Habatically, If I say the customer service in Nigeria is bad, I dey lie.
It is worse than bad. Ah! Infact, make I tell you why I talk so... I experienced two scenarios a few weeks ago. One which is typical, and the other was
totally new to me.
Scenario 1: Glo Office
I went to Glo Office abi Glo World, I wanted to buy a sim
pack, the guy manning the door opened the door, at least he knew what his job was. I was
directed to one of the customer service ladies and she told me to siddon. So I
sat. She smiled sweetly and asked what I wanted, I told her and I wanted a sim card so I expected a
sim pack to be produced in my very before.
Brethren, the next thing, this lady picked up her phone,
dialled a number and her conversation went like this… (I hope you can read yoruba?)
“Oga why naw?”
Pause
“I say why ti e she cut line wa? A ti san owo ina e wa cut eh” (why did you cut our light, we have paid)
Pause
“Mo san owo temi lana, IK ti san owo tie, awa meji nikan na
wa ni ile yen…( I paid yesterday, IK paid today, we are the only ones living there)
Long Pause
“Reconnection fee bi ti bawo? O ti jare!” (reconnection fee, why?)
she flings arm in the air as if questioning a ghost...
“Ehen? Ehn! Nkan ti e she ko da rara” (what you have done is not good at all)
she continued,
squeezing her face like pesin wey chop sour agbalumo.
PAUSE!
I could not believe my eyes and my ears…seriously? She’s
calling the man that cut her nepa line while I am waiting to be served? Did I
leave my house under the hot lagos sun to come and do this? Is this why we are
all here?
The second CS attendant must have seen the look of shock on
my face and called out to ‘Tosin’.
“Tosin, o tie attend si lady yi first, ko to continue call…” (at least attend to this lady before continuing your call)
LOL.
Nonsense! Why should she even be making a personal call at
all!? Why can’t she wait till her lunch time? What is all this jagbajantis?
Scenario 2: MM1 Airport
Some of you might know the shop I’m talking about. It was
the meatpie and co shop inside the airport. I went to buy meatpie, so I asked
the lady if there was any…she did her face like pesin wey dey mess inside her
mouth and said
“no meatpie in the show glass so no meatpie…
Me and this babe are not dragging boyfren, ahn ahn.
The attitude she was displaying to me was like that na. Wetin I do? The
business dey move because people like me dey buy, why she was squeezing her
face is what I don’t know. I thought it was stupid! But not
as stupid as my first encounter BECAUSE I expect a Glo staff to be TRAINED.
I am not happy jor! *Sulks*
I’m not the only one that notices these things abi? I experience appalling levels of service almost on a daily basis.
The yoruba convo was funny...but on the real, I find Nigerian customer service to be appalling and its not good. I remember last year I went to shop rite to buy bread and we had to queue. Customers were treated like animals as opposed to human beings and I picked up a fight with one of the sales people in the store cos of how she was treating the customers. I dont know if they do not know the value of customer service or they choose to carry out their frustrations on we innocent customers. Hopefully this too shall pass soon in Naija.
ReplyDeleteHopefully oh! Can't wait for that day!
DeleteYoure not the only one who notices. I think for me things have got to a head so I have zero tolerance for bad service. I confront the person then and there.
ReplyDeleteI try, but on some days I just get tired....
DeleteMy sista, the matter haff tiya me. I called Lufthansa Germany were I am based, trying to sort out flight issues and I was asked to call the Lagos office. From the moment the service agent picked the call, I knew nothing had changed when it comes to customer service in Nigeria. I politely asked, "May I know with whom I'm speaking with?", next thing the guy snapped and said, "Were you not the one that called me". Khian, see me see trouble. The rest of the convo was very unpleasant that I had to end the call cos I was too appalled to go on.
ReplyDeleteBut you sha like long tin, you called cos you knew it was Lufthansa. So why ask him his name first? Why not just go straight to the point? ITK
Deletelool! smh*
ReplyDeleteI really hate bad customer service! but I don't remember experiencing any as bad as the ones u mentoned
pele no vex lol
I think I experience it too often!
DeleteCustomer service at some banks nko?? terrible.
ReplyDeletehorrible!
DeleteJust last week my Hubby was on a queue at TFC at the Mobil gas station, Lekki, Lagos to buy moi-moi...after telling the attendant want he wants, na so one other attendant come....she just pack all the moi-moi on the shelf away...say the lady who was the last person on the queue had placed an earlier order...I was so pissed , why display the items, and also take our order in the first place ......why display already sold items ........after waiting for over 20 mins to be served...I was so upset..I just started displaying my "yoruba razzness"...on top my money......customer service sucks in Nigeria
ReplyDeleteSorry, it's TFC at the Oando gas station in Lekki.....
DeleteLol try etisalat costumer care, Terrible. im immune to the terrible costumer service
ReplyDeleteI wish I was like you :immune
DeleteThe glo scenario takes the cake, as in naija customer service will give you heart attack. I have seen and heard worse.
ReplyDeleteMy dear! sad !
DeleteL̃̾ol this is a big issue in naija here in PH its worst cox dey lack manners in all angles. The way dε̲̣Ɣ reply is like u have been quarreling wit them for long.u can imagine I was looking for a gift for sm1 and d shop I entered I could not really get wat I was looking for the next thing the owner of d shop said was "if u nor see W̶̲̥̅̊e̶̲̥̅̊t̶̲̥̅̊i̶̲̥̅̊n̶̲̥̅? U want oya bye bye" u can imagine their mentality. Its just patience we need to deal wit d public
ReplyDeleteTypical bad behaviour! We need more patience
Deletelool.Why THE NAME TOSIN NOW?
ReplyDeletelol...sorry
DeleteMyn ws in d market. Wanted 2 buy fish (eja yiyan) from an old woman. Dis is how d convo went.
ReplyDeleteMe: ekaasan ma, elo ni eja (how much is fish)
Her: 450
Me: shay ko gba 250 ni? (E no gree 250)
Her: mshewwwww iru oro buruku wo niyen, mo pe nkan ni 450, o ni 250. Iru oshi wo ni yen. (Wat type of nonsense talk is dat, I sd 450, u sd 2 no gree 250. Wat type of rubbish talk is dat)
As in, dis woman started cursing. Me out nd ws ready to fight me in d market. I js walked away thinkin if e no gree, shebi u'll js tell me e no gree. No need for d unnecessary dramatics. I sha walked away cos it ws an old woman. Bt if it ws a young lady, I kno wetin I for talk.
Funny thing is, I got home nd gisted my mum abt d whole thing nd ws tellin her I'll neva buy fish frm dat area, den she told me not to take it personally, dats how some ppl act nd dat d woman wldnt even recognise me if she saw me again. Truetrue 3days later, I passed dat area and dis same mama ws callin me 'omo mi,fine gal u no buy fish'? I js thot in my mind 'lailai!! Olorunmaje'..lol. D thing is dis is how some of dem lose customers and dey don't even kno it. Dis fish woman is close to my house bt no matta wat, wen I wnt to buy fish or my friends dat come to visit wnt to buy fish, I'd rather trek farrrrrrr to my dear omo ibo to buy my fish.
I feel you my dear!
DeleteGT Bank Staff has joined the list of poor customer service rep. Their look on its own is scary. Utterance,full of spite (for someone you don't know o).
ReplyDeleteI've experienced GT CS, the one in Warri, terrible!
DeleteAnti sykik, there's no tfc at mobil lekki na.
ReplyDeleteTfc at oando, mr biggs at mobil
Sowie darling, my error..it's oando...thanks for the correction
DeleteToo funny but sadly true. Employees generally don't see have a sense of dedication to their employers & can't see how their attitude affects the profits.
ReplyDeleteApart from rudeness, what about cashiers that deliberately give wrong change? This is very common at most of the major fast food outlets, they take advantage ofthe rush-rush to rob people of the correct change.
Now I insist on getting a reciept & take my time to calculate what on the receipt and count my change before leaving the counter - much to the annoyance of everyone but na my money now!!!
Funny and disheartening at the same time. Businesses act like they are doing you a favour when you patronise them forgetting that they have competitors. Owners should do more training no matter how menial the role is. But then again, sometimes poor customer service is displayed by the owners themselves. I had been eyeing one shop in Magodo as they wrote in front "buy your food stuff at Ketu price" - they are like a mini green grocers. So one day, I has time on my hands and I decided to go in to see exactly what they sell. The moment I walked in, the assistant asked me, "what do u want ma ", I said , "not sure yet, you guys are new abi? Let me look around" then I walked in and she followed me sticking so close I could feel her on my back! Then she said "madam wetin u want ma, tell me make I bring am". I repeated that I just want to look around first. She just snapped "How u no go know wetin u wan buy? Noooo o u can go and come back when you know" I was too shocked to think of a reply. Just walked out.
ReplyDeleteMy mother owned a shop and we had to follow customers around who were 'just browsing' because we had experienced multiple instances of theft.
Deletesigh...both sides of the story ey?
DeleteChai! You are hilarious. I was having a bad morning, but after reading this post......
ReplyDeleteCustomer service in this our Nigeria ehn! The last one i experienced was diamond bank own. Sooo irritating! What do they all care? Afterall, eeeees nor their father's company.
I'm glad my post made you feel better
DeleteThanks for bringing this topic up Sisi Yemmie. Etisalat has the worst costumer service everrrrrrrr. I went to their office in festac town one day and overheard a male staff bragging to a customer that he usually puts people who talk trash over the phone in their place. He said that a customer called one day and was asking about how to subscribe for a plan but since he couldn't understand the english the customer spoke, He simply told the customer to PRESS THE RED BUTTON on his phone which he "mumuishly" did....imagine :S. Apart from that, when you call their customer service number to speak to a customer care representative, They would direct you to a pre-recorded voice tape of a supposed customer care rep who'd keep on saying "Hello! Is anyone there? If i don't get a response i might have to end this call" and the call would be hung up. If you call again the same thing happens but with another name. Lemme not even start with their Crappy Internet bundle plans..... Infact, i'm looking for a new network to port to right now.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha... where you wan port go? all the networks have their own madness
DeleteIt's really tiring!! I got a message from the bank that they have phased out the ATM card I was using and I should go and collect my new card (btw i just renewed the card like 4 months before). To avoid drama, i went a few days later and the customer service lady told me that I should fill out a form which I did and left. Two days later she called me to say I will have to write a letter to my branch and ask them to send my ATM to their own branch (See me see trouble oh). I wasn't in town and even when I returned I didn't have the time to do go back to the bank until like 3 weeks later. That's how I approached this lady and explained why I was there and she started complaining that shebi she called me since and it is now that I chose to come so I should sit down and wait till she can attend to me. I was shocked o!! On top my card, and my money, and my time!!! After waiting like 10 mins while she stared seriously at her computer she pushed a piece of paper towards me and said I should write the letter! (Why did she not give me the paper since? was she trying to punish me by making me wait? I could have finished writing the 2 line letter and left since!!!) I had to literally hold my breathe for 3 mins to desist from saying what I reckon would have been what she deserved.
ReplyDeleteimagine that!
DeleteThanks for this post. I remember returning an excess grocery that was mistakenly put in my bag to a store and the girl on d till could not even say thank you. I even called her attention to it and she looked at me in an awkward manner. Customer service is zero in naija but it won't stop me though. Seyi
ReplyDeleteI think it's best to always mention if service is bad, make dem know say we know the right thing
DeleteHahaha this is so funny! Especially scenario 1. Lol. And you this babe "habatically"? Lol new word in my dictionary yo! Loool
ReplyDeleteI think i got it from Psquare... lol
DeleteHaba Sisiyemmie..you didn't post my comments...
ReplyDeleteStill..nice write up
Similar blog post is at :http://naija-biz.blogspot.com/
ha... I post every comment o
Deleteblessings....
ReplyDeleteFirst rule of good business is excellent customer service, it is the fuel that loads the bottom line ($$$$). If one does not care about customer service then they do not care about the business, quality service, quality assurance, growing their business or making money.
peace.
Rhapsody
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Exactly!!
DeleteThis is why we have companies folding up after 10-20years, while their counterparts in the West are celebrating a Century in business. Just heartbreaking.
EXACTLY!!!!
DeleteI have so many stories to tell about customer service. I went to GTBank one day to withdraw money for my rent that had been wired in a foreign currency in. They said that since I didnt deposit it they are under no obligation to have cash, and No, they could not call and find out which branch would have the said amount of foreign currency. Needless to say, soon after they pissed me off so much in further incidents that I opened an account in another bank.
ReplyDeleteI think since Aderinokun died the bank has lacked its vision.
Its a shame, really!
DeleteLOL at all these stories.
ReplyDeletesoooo y'all (including you, Sisi) need to checkout ReviewNaija. Service is so bad in Naij, makes no sense. Abi are we not all human beings? Even to the point where human lives can be at stake read here. SO SAD!
So sad! I love what you do on your page!
Deletei went to buy my fave biscuit in a supermarket here in bonny island. i can only get it in this paticular supermarket. i bought two and i gave the sales girl 1000 naira, she was supposed to give me 200 naira change. she told me she didnt have change, now the proper thing for her to do is to ask her colleagues to help her with change from their till or ask one of her less busy colleague to help her look for change. so i asked her what she wanted me to do, she said i should drop the biscuit naw that can't i see that she doesnt have change. Before then i had gone to buy a pack of eva water from that supermarket and this particular sales girl asked me if i dont have hand to carry it when i asked her to assist me.
ReplyDeletesadly, i still went there yesterday to buy the biscuit.
LOL. that is just sad.
DeleteWelcome to our darling home sweet , Naija
ReplyDeleteabeg i no want welcome LOL
DeleteWelcome to our darling home sweet home, Naija
ReplyDeleteJust reading up the different scenarios is making me so upset already. I cannot stomach rudeness, especially when I am spending my own money! Without customers, no business can survive, so businesses need customers! Once I experience bad service, I complain on the spot. Customer care is really crappy in Nigeria, but the saddest part is that a lot of Nigerians have come to accept it as the status quo and tolerate it. I think there should be some sort of consumer complaints board set up for customers to come together and take proactive measures against poor service. It is really disheartening.
ReplyDeleteLMAO...You truly a Blogger cos you sabi narrate wellll
ReplyDeleteLMAO..Your truly a blogger... Cos you sabi narrate welll
ReplyDeleteUp Naija! Lolzzz
ReplyDeleteI just read this post Sisiyemmie, i first open mouth during the yorus convo, i started laughing. Customer Assistants nor get joy o. I abuse one for Tivo Supermarket Warri. I entered the supermkt to buy cream. They carry cream put for up up. I ask the assistant, 'Pls where is dove cream'? she sidon for chair, fold hand like who de sick, Ehn its up there na. I say sist hw my hand go rish up, i nor de see wetin u de show me. If body tire you, go house na, pple de find job o, sidon look na dog name. I just hiss! Useless sumboris
ReplyDeleteSisi Yemmie, am new on your blog and I would say it's really nice. You touch all spheres of issues concerning human lives...day-in, day-out. To the CS issues, bluntly speaking, I don't take such from them, most especially banks. If go for a service and it appears I'll be given a rude response, am always quick to wear my "no non-sense, unsmiling and mean-looking face....just to hang their rude act before they spill it.
ReplyDeleteGuess you all haven't experienced bad customer service from Arik staff, tufiaaa. Especially their staff at Hilton Abuja. I bow for them o
ReplyDelete