Nigeria Content Online

I am a regular face
at a Quick Service Restaurant with a foreign affiliation on a weekly
basis. I am not a fast food freak but my children have made it
compelling for me, as they know the major ones off hand. One major
thing that I found in all the outlets I have visited is the inability
of the employees to live the brand. It gets to a level that if you have
the number of the CEO, you would want to report the damage being done
to a brand that took years of toils and pains to build.

The truth must be
told – our QSRs are nothing to write home about. The way and manner
some of the staff address customers leave much to be desired. They
sound uncultured and very confrontational. The other day, I overheard a
lady chronicling her history that she is a graduate and as a result,
the customer should not look down on her.

There are other
several stories of such but they are not limited to QSRs alone. Our
banks are even worse, even though some of them changed during the
Sanusi Tsunami; but they are gradually descending to the abyss again.

There have been
several instances that cashiers scream at customers and in some cases,
they look at customers with disdain. The situation is embarrassing when
you speak to some company contacts on phone. The so-called customer
care officers sound as if the two of you have been involved in a brawl
prior to that time.

Employees need to
understand their role in the delivery of high standard customer service
and live their organisation’s brands. Their behaviour should
demonstrate their company’s values and should be fully aware of their
role in providing positive experience for clients.

Their behavioural
disposition should support brand principles. Employees play a crucial
role in creating customer satisfaction and their roles in delivering
value should not be underestimated.

Employers should
ensure that employees are well immersed in the brand values as well as
the organisational objectives so that they project it in a positive
light. Brand values should be promoted to the internal publics in order
to ensure that all employees understand the objectives.

For employees to be
worthy brand ambassadors, there should be consistent engagement
sessions with them to ensure that their attitude and disposition
support the company’s values and goals. This creates a differentiation
and advantage competitors cannot replicate.

It has thus become
a critical thing to do to ensure that employees who interface with
clients directly need to be cultured individuals who have all it takes
to retain a customer. They should be well polished in all intents and
they should have the knowhow to handle customer enquiries efficiently.

Customers’ views are important

Organisations
should also listen attentively to what customers say about their
brands. Every conversation about your brand is very crucial to its
survival for it represents the promise made to customers’ about the
products and services.

There should be
sessions to fully engage customers on a regular basis to feel their
pulse and know their views on the brands. It should not be restricted
to virtual approach alone, as this jeopardises getting the raw insights
that can help the brand on a long run.

I remember vividly
a customer perception project undertaken for one of the big banks
several years ago . The bank’s CEO ordered that the findings should be
sent to all the branches for the Heads to take appropriate action. The
project took the employees unawares, as several of the staff were not
living up to expectation. The management took the findings seriously
and this really helped shaped perception of customers about the brand.
The nature of the project was shrouded in secrecy in order to get an
on-the-spot assessment of the performance of employees.

Most organisations
need to improve on their employees and introduce schemes and
initiatives that will make them become good brand ambassadors. If this
is not given utmost priority, the brands will die slowly until its
final demise. The truth is also that some brands are already dying, but
the signs are not yet ominous for the organisations to take urgent
measures to address the situation.

The next time you are treated badly, tell the person: Please live the brand!

Ayopo, a communication strategist and public relations specialist, is the ceo of Shortlist ltd