Many will agree with me when
I say that the service standards in South Africa leave much to be desired.
Have you ever got to a
pay-point and greeted the cashier and not be greeted back? Or the cashier
responds with an “hmm…”. Or you overhear the receptionist curse at the client
in a different language. Do you confront the situation or do you walk away?
Sadly, most people walk away
from bad service and do not complain. Unfortunately, people are more likely to share
a bad experience than a good one. Whether it is a rude cashier or non-delivery
of goods, bad customer service reflects badly on the company as a whole.
“The customer can make or
break a business. It is important that employees are trained well on good
customer service and are monitored regularly” (www.coursepark.com). It should become company protocol that
potential employees should attend a customer service skills
training course before being hired permanently.
However, customers do not
have to grind their teeth and bear with bad customer service. Those that cannot
speak for themselves can be spoken for. The rights of South African consumers
are protected by law. The Consumer Protection Act (Act 68 of 2008) was put in
place to protect consumers (www.southafrica.info).
There are also organisations
that aim at evaluating customer service in South Africa. Active Service
Excellent South Africa (ASESA) is one such organisation. ASESA has been
operating as a toll free hotline service provider since 1999. The hotline is
designed to gather valuable intelligence, concerning service related deviations
that impact negatively on business operations. Service related deviations
include poor customer service (www.asesa.co.za).
According to (www.skills-universe.com),
South Africa launched Tourism Service Excellence Campaign in 2012, which aimed
at supporting South Africa’s tourism strategies and policies. In the same
article, CEO of SABS, Boni Mehlomakulu was quoted as saying that the South
African Tourism Industry is currently growing three times faster than the
global average, and, if we are to maintain this growth rate, there must be a
collective effort to ensure that all tourism establishments maintain the
highest standards to guarantee guest satisfaction. Clearly, making customer
service a priority to the tourism industry is working in its favour. The same
can be done in all industries across the board.
There are some companies
that are giving excellent customer service and they are being rewarded for it.
Launched in 2011, South African Service Awards are premier customer driven service
awards in South Africa. According to (www.saservice.co.za) companies
are rated by their actual customers and stand a chance to win prices. Companies
that are above 80% satisfactory level are:
v FNB
v Tempest
Car Hire
v Vodacom
v MTN
v @Home
v Queenspark
v Edgars
v Europe
car
v Absa
v Clicks
v Outdoor
Warehouse
v Builders
Warehouse
v Checkers
and Checkers Hyper
v Hyundai
v PG
Glass
v Outsurance
and
v Kulula.com
With the right people who
have the skills and the passion for working with people, more companies will be
on this list. My Marketing lecturer once said that the main reason we still
dealing with bad customer service is because we South Africans do not complain
enough. I have to agree with her.
Bibliography
Course Park. 2013. 4
Reasons why consumer service is important for your business [online].
<Available>http://www.coursepark.com/blog/2012/07/4-reasons-why-consumer-service-is-important-for-your- [Accessed:
13 July]
Skills-Universe. 2013. South Africa Launches Tourism Service Excellence Campaign and Standards
[online]. <Available>http://www.skills-universe.com/m/blogpost?id=2671568%3A184914
[Accessed: 13 July 2013]
SouthAfrica.info. 2013. South African Consumer Bodies [online]. <Available>http://www.southafrica.info/service/consumers/consumer.htm [Accessed:
13 July]
The South African Service Awards. 2012. The South African Service Awards [online].
<Available>http://www.saservice.co.za
[Accessed: 13 July 2013]
