Season's Greetings From Customerservice9ja Blog

                                              

This is wishing all our numerous readers and followers a merry Christmas and a New Year of customer service revolution in Nigeria.

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JUMIA.COM.NG PLEASE REFUND MY MONEY

On the 2nd of December 2013, I ordered for one piece of Samsung Active Tab 3 from Jumia.com.ng. I immediately got a confirmation mail both from Jumia.com.mg and from GlobalPay that the transaction was successful. It was then time to wait and according to their delivery terms and conditions, I was to get my product in 2 - 8 days. Delivery was meant to be in Enugu.
I did not hear from Jumia.com.ng after the order number was verified. I started getting worried that no one had contacted me and on the 5th of December 2013, I decided to call Jumia.com.ng on 01-46 04 400. To the biggest surprise of my life, my order had been cancelled the previous day being 4th December 2013. No notification was given and it was at this point that I began to question their credibility. I was told on the 5th when I made my first call that I would get my money in 2-3 business days and up till this moment being 10th of December 2013, I have not received anything from them. I have called Jumia.com.ng over 5 times and even on one occasion, the support representative kept me on hold without getting back.

I humbly ask Jumia.com.ng to refund my money. One of the representative whom I spoke with today being the 10th of December 2013 told me that my money has been sent since 4th December 2013 whereas other representatives especially Fred, that I have spoken to before now told me to be patient till my money is refunded to my account. I have been to my bank and I can confirm that I have not received any money. I have also not received any alert to that effect.
Jumia.com.ng, please refund my money. I do not wish to escalate this beyond our dear forum. I am begging you. I do not regard you as a scam organization and in that vain, live up to your reputation by refunding my money.
Thank you.

From Akatakpo Omonigho

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3 STEPS TO TAKING CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM AVERAGE TO LEGENDARY

It was my first week on the job at Phone.com, things are going smooth until I get a call from a rather frustrated customer. Apparently she had called in for the past 3 weeks, trying to order an adapter from us that allows you to use a traditional home phone. This usually goes great, that is, as long as you can get it shipped to you in the first place. For whatever reason, Fedex thought this customer either lived on the moon, or just didn’t exist. Being a think-outside-the-box kind of guy, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I gave my adapter up for adoption.
It was tough to part ways. I hardly got a chance to even hold my brand new adapter in its shiny, delicate plastic packaging but it had to be done.  There was a customer that needed to make calls, and I was probably going to use it for a doorstop. Priorities, right? When my fabled adapter arrived in our office, I sprinted out to meet the driver, intent on getting this thing shipped out today! I included a card apologizing for the agonizing wait, along with a colorful monkey sticker and ample happy faces. Nothing like putting a shine on a sticky situation like excessive stickers usually do.
Long story short, this customer received my fabled adapter within a few days, and is now a happy customer that will probably be with us for quite some time. This would have never been possible without a few simple steps that I took to make sure I made an impactful experience with this customer:
Go The Extra Yard! It’s one thing to stick to an established procedure, when that procedure works. When it doesn’t, you have to start thinking outside the box of logical procedures, and determine how you can overcome a perceived challenge and turn it into a victory.
Personalize The Service! It wasn’t enough to just send the adapter in a boring cardboard box. I took the steps to write out a personalized note that engendered an emotional connection to cool a rather emotionally frustrating situation.
Take swift actions! After a 3 week wait, I knew that time was of the essence. Tensions were high and impatience as a vocabulary word was now being thrown around commonly. I made sure the device got sent out the minute it got off the Fedex truck.  Nothing like express service!
Overall, thinking outside the box for customers and empowering employees to make such decisions is what turns average customer service into something legendary. The next time you run into a tough situation, close the manuals, ignore the procedures, and pave a new path of discovery.

Written by Derrick Arteus

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CUSTOMER FIRST:LOYALITY THROUGH SERVICE RECOVERY

5Leonard L. Berry and A. Parasuraman put it beautifully.  In their classic, Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality, they describe superior service recovery as “doing the service very right the second time.”  In the simplest of terms, service recovery is the act of making things right for the customer whenever a service failure is occurs.
Should we aim at 100 percent accuracy in service delivery?  Absolutely.  Can we always achieve it?  Maybe not.  Do customers expect us to do it right at all times?  They have a right to do so.  But, fortunately, they also appreciate that occasionally things may go amiss despite the best of efforts.
Given that we should all endeavour to give great service the very first time and every time, there are times when things simply don’t work out that way.  Since those who deliver service are fallible humans, they are bound to make mistakes once in a while.  Sometimes, some situations beyond everybody’s control (the weather, for instance) limit the ability of service people to meet up with customer expectations.  At other times, sheer human error or poor attitude crops up. Thus a delivery date may be missed, a bus service may take off late, a package may be delayed or the wrong product may be shipped.
Once the organisation is aware of a service failure – whether it discovers on its own or through a customer complaint – it is the manner of righting the wrong that makes all the difference.  An excellent service recovery programme offers an organisation the opportunity to showcase its service orientation to an otherwise angry customer.  Service recovery may, in certain situations, involve bending over backward to ensure that the customer is happy once again.  In some organisations with excellent service culture, frontline staff are authorized to spend up to a certain amount of money in resolving a customer complaint without recourse to a superior.  In others, there is a policy of complaint resolution at first contact.  This means that whoever receives a complaint first or gets to know about a matter first, owns the problem and ensures that it is resolved immediately to the customer’s satisfaction.
What’s the payoff for “doing the service very right the second time”?  In one word, loyalty.  Various studies indicate that when a complaint is satisfactorily resolved, most customers will continue doing business with the organisation and may even become more loyal than they would have been if there had been no problem.  This is known as the service recovery paradox.  Do you need to disappoint customers sometimes in order to execute an excellent service recovery and earn their loyalty?  That’s clearly not the way to go.  The fact though is that customers are happy with those who resolve their challenges effectively.  They also spread positive word of mouth, which brings in more customers.
But we need to clarify one point.  The customer is the ultimate judge of satisfaction.  Therefore to make dissatisfied customer happy again, the organisation must tackle the complaint with despatch, courtesy and empathy.  If the service recovery process is long-winded and rigorous, the customer may remain dissatisfied after the problem has been resolved.  Speed is of the essence.  When we realise that most customers won’t complain then the importance of excellent service recovery cannot be overlooked.
It is important that every serious organisation have a service recovery plan with a simple procedure in place.  The story is popularly told of how Nordstrom, a specialty retailer, accepted returned automobile tyres and refunded the customer the amount he said he bought the goods although the company never sold the tyres.  The company allowed this just to keep a customer happy.
Few companies would go as far as Nordstrom.  But every company definitely has a great opportunity to leave lasting impressions on customers through service recovery.
Here are a few suggestions you should consider.
*Have a service recovery system in place.
*Put your service recovery plan to work once a mistake has been identified, whether the customer is aware or not.
*Speed is of the essence.  Do it now.
*Service recovery is not a cost.  It is an investment.

WRITTEN BY ALLWELL NWANKWO  & CULLED FROM VANGUARD ONLINE

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ETISALAT REACTS TO JULIUS AGWU'S #100M LAWSUIT

Telecoms giant ,Etisalat has reacted to Julius Agwu’s seven-day ultimatum that it should compensate him with the sum of N100 million or risk legal action over “alleged unlawful and unjustified blocking and/or swapping” of his Etisalat GSM phone number 08189555555.

In an email sent to PM News, Etisalat’s Public Relations Manager, Chineze Amanfo, stated that contrary to reports making the rounds, a SIM swap was performed on the said line after the requester provided the company’s customer care executives with necessary SIM replacement information, in accordance with laid down NCC regulations and process for SIM swap.

“Subsequently, upon a report made at our office by Mr. Agwu that he is the owner of the line and did not authorize anyone to swap it, our customer care executives promptly restored the line as well as the airtime lost during the swap process.

“Etisalat Nigeria is currently carrying out an internal investigation into the SIM swap incident and will refer the matter to the appropriate agencies for further investigation as may be necessary.

“We wish to assure the general public that Etisalat Nigeria is committed to the protection of the rights of its subscribers and to continue to provide value adding services to its customers.

“We will spare no effort to unravel the circumstances surrounding the alleged unauthorized SIM swap while encouraging our customers and the general public to protect their personal information at all times,” she stated.

Agwu had demanded compensation through his lawyer, Festus Keyamo, due to what he termed loss of business opportunities and the inconvenience experienced by him during the period.

Keyamo had in a letter to the company dated 26 November, 2013 stated that “in the event that you fail, refuse or neglect to accede to our above stated demand within seven (7) days from the receipt of this letter, we shall be compelled to set in motion against you, all legal machineries necessary to obtain legal remedy for our client.”

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CUSTOMERS PROTEST ARIK AIR FREQUENT FLIGHT DELAY

Some passengers of Arik Air on Saturday protested treatment suffered in the hands of Nigeria’s biggest domestic airline.

The passengers at the Magaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, had their flight delayed by almost four hours.

ccurrence was becoming a norm, saying the Lagos flight W3 504 scheduled for 1300hrs was delayed till 1630hrs.

“I cannot believe this and I may sue them. I have a function in Lagos which obviously I have missed. I was supposed to be at the wedding reception of a long time friend. But I had an engagement in the morning so I promised him that I will attend the reception.

“Now look at the time; we will arrive Lagos approximately 5:30pm. Then I have to rush down to Ikoyi from Murtala Mohammed Airport (in Ikeja). Wouldn’t it be better if I had stayed back,” he asked rhetorically.

Among those caught in the delay are medical practitioners under the aegis of Association Psychiatrists in Nigeria, APN. The group was in Calabar for a seminar on the theme:
‘Trauma beyond the physical’

One of them who spoke to DailyPost expressed dissatisfaction at the development, calling for appropriate sanction.

“We came here for a programme. Most of us should be in Lagos now with our families enjoying the weekend. I experienced this with Arik few weeks ago; it was an Abuja bound flight. This is no good for their corporate image.

Officials of the company refused to state reason for the delay. They were however seen appealing to the angry travelers to exercise patience.

“Please bear with us, we are very sorry. Everyone will be lifted soon,” a staff assured in response to a complaint by a traveler.

DailyPost observed that some of the passengers took interest in the Arsenal vs Cardiff football match as they await the announcement of their flight.

Later, the voice of a lady called them for checking and boarding. The time was exactly 4:28pm.

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