October 2015

As it appeared in the daily nation of October 27th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Do our customers have all the information they need when they need it? Are they updated regularly and reminded of some important details? Or do we assume that because all the information is posted on our website together with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that our customers are aware?  As customers, are we knowledgeable about the products and services we buy or use? Do we keep the user manuals or instructions in an easily retrievable manner in case needed urgently? A recent incidence made me realize just how the information I thought I had was inadequate. I have had motor insurance for many years; despite this I did not know what happens in case of an accident. Do I wait for the police? Do I call the insurance company or what do I do? The only call I made was to my dear…

As it appeared in the daily nation of October 20th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Happy Mashujaa day! It is yet another day to celebrate our country’s heroes fondly referred to as Mashujaas. Several years ago the only heroes that showed up during the Mashujaa day celebrations were the freedom fighters. However, this has since changed. Today across the country athletes will be celebrated. In my village in Nyeri where we started the “Shujaa Wetu Awards” 4 years ago we will be celebrating Gachatha coffee factory for best coffee. The leading coffee farmers will be feted too at a ceremony to be held at Wamagana Stadium.  Who are you honouring this Mashujaa day? Who is your hero?  Who will be our heroes 100 years from now? For some their hero is a father or a mother, for others it is a sister or a brother yet for many others their heroes are renowned public figures, musicians, footballers,…

As it appeared in the daily nation of October 13th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Customer Service week celebrations happened last week world over. Here in Kenya it was evident that something different was happening. On Monday morning some C-Suites were empty as their occupants albeit reluctantly joined the frontline in launching the customer service week. The occupants of the C-Suites were seen leading cake cutting ceremonies amid great excitement from the frontline staff. The Customer Service week has become a flagship activity to drive the customer service excellence agenda in many organizations. The key question though is – is the C-Suite fully involved in driving this agenda? I suspect very few C-Suite executives had the Customer Service week celebrations on their agenda. After all, they are so busy in meetings, in strategy conferences and the like that they cannot spare a whole week to have fun with their staff and customers. However, from their C-suite they…

As it appeared in the daily nation of October 6th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu The Customer Service week 2015 is finally here! Organizations across the globe are marking the week by celebrating their customers both internal and external. Others are launching service improvement initiatives that will last all year round. Here in Kenya the celebrations are underway all week and this Friday hundreds of customer service enthusiasts will gather for a gala dinner that culminates the celebrations. The main question that lingers in my mind every first week of October is ... Why don’t we celebrate our customers every day? Celebrating our customers every day does not mean giving them freebie promotional items every day. Neither does it mean doing anything extraordinary. It simply means doing the ordinary things in a way that is above the average all the time. These ordinary things include – interacting smoothly with our customers, getting the job done right the…

As it appeared in the daily nation of September 29th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Roger Smith and Sons was my ideal Auto Service station. All I needed to do was sit back, relax and expect a call to remind me that the car was due for service. An outstanding vehicle service history was maintained and the team was great at what they did. I recall they had a 4-point check-up and 9-point check-up at alternating services. That was about 10 years ago. Fast forward to today, I can write a book about my experiences with many automotive service providers. Many other motor vehicles owners have not one but many stories about their experience too. Most of these stories depict poor service or absolutely ugly incidences in the hands of motor vehicle services providers. For some, such motoring experiences go way back to the driving school. Pat’s driving school which was along Moi Avenue may have no…

As it appeared in the daily nation of September 22nd 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu intro When I visited an electronics retail shop last week four out of the five ladies that were on the first counter were on their mobile phones. One was talking on the phone while the other three were either just scrolling through social media, photos or possibly just texting.  Is this how the mobile phone is transforming the customer experience? Is the mobile phone transforming the customer experience for the worse or for the better?  Could it be that the 3 ladies scrolling down their phones were actually transacting on the phone with their customers? Possibly not. Several reports on the future of the customer experience have shown without doubt that people across the globe are increasingly becoming mobile. The mobile phone has transformed the customer experience in many ways. The debate on digitalization of customer experiences has been going on for…

As it appeared in the daily nation of September 15th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu In exactly three weeks the world will be abuzz with Customer Service week celebrations marked during the first full week of October. The celebrations have been running in the USA since the 1980s and were proclaimed a national event by the US congress in 1992. This year the CS week falls on October 5th to 9th and many organizations have their plans all ready. In Kenya, the Institute of Customer Service Kenya (ICS-K) has been coordinating the celebrations for the last three years. The body indicates that several organizations have confirmed their participation. The plans in place are likely to make this year’s celebrations bigger and better than ever before. The key question is “Is your organization ready”? Whether a small or large organization, we can all celebrate our customers both internal and external with the rest of the world in our…

As it appeared in the daily nation of September 8th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Last week several organizations were recognized at the Service Excellence Awards ceremony. They had attained high customer loyalty ratings in various categories.  This second year of the awards saw some new corporate join the list of winners. The SE Awards  are organized by the Institute of Customer Service Kenya (ICS-Kenya). I suspect that though a number of names may remain, new names will show up next year. Many organizations are continuously reinventing themselves. I often acknowledge that Loyal Customers are Good for Business for two reasons. They keep coming back and they tell others. As I sat in the room listening to Dr. Njenga the chief guest make his keynote speech at the ceremony, I had several thoughts cross my mind.  I wondered how many organizations really care enough about how their customers feel. How may care whether their customers will come…

As it appeared in the daily nation of September 1st 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Last week we all witnessed the passion with which Julius Yego threw the Javelin to hit the 92.72M mark and win the gold. Like all other athletes that scooped a medal, he was full of enthusiasm and energy before, during and after the event. Passion, enthusiasm, zeal are all words used to describe this level of energy or the strong desire to win. Sports aside, how passionate are we about that we do? How passionate are we about winning our customers? Passion is often seen as a key ingredient in customer service. We often know that one has passion by their mindset, how they act and how they react. In fact without passion about what we do it becomes quite difficult for us to serve our customers both internal and external with excellence.  We all know people who are passionate about what…

As it appeared in the daily nation of August 18th 2015 by Lucy Kiruthu Have you ever entered a new retail store and felt like you were in a jungle and could hardly find what you needed? This is not how it was initially meant to be. Retail stores were modelled after libraries and were meant to make it as easy as possible for the customer to find what they needed. Today much thought goes to the layout of retail stores sometimes at the expense of the customers’ convenience. Have you for example ever wondered why some essentials such as milk and bread are almost always stored at the back end in most retail stores? This is a gimmick by retailers to entice us to pick non-essentials products as we go to and fro the milk back aisle.  You may also have noticed the racks of chocolates near the cashier area meant to tempt bored children…