12 | The Lion King
Customer Service
I
n today’s competitive business
environment, being a Cus-
tomer Service Ambassador as
an employee or an entrepreneur
is critical to the survival, and a
key factor for the success of an
organization. We should take
every single contact and en-
gagement with a client or cus-
tomer or a potential customer as
the “Moment of Truth” because
this is when the promise made
by the organisation through its
mission and vision statements,
regular media adverts, and
through other media is compa-
rable with the customer’s own
experience. Also, every engage-
ment with the customer is an
opportunity to either develop
or destroy a customer’s faith in
the brand. These engagements
directly impact loyalty and long
term customer value.
The question most people would
ask is, ‘Who is an Organization’s
Ambassador?’ I would say, every
employee of the organization;
the management staff and of
course ‘The Oga at the Top’, the
CEO.
During this year’s Children’s Day
celebration, my brother and I
took the kids to a popular restau-
rant. At the counter, the waitress
gave us a very unwelcoming
stare and asked if we had made
any reservations. I answered
“No.” The restaurant was about
85% empty. Then I asked if there
were available tables, and she
simply nodded her head in the
affirmative. As I continued, I told
her that I needed a table for 3½
adults (trying to be funny now, to
loosen her up.) She still failed to
smile, and refused to be emo-
tionally connected with us. She
simply asked if I could be more
specific about what I wanted,
and this, to my utmost surprise,
was delivered with a matter-of-
fact kind of tone. I smiled and
said “That’s 2 adults, 1 teenager
and a toddler.” Then she asked
us to wait (for what, who knows?)
After a couple of minutes, she
took us to our table. At the table,
I asked if she could make avail-
able an infant seat for the child.
Oh, how I loved her retort, “I am
the head waitress, if you want
a baby chair, tell the waitress
assigned to your table” and she
zoomed off. To say the least, we
had the most unpleasant dining
experience even though the
food was good. That would be
our last visit to that restaurant,
despite the good food and at a
decent price too!
The waitress was having a job-
focused attitude which is about
getting her job done!
Many employees today possess
a similar attitude “as long as I
have done my part of service,
that’s it!” They don’t take time to
create a relationship with each
customer. I know you would say
‘you are so busy and you do
not have the time to create a
relationship with each customer
that steps into the banking hall
or visits your office’. But do you
know that 98% of customer inter-
actions are ultimately faster and
more efficient if you take the
time to establish a rapport first?
It takes a lot less time to prevent
a problem than it does to solve a
problem with a customer.
Many employees view Cus-
tomer Service as an occurrence,
something that happens once
and then it’s over. A Service Am-
bassador does not focus on a
one-time event but on building
a sustained, positive relationship
that leads to customer loyalty.
Individuals with a positive at-
titude towards service know
that doing their job alone is not
enough. They also know that
each contact is an opportunity
that may never come again.
That opportunity can be used to
build, re-build a successful rela-
tionship or destroy the relation-
ship for good!
The following are qualities that a
good and conscientious Service
Ambassador should embrace:
• Present yourself and UBA Plc
in the best possible light
• Have a great sense of confi-
dence while attending to
customers
• Be ready to talk about UBA,
her products and services
everywhere and anywhere
• Protect the UBA brand always
• Dress clean and smart
• Always be ready to attend to
customers whether in or out
of the office environment
• Have a warm welcoming
disposition, and most of all
• Be seen to have the H.E.I.R
spirit at all times
• Be prompt in resolving
customer complaints and
think outside the box
• Be ready to go the extra mile
to make every customers’
experience a memorable
one
You too can be a great UBA
Service Ambassador. Start to-
day!
Be a Great Customer
Service Ambassador
By Yvonne Omonzuanfo
