 
'I feel so guilty, and angry, what if it was worse than that? How would I be able to live with myself.'
'So sorry Ma I can imagine how you feel. Let's Thank God they are well'.
'Thank you so much, Ma. Are you the manager?'
'No I am not, i noticed how upset you were and I saw they werent handling the situation well.' They usually have good products here and so I am surprised at this'

By now the manager had come around, apologising profusely promising heaven and earth. Lol.
It was the aggrieved lady now telling him to calm down. 

As you interact with your customers, one of the skills you cant go wrong with is 'Empathy'. The ability to empathise will take your interaction with the customer from 0 -100 in a blink.
I will be sharing more tips in a very relatable manner. I would love for you to share with your circle, leave your comments and subscribe so you see my posts as it publishes.


Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 25, 2020 at 12:18 AM

    You are right you can't go wrong with showing empathy, how I use to tell a friend this. But then there are some customer that empathy will not move them. Take for example, in the hospitality industry let's say the food was contaminated, or not properly cooked don't get me wrong this restaurant is one of the best, although you know this particular guest is full of trouble how do you calm such people?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexMay 25, 2020 at 4:24 AM

      Empathy is still the way to go but empathy isn't the be-all end-all of the matter. As a goods or service provider you must also take responsibility for your failings. Make refunds, offer replacements, offer discounts. Empathy is the place to start but customers must also see you putting your money where your mouth is. It's about building relationships that will lead to a profitable
      future with that customer. Profitable for both you and your customer.

      Delete
    2. Temilade AduMay 25, 2020 at 4:38 AM

      Thank you for the Feedback Alex. You hit the nail on the head.

      Delete
    3. Temilade AduMay 25, 2020 at 4:50 AM

      Take responsibility, apologise and make immediate amends. Be careful not to make promises you cannot keep.

      Delete
  2. Seun OMay 25, 2020 at 1:20 AM

    Empathy definitely works most of the time. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  3. MorayoMay 25, 2020 at 5:17 AM

    Great storytelling, Temilade. I learnt about the power of reactions. Hoping that you'll write something about the customer that may not come back after a bad service. This is where I belong many times🙈

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Temilade AduMay 25, 2020 at 11:42 PM

      Thank you Morayo. I definitely will. Good service is what actually makes the difference and most people don't know. We all tend to gravitate to that vendor or store where their attendants are smiling, where we are attended to promptly, all of these make up good customer service and it makes all the differnece.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Be Extra.

"You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for".  Napoleon Hill. I love reading. Most of the people that know me can attest to this. You can be sure to find my nose buried in a book even right from the time I was really young.(Well, really young, because I am not old old right now) 😁😁 And as such, I was one of the happiest people when digital publishing became a thing and e- books were no longer an elite privilege. Years ago there came a new player on the scene, now currently one of the foremost digital publishers in Africa. As a matter of fact, this app was the next best thing since sliced bread that year. The app was available on android and coming soon for IOS and that was the issh Fam. I could read all I want via my mobile phone and on the go. You can imagine my obvious excitement. I was in ninth heaven.  The most interesting part was the plethora o...
2 comments
Read more

I Did Not Kill My Mother!!!

'So my children can not kill me' I don't know whose Mum never said this. It's even sweeter when its said in Yoruba. For real though! That's how I felt tonight. This post is a testimony and a recount of the antics of Mr 4. If 'Drive' was a person, it would bear his name. Or even 'Persistence'. Photo credit @pexels.com Some mornings ago, I told the boys if they follow me to the bathroom immediately, I will let them watch something on my phone for a bit. Even though I was still pressing my phone and not ready to get up. This is a tactic that always works and allows me have peace for a bit. Lol. Judge not! We all have days like this. Before long we noticed Mr 4 was no longer in the room, we found him in the bathroom already with his bathing bowl, sponge and soap making a lather and splashing suds everywhere. Fast forward to last night, hubby went out and brought suya along. I don't remember telling this boy anything about bath...
5 comments
Read more

And There Was Light

And there was light. Light when a cure for the pandemic is found. Light when isolation no longer exists Light when social distancing becomes a thing of the past. Light when our normal returns to normal.   Light when our security forces did their jobs Light when the police is actually our friend. Light when the youths are employed Light when vocations are promoted Light when one million boys are rehabilitated   Light when you can move around at 6pm, Without fear of your phone being snatched. Light when you can sleep all night, Without the noise of vigilantes whitsles Light when our houses are not covered in soot From burning tyres.   The dark is dark We crave Light. Written by Temilade Adu.
4 comments
Read more