The Nation Newspaper

Tag: customer

  • Nokia Care: Is that customer service?

    Every business needs to deliver excellent customer service regularly. This is important, particularly in a business where the customer can vote with his wallet. If my wallet gives me voting right, and I do not like the service at a restaurant, I would leave. If I have a lousy experience ordering online from a   company, I would switch loyalty. If a service station treats you like a pawn, what would you do?

    Having had several bad customer service experiences, I decided to dig into the subject so I would know if I am on the right side or wrong side. You know that customer service is the deal you get before, during and after you have purchased and used a phone, gas cooker or ATM.

    A good customer service should provide an experience that meets your “expectations”. It should “satisfy you”. However, a bad customer service can generate complaints. Like this one.

    I am not the only one. You have attachment to Smartphones. Therefore, the thought of not having a phone for four days, for me, is unfathomable. What if there is a need to reach me urgently? What if there is a place I need to go, a call I need to make and a work I need to do.

    Anyway, I left my phone at the service station for one day. It was a new phone. Why would it, in the name of Bill Gates’ Microsoft, trip off? Why would it freeze? Why would it not perform at the optimum level?

    To seek redress, (warranty coverage is my assurance), I visited one of the Nokia Care service stations in Lagos. The first shock I got was that the phone would be in custody for four days. The centre would not give me a “loan phone” to use while the phone is undergoing software upgrade. I disagreed. I attracted the attention of one of the manager, a South African. He calmly handed me over to an engineer. In 30 minutes, the engineer upgraded the software of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL. Still, the phone failed to perform at the optimum level.

    Besides, two very important features, “Cortana and Quiet Hours” that came preloaded with the phone were missing. Using the phone to activate the features, a dialogue box asked me to buy them with my debit card. I disagreed. Going back and forth over this issue, I visited Nokia Care six times. Care had vanished. Where was the former engineer who upgraded the software? “He is busy”. Could I speak with the South African? “He’s gone out”. Speechless, I looked at the ceiling. What would I do? Wait.

    I waited. I watched. I discovered that the employees at Nokia Care service station lack universal skills every support member needs to improve interactions with customers. I noticed skill gap such as a lack of attentiveness, time management, willingness to learn and the ability to handle surprises.

    Gregory Ciotti in 15 Customer Service Skills that Every Employee Needs said the willingness to offer these skills shows the customer three important things: “You care about getting it right. You are willing to keep going until you get it right. The customer is the one who determines what right is”.

    I would get it right. I would keep going. I would determine what is right. In my contemplation, two South Africans and a Nigerian walked in. There was an air of importance around them. I was on my feet all the while. The Nigerian accosted me. I shared my experience. He apologised. He fixed the phone. I checked to ensure it was “right”. It was right. We exchanged numbers. We shook hands. We parted ways. The customer wins. However, if customer service is done “right,” every business can win too.

  • Micro Station to unveil customer loyalty scheme

    An indigenous telecoms firm, Micro Station, is planning to roll out a unique customer loyalty scheme for its existing and potential customers.

    Tagged: “Great Value, Happy Customer”, the scheme is aimed at sustaining the behaviour of customers as well as acquiring new customers, who would associate with the brand, which has built the right partnerships around the world to deliver quality products to Nigerians.

    The scheme, being run on the Interswitch’s electronic solution platform, would be kicked off at Micro Station, in Ikeja and will last for a year after which it will be renewed.

    Its Managing Director, Mrs. Tinuola Coutroupis, said the solution was built into the conventional Point of Sales (PoS) terminals through its trusted technical partners and a leading e-payment company, Interswitch Limited.

    She said: “Unlike conventional loyalty programmes that use barcodes on card or payment and non-payment cards being used on PoS terminals, we have implemented a phone number programme as the customer identifier, as customers will just insert their phone numbers in the terminals to earn and spend their reward.

    “When customers buy products up to N25, 000, they get instant one per cent discount from the PoS. We have also factored in those who are regular customers but who do not spend up to N25, 000. So, on every visit, you earn points, which you can redeem with great practical items in exchange.”

    She, however, said in the promo, customers don’t have local accounts. “What they have is their phone numbers. The customer’s phone numbers will work at any of Micro Station branch nationwide on the PoS terminals run on network. So, what you earned in any branch in Lagos can be used in our store in Ogun and Ibadan stores, for instance,’’ he added.

    “This means that, if a customer visits up to 15 times within the year and spends N4,      000 and above on each visit, he or she gets 2.5 per cent discount profile for life at Micro Station on every purchase above N4, 000. No other brand in Nigeria offers that today and this is what makes the scheme unique,” she added.

    She said having played major role in the telecoms retailing space for the last 10 years, rendering superior products and service quality in all aspects, Micro Station, through the promo, is driving the process of customer ownership, without winking.

  • R-TAG: Skye Bank’s new deal for customers’ satisfaction

    R-TAG: Skye Bank’s new deal for customers’ satisfaction

    The Customer being king, is an age old mantra that continues to inspire global businesses, and propel shreud  CEOs  and business leaders to re-align their processes to deliver value to the customer. Smarting from its enlarged position since its acquisition of the erstwhile  Mainstreet Bank, Skye Bank looks set to reconfigure its business strategy and product offerings in a bold new customer- centric move labeled, ‘Retail Transformation and Growth,’ writes Emmanuel Udodinma

    For several months and at various fora, Skye Bank has been talking about streamlining operations to play big in the Retail (defined as Consumer and Small and Medium Enterprises) sector, a position made good after its recent acquisition of Mainstreet Bank.

    All doubts and misgivings were however laid to rest last week as the Bank formerly unveiled its Retail Transformation and Growth (R-TAG) strategy to its customers and the general public. The customer-public is without doubt a major stakeholder group, whose consumption pattern is a factor in determining  the success or otherwise of any enterprise.

    With R-TAG, Skye Bank has moved its approach to Retail Banking from a product-led, to a customer-focussed model with a clear identification of four primary focus-segments, namely: mass market, emerging middle class and mass affluent (for Consumer Banking) and SME’s.

    In a release after the launch, the bank explained the rational behind the R-TAG as a move, “designed to revolutionise retail banking business in the country and serve as a game-changing business model with focus on customer segments, using unique value-propositions, rather than the product-led approach commonly adopted by Retail organisations. This is the key to activating the bank’s new retail sales approach which is based on a ‘Pull’ strategy, supported by a positive customer experience across its key service touch points.”

    Just before the formal launch, the Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, said RTAG was conceived because of a desire to meet customers’ needs and that, it was the result of wide consultation.

    He said with R-TAG, the bank’s products are not only streamlined, but they are also  loaded with a lot of benefits because customers deserve a lot from the financial entity.

    He expressed confidence that the program will turn out to become a huge success and would lead others in the Nigerian market space. “We are confident it matches and surpasses competition” he said.

    For the Bank’s Executive Director, South-South, South-East and Retail Banking, Mrs. Ibiye Ekong, said it was the natural route to go. Perhaps alluding to the on-going integration of Mainstreet Bank and Skye Bank and the tie-in with R-TAG, Mrs. Ekong said, “That is not unusual because we have the network. Let us begin to work the network to deliver value to customers and ultimately to the organisation.

    “We have done classification of our branches, moved personnel around and engaged direct agents so that the footprints for retail customers are expanded,” she said.

    On how the bank adopted  the R-TAG strategy, she said: “After that phase, we came up with a transformation agenda that sought to find out from customers what products they would want.

    ‘’We entered into the process of working with experts; with IFC, we worked with some retail experts and other international companies on how to design structures that will deliver value. What you have seen today is the first phase of actualization of that objective.

    “We now have products clearly defined and streamlined. We used to have a long array of products and what you find is that people get confused, delivery becomes a problem; customers do not know how one translates to the other. We have been able to identify the product, clearly demarcated so that, from one level to the other you know what you are getting being a customer of the Bank,’’ Mrs. Ekong said.

    At the project launch in Lagos earlier in the month, Oguntayo, assured that the new business transformation agenda would bring about customised and needs-satisfying financial solutions in a manner that will exceed the expectations of customers.

    He pointed out that the trend in retail banking requires  the service provider knowing the needs of the customer beyond finances,  to include Lifestyle needs and designing appropriate solutions to meet those needs. He assured that Skye Bank is poised to serve as a dependable partner to its customers across the country.

    His words: “Our renewed drive and focus on retail banking is anchored on the premise of building a long-lasting relationship with our customers, based on trust as well as supporting the financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria, so as to bring a lot more people into the financial system and the formal economy.”

    This is the reason, he said the bank has instituted its ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaire Reward’ scheme as a product feature for its flagship savings product, designed to encourage the savings culture amongst the mass market segment.

    He said the current banking environment as well as the acquisition of Mainstreet Bank, which after integration will significantly increase the branch footprint of Skye, signifies a clear competitive advantage for Skye Bank to follow the Retail Banking model.

    In accordance with the CEO’s exposition, the Bank’s Head, Retail Banking Group, Ms. Nkolika Okoli, said, before now, serving the Retail market was based on a product approach but with R-TAG, the new strategy is now reversed with the customer as the main focus.

    “The reason for streamlining our Consumer Banking business into three primary focus areas, is to make it easier for customers to derive value and make it easier for the Bank to serve them.”

    She also said that the Bank is removing barriers to banking by paying savings’ customers the monthly interest due to them irrespective of the number of withdrawals made on their accounts, which is a move in support of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion policy.

    In this regard, she said mass market current accounts would attract zero Cost on Transaction (COT) and free debit cards among other values.

    According to her:  “The R-TAG project has helped streamlined the bank’s product portfolio targeted at Individuals and SME customers, via the identification of primary-focus segments, with a maximum of two-products to serve each segment.

    The bank has also pioneered the issuance of free debit cards and cheque books to retail customers, as well as removal of all withdrawal barriers on savings account types as incentives to encourage adoption of financial services by customers of all classes thereby making banking affordable to all, Ms. Okoh stated.

    Skye Bank’s trading results, indicating an upward movement in Pre-tax profit, and the almost 46 percent rise in the bank’s equity price since early January, are clear signs that the investment public is taking cognisance of the bank’s strategic actions and stocking up on the it’s shares, more so now that the bank reresents a bigger, well managed and focussed entity, delivering better results to stakeholders.

  • Customer accuses bank of complicity in alleged ATM fraud

    A customer of the Union Bank Plc, Mrs Tejumade Adeyemi, has accused the bank of complicity in the alleged illegal withdrawal of the sum of N251, 447 from her account with the Oba Akran, Ikeja branch of the bank.

    Adeyemi threatened to take legal action against the bank, if her money was not refunded.

    She said that she received sms alerts from the bank on May 4, 2015, notifying her of unauthorised withdrawal of the sum of N30,000 from her account through ATM.

    She said she immediately rushed to the Iju branch of the Union Bank to report the matter and was advised by officials of the branch to further report the incident at the Oba Akran, Ikeja branch where her account was domiciled.

    On her visit to the Oba Akran branch on May 5, Adeyemi said she was shocked to discover that the illegal withdrawals actually started on May 2 and May 3 and that she was not notified by the bank to date.

    Adeyemi explained that even after she instructed the bank to suspend further transactions on her account, she was utterly shocked to receive sms alerts indicating that the remaining balance in the account had been withdrawn by unknown persons.

    She said:” On May 4, 2015, I received an alert indicating that the sum of N30,000 had been withdrawn by unknown persons from my account. I quickly went to the nearest branch of Union Bank at Iju Road, Ifako-Ijaiye, from where I was advised to visit the branch where I opened the account on Oba Akran Road, Ikeja, after I explained to the officials of the bank that my ATM card was with me and that its details were not in anyway compromised by me. The next day, May 5, I visited the Oba Akran branch and I asked that further transactions be suspended on the account until further notice. When I asked for the details of the transactions, I was shocked to discover that the illegal withdrawals started between May 2 and May 3, wherein about N45,747.35 had been taken from my account and no alert or notification was sent to me till date. I also discovered that there were other illegal withdrawals totaling N180, 000 made on May 4, yet the bank did not notify me.”

    “I was assured by both the manager of the bank and the Head of Customer Service that further transactions on my account will be suspended including ATM. As at then, I was having about N25,190 as balance in my account. The money was still in my account as at May 14, when a statement of account was given to me and I was surprised to receive further notification concerning illegal withdrawal of the remaining balance a few days later. I immediately called the secretary to the manager of the branch on his mobile phone and I was assured of prompt remedy that has not been fulfilled to date. In all, N251, 447 was illegally withdrawn from my account and I strongly suspect an insider in the bank is behind the illegal withdrawals from my account. The bank has refused to take blame for its complicity in this fraudulent withdrawal of my money and I am going to consider a legal option if the bank refuses to refund my money.”

    When contacted, the Head of Media and Special Projects of Union Bank Plc, Francis Barde, via an email, initially said, “Thanks, Kunle for your patience and understanding on this issue. I will thoroughly investigate and revert to you.”

    Barde, however, did not make categorical comment in his official response via another email he sent to our correspondent on Wednesday.

    He said:”Kindly note that Union Bank values the relationship of every customer and it is our goal to handle all customer relationships with utmost integrity. Therefore, Union Bank does not divulge details of customer relationships and transactions to third parties for privacy issues. The bank has a clear and documented process for investigating and resolving claims of fraud on customers’ accounts and will work to ensure that all claims are addressed and resolved in an expedient manner.”

  • The customer should be king always

    The customer should be king always

     A food outfit, Eat’N’Go, was established about four years ago. It has the exclusive master franchise for Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery in Nigeria. Its Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Meyer speaks about Domino Pizza’s brand identity, its battle among competing brands, varieties and its projection in the nation’s fast food market, among others. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA met him.

    What is Domino Pizza’s brand identity?

    The Domino’s Pizza brand is known globally for being the leader in pizza delivery, it’s what we do. We strive to be number one in every neighborhood. As such, the brand is known for delivering quality products and services while putting people first, demanding integrity, striving for customer loyalty, delivering with smart hustle and positive energy and ultimately, winning by improving results every day.

    What decides your location and what are those considerations?

     There are a number of factors impacting management’s decision on where to establish a Domino’s Pizza restaurant. We consider things such as area demographics, spending power, logistical issues and proximity to our commissaries; and once we have set our mind on an area, we then look for a site within it, which ideally would gather as many ideal criteria as possible, like being on a high street or being of adequate size, with minimal construction, we also look at the parking size, etc.

    Could you tell us the various types of pizza available?

    We carry a rich menu of pizzas and other meal accompaniments such as Stuffed Cheesy bread, Chicken Wings, Chicken Kickers, Bread Sticks, to mention but a few. Going back to the pizza types available, I can guarantee that we have a pizza for everyone depending on their taste or convictions. For example, we have the Margarita, Caprese, Veggie or Veggie Supreme Pizzas for the vegetarians, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Deluxe, Pepperoni Supreme or Chicken Supreme for the meat lovers, Hawiian Pizza if a more fruity taste is what you fancy, and also Chicken Suya and Chicken Bali for those who like it hot and spicy.

    However, one of the uniqueness and beauty of Domino’s Pizza is that no one should be restricted to which ever recipe we came up with. Customers are entitled to request for half and half, so half BBQ Chicken / half pepperoni for example, or even better, create their own entirely by selecting any number of toppings in our list and let their creativity run wild. If you like chicken, cheese, hot peppers and olives, then why should you be denied the right to delight yourself with just that?

    Are sure of breaking even in view of the competiton?

    At this stage in Nigeria, we believe we are pioneers in our field, as we honestly do not consider any other eatery as competition. Not that we disregard or underestimate them, but that the demand still far outweighs the offer.

    As such, we have the “first mover’s advantage” but then again it is now about educating the market on how our products make for a suitable alternative for their meals. Another unique advantage we have is investing in our team members. We strive to make every staff working for Domino’s as part of the family and not just an addition. Finally, what will always make us confident about our ability to break even is our dedication to our guests and we are relentless. There shouldn’t be any reason for our restaurants not to succeed when we provide the best quality at the best price in the industry, without sacrificing quantity.

    What  marketing techniques are you adopting to woo customers?

    One strategy we have adopted with Domino’s Pizza is to ‘Nigerianise’ the product. We have been able to roll out a couple of pizzas, for example the Chicken Suya pizza, which is a good seller and accepted very well in the market here.

    We have also worked hard to ensure the quality, the pricing and the different promotional offerings done as correctly as we can to try and convince the market to have a slice of our pizza.

    Our best marketing strategy is again, to provide the best price to quality to quantity ratio in the market, and you can verify this. We recently started ‘A Prove Us Wrong’ campaign with us making the declaration that we are bigger, better and cheaper. We are urging anyone to prove us wrong and get a free pizza; we are that confident. Our medium sized pizza is what others sell as their large pizzas at an outrageously high price. In addition, we will deliver for free, anywhere within our range, in an average time of about 25 minutes from the moment you order.

    More generally, our idea is that customer is king and deserves to feel that way, whether through our services, our product, our affordability or our environment. Of course, we can’t be always successful in that but we certainly strive to make it happen over and over, on every occasion we get for each of our guests. Our goal is that not one guest leaves our restaurant without a smile on his or her face.

    Would you convincingly say you provide for every social class?

    Everybody needs to eat, so everybody is our concern. We strive on a daily basis to cater to more and more people not only by opening stores but also by developing new products with reasonable costs to our guests or launching promotions on various occasions.

    I wouldn’t say we provide daily for every social class just yet, but it is our goal.

    What are the standard hygiene processes (from beginning to finished products) considering that pizza are often prepared with bare hands?

    Hygiene is one of our primary focus! The difference with us is that we mean it, and thus we show it.

    In all our restaurants, we made the kitchen not only central but entirely open so every guest can see for their eyes the cleanliness of our work environment, the freshness of our products, and is therefore guaranteed that their meal was prepared with utmost care.

    Furthermore, all our open kitchens feature wash hand basins and our rule is that every crew member must wash their hands on a regular basis. We sometimes encounter the argument of bare hands versus gloves and we prefer washing our hands because it is much more efficient against germs, as how often does one wash the gloves they are wearing?

    What do you have to say to your customers in the country?

    We would like to thank Nigeria for having accepted us warmly and we promise to continually strive to make everyone happy with our products and services. We urge everyone to expect nothing but the best, as we do have a number of projects in the pipeline which we are confident will please everyone. Watch out for innovation, new menu additions, ever attractive promotions; all designed to keep every guest smiling.

  • ‘The customer should be king always’

    ‘The customer should be king always’

     A food outfit, Eat’N’Go, was established about four years ago. It has the exclusive master franchise for Domino’s Pizza and Cold Stone Creamery in Nigeria. Its Chief Executive Officer Jean-Claude Meyer speaks about Domino Pizza’s brand identity, its battle among competing brands, varieties and its projection in the nation’s fast food market, among others. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA met him.

    What is Domino Pizza’s brand identity?

    The Domino’s Pizza brand is known globally for being the leader in pizza delivery, it’s what we do. We strive to be number one in every neighborhood. As such, the brand is known for delivering quality products and services while putting people first, demanding integrity, striving for customer loyalty, delivering with smart hustle and positive energy and ultimately, winning by improving results every day.

    What decides your location and what are those considerations?

     There are a number of factors impacting management’s decision on where to establish a Domino’s Pizza restaurant. We consider things such as area demographics, spending power, logistical issues and proximity to our commissaries; and once we have set our mind on an area, we then look for a site within it, which ideally would gather as many ideal criteria as possible, like being on a high street or being of adequate size, with minimal construction, we also look at the parking size, etc.

    Could you tell us the various types of pizza available?

    We carry a rich menu of pizzas and other meal accompaniments such as Stuffed Cheesy bread, Chicken Wings, Chicken Kickers, Bread Sticks, to mention but a few. Going back to the pizza types available, I can guarantee that we have a pizza for everyone depending on their taste or convictions. For example, we have the Margarita, Caprese, Veggie or Veggie Supreme Pizzas for the vegetarians, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Deluxe, Pepperoni Supreme or Chicken Supreme for the meat lovers, Hawiian Pizza if a more fruity taste is what you fancy, and also Chicken Suya and Chicken Bali for those who like it hot and spicy.

    However, one of the uniqueness and beauty of Domino’s Pizza is that no one should be restricted to which ever recipe we came up with. Customers are entitled to request for half and half, so half BBQ Chicken / half pepperoni for example, or even better, create their own entirely by selecting any number of toppings in our list and let their creativity run wild. If you like chicken, cheese, hot peppers and olives, then why should you be denied the right to delight yourself with just that?

    Are sure of breaking even in view of the compettiton?

    At this stage in Nigeria, we believe we are pioneers in our field, as we honestly do not consider any other eatery as competition. Not that we disregard or underestimate them, but that the demand still far outweighs the offer.

    As such, we have the “first mover’s advantage” but then again it is now about educating the market on how our products make for a suitable alternative for their meals. Another unique advantage we have is investing in our team members. We strive to make every staff working for Domino’s as part of the family and not just an addition. Finally, what will always make us confident about our ability to break even is our dedication to our guests and we are relentless. There shouldn’t be any reason for our restaurants not to succeed when we provide the best quality at the best price in the industry, without sacrificing quantity.

    What  marketing techniques are you adopting to woo customers?

    One strategy we have adopted with Domino’s Pizza is to ‘Nigerianise’ the product. We have been able to roll out a couple of pizzas, for example the Chicken Suya pizza, which is a good seller and accepted very well in the market here. We have also worked hard to ensure the quality, the pricing and the different promotional offerings done as correctly as we can to try and convince the market to have a slice of our pizza.

    Our best marketing strategy is again, to provide the best price to quality to quantity ratio in the market, and you can verify this. We recently started ‘A Prove Us Wrong’ campaign with us making the declaration that we are bigger, better and cheaper. We are urging anyone to prove us wrong and get a free pizza; we are that confident. Our medium sized pizza is what others sell as their large pizzas at an outrageously high price. In addition, we will deliver for free, anywhere within our range, in an average time of about 25 minutes from the moment you order.

    More generally, our idea is that customer is king and deserves to feel that way, whether through our services, our product, our affordability or our environment. Of course, we can’t be always successful in that but we certainly strive to make it happen over and over, on every occasion we get for each of our guests. Our goal is that not one guest leaves our restaurant without a smile on his or her face.

    Would you convincingly say you provide for every social class?

    Everybody needs to eat, so everybody is our concern. We strive on a daily basis to cater to more and more people not only by opening stores but also by developing new products with reasonable costs to our guests or launching promotions on various occasions.

    I wouldn’t say we provide daily for every social class just yet, but it is our goal.

    What are the standard hygiene processes (from beginning to finished products) considering that pizza are often prepared with bare hands?

    Hygiene is one of our primary focus! The difference with us is that we mean it, and thus we show it.

    In all our restaurants, we made the kitchen not only central but entirely open so every guest can see for their eyes the cleanliness of our work environment, the freshness of our products, and is therefore guaranteed that their meal was prepared with utmost care.

    Furthermore, all our open kitchens feature wash hand basins and our rule is that every crew member must wash their hands on a regular basis. We sometimes encounter the argument of bare hands versus gloves and we prefer washing our hands because it is much more efficient against germs, as how often does one wash the gloves they are wearing?

    What do you have to say to your customers in the country?

    We would like to thank Nigeria for having accepted us warmly and we promise to continually strive to make everyone happy with our products and services. We urge everyone to expect nothing but the best, as we do have a number of projects in the pipeline which we are confident will please everyone. Watch out for innovation, new menu additions, ever attractive promotions; all designed to keep every guest smiling.

  • How far can the customer go?

    How far can the customer go?

    Coscharis vs. client as case study

    When towards the end of last year, I wrote a piece on two half-filled bottles of a particular brand of soft drink sold to a consumer in the country, someone who had lived in Germany for years called to tell me how the situation would have been handled there. The person had lived in Germany for years and even had a German wife; so he was eminently qualified to speak on the matter. He said all the manufacturer of that drink would have done was to quietly offer the customer two cartons of the product, probably with an apology, and that would have settled it. In other words, I should not make an issue over what should otherwise not be a serious matter. I was stunned because I had thought hell would be let loose because of what I then perceived as the high level of consciousness in that environment.

    Of course, what prompted my interest on the matter then is this concept of the ‘customer is king’. In the last few weeks, there has been another matter between a customer and an auto firm, which I guess must have been beclouded by the general elections. It is the story of Mrs Ebele Marie Omorodion, a German married to a Nigerian. Mrs Omorodion bought a BMW X6 from Coscharis Group, the representative of BMW in Nigeria, on August 1, 2012, for N16m. Not long after, she discovered that the DVD was faulty. A new one was ordered. The new one too was faulty and a new one ordered on June 27, 2013. And, as she put it, “Just while I tried to begin to enjoy my car, six months later I was driving out of the Chevron toll gate at 100km/hr when all of a sudden the car stopped on the high way with no prior warning”. This was blamed on Mechatronic gear box failure. The car was about 15 months then. She had a similar experience of the car suddenly stopping on motion, at times in the night with her kids in the car, on another occasion. Then the reverse camera (Ultrasonic system) too started malfunctioning.

    These, no doubt, are not funny experiences. Of course, the company appears to be aware that there could be issues on its products sometimes; but these apply to virtually anything mechanical or electrical. Hence, it makes provision for courtesy car for their customers having issues with their cars for the duration of the repair. The company said it made one available for Mrs Omorodion which she allegedly did not use well.

    Anyway, while the example of the soft drink is not exactly the same with the BMW issue, the point running through both is that of the customer being the king. I guess that is why Coscharis Group has restrained itself from joining issues with its customer on the pages of the newspapers that she has taken her case to; a decision which makes business sense. In most relationships, personal or business, there would always be cause for disagreements. And when they occur, they are bound to be settled whether by adjudication or through the legal process.

    The problem, in this instance, could jolly well be from the manufacturer. It could be from the customer. But, if the company gave out a courtesy car as is the standard practice; and if it is true that all repairs covered by warranty were carried out under warranty at no cost to the customer, but at the expense of BMW AG and Coscharis, then, it might have proved good faith. Anything could have happened down the line.

    Indeed, there are a lot of issues in this matter. One, different people have different attitudes to handling and maintenance issues. Two people may buy the same brand of cars the same day and in six months’ time, if both products are put up for sale, the prices offered for them, even if they are to be bought by the same person, would differ. The prospective buyer would make his offers after examining the two, based on his assessment of how they had been used and maintained. I have seen many instances where people were given the same brand of official vehicles at the same time and in less than a year, one would not believe that the vehicles were given out the same day, seeing that some of the vehicles have become jalopies due to bad handling and maintenance. While some of those given the vehicles would treat them as eggs, some do not care, even if their children turn some of the features to toys, it is simply a case of ‘the kids are playing’. Regrettably, this kind of attitude is a luxury where some of these modern cars are concerned. They are too complex to be handled with levity. Then, there is the question of the Owner’s Manual that many people do not bother to read. They just assume that since they have been using the brand for some time, they should have been conversant with its features. This may not hold true in all cases with some of these cars whose technologies change frequently.

    Now, what is the way out of this quagmire? The pragmatic thing to do, for me, is to look for a middle course that would not short-change either party. Here, the idea of trade in would be more like it. I said this because it is going to be difficult for the customer to insist on getting a 2015 model of the same car that she bought in 2012, for several reasons. Firstly, the warranty period is long over. Secondly, it is not realistic to ask for a brand new car in lieu of a car purchased three years ago; the prices must have changed. Thirdly, if cars are replaced for every customer in that manner, then it is only a matter of time before the company would close shop. Of course, the only situation which could make that possible is if it is proven that the model is defective beyond replacing, at no cost to the customer, the faulty parts; or if the car or model should have been recalled outright from the market. But if it is just one such experience among the lot, an argument for replacement with a brand new car of the current model could be a difficult argument to sustain.

    Now that Mrs Omorodion has taken her case to the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), it could decide to look into whether her experience with the BMW X6 is one-off case or the issues are common with the model and proceed to offer its opinion. That is more like it; CPC is likely to give a verdict that would yield result. This the media cannot do.

    Anyway, all said, if Mrs Omorodion or even Coscharis Group is still not satisfied after the CPC might have given its opinion on the matter, the only option open is for the dissatisfied party to seek redress in a court of law as against that of the public opinion (which the newspapers that she has been using represent).  It is the courts that would sift the wheat from the chaff, sift sentiments from sensible business decisions and juxtapose them with the issues of safety of the customer and fairness on the side of the two parties, and deliver an incontrovertible judgment that would be binding on both parties, whichever way the judgment goes. But the judgment would be a classical one not only for jurisprudence, but also, and more fundamentally, for this notion of the customer being king. The customer is king, yes; but with what powers? Asked differently, how far can the king go?

  • Coscharis, customer bicker over malfunctioning car

    Coscharis, customer bicker over malfunctioning car

    A Nigeria-based German, Mrs. Marie Omorodion, whose brand new BMW X6 which she bought from Coscharis Limited developed a fault, has alleged unfair treatment by the seller. But Coscharis says she is being economical with the truth as it has done enough to address her complaints, writes Adedeji Ademigbuji.  

    When Nigerian-based German, Mrs. Marie Omorodion, bought a brand new BMW X6 SUV from Coscharis Limited at N16 million about three years ago, she was convinced that the reputation of the brand made the car a reliable choice.

    She was, however, shocked when the car started misbehaving no sooner than the car was delivered to her.

    Omorodion, who, according to sources, has petitioned the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) lamented that her problem with Cosharis Limited, authorised auto dealer for top brands, started in 2012 shortly after she took delivery of the SUV car.

    According to her, the car started misbehaving, graduating speedily from one fault to the other. She added that in spite of several efforts by the authorised distributor to address her complaints, the brand experience of the car has been appalling. She said the car started giving her problems from the very first day she bought it.

    “I purchased the car in question on the 31st of July, 2012 for a sum of N16 million. The car was delivered on the 1st August, 2012. On taking delivery of the car, I pointed out to the Sales Manager at Coscharis, Victoria Island branch, then that the DVD system was not functioning. He  replied by assuring me that it would be fixed and that it was a matter of just replacing it. He said further that due to settings, it could happen and refuse to work on arrival from Germany. I agreed to it being replaced since the sales consultants had assured me that it was not a big deal.”

    In fufillment of the auto dealer’s promise, Omorodion said a new DVD system was ordered and received on April 2013, about eight months after the car was purchased. But to her surprise, the new DVD system too refused to work and they concluded that the new one ordered was also faulty. Following the failure of the DVD, she said another DVD system was ordered with an order dated  27th June, 2013.

    She said: “At this point, I realised that the car had issues but didn’t realise what the issues were. I was not anticipating any problem at all since it was a brand new car bought directly from Coscharis which is supposed to be the face of BMW in Nigeria.”

    However, she said the car later developed another fault  while she was driving on the Lekki Expressway,  precisely by the Chevron toll gate at 100km per hour speed with no prior warning.

    She continued: “It locked itself and shut down. I was terrified and scared that oncoming cars would run into me. I called the BMW maintenance office in Lekki-Epe for help. Officials came later and the car was towed to their workshop. The technical people later confirmed an entire transmission failure: what they called mechatronic gear box failure. This was just ridiculous.”

    Having barely used the car for a year and three months, she said it was incredible such a brand new car could experience total transmission failure. After reporting the new development, she said the transmission was boxed and allegedly sent to Germany and a new one was ordered on the advice of German technicians. The car had to stay in the workshop for another six weeks before agearbox was put into it for her to use for another two weeks before the new one arrived.

    She said: “During the six weeks, I was not offered any courtesy car which should normally be offered and should be a standard since the incident was due to no fault of mine. In Germany, this can never happen. So, why would you have different standards for Nigerians when we even spend more  money to buy these luxury cars considering the freight costs and high duty and clearing costs.”

    She recalled that sometime in November last year, while driving home around 8pm in the same car with her kids, the car suddenly went off again.

    “The car went off without any prior notice at all. It just shut itself down and refused to start. This was between the Chevron roundabout and the second toll gate towards Victoria Garden City. This time around, a diagnosis showed that it was pump failure and it had to be ordered again from Germany,” she lamented, adding that if the car had been purchased in Germany, it would have been replaced long ago.

    She said after the car was fixed last year December 12, while she was driving from Law School, Victoria Island, towards the Civic Centre by the traffic light, the car went off again without any warning.

    “I started off at top speed and to my surprise, right in the middle of the road, with cars coming behind me, my car once again stopped. There was no notice. It just stopped. I cried my eyes out because this happened at a dangerous junction with my children in the car. I called people to help me put up the caution signs and called BMW expressing my disgust. I had been fooled many times but because I really liked my car, I wanted to believe them and kept falling victim all the time,” she said.

    The German said it was discovered that the brain box had packed up this time. Though Coscharis is said to have put the car in shape,  Omorodion has vowed not to have anything to do with it again.

    The General Manager, Marketing and Corporate Services, Coscharis Group, Mr. Babarinde Abiona, told The Nation that Omorodion has decided to wage a war against a brand from her country but insisted that Coscharis respects every customer and as a result, it would not join her in the media war. He said the customer has made several threats to go to court but because the story is not as she painted it, she has not got the nerve to sue the company.

    “We are not going to engage our customer on the pages of newspaper. Other papers have thrown the story into thrash can. She has threatened to go to court but we don’t know why she has not. We respect our customer. She felt this is the strategy she can use to blackmail us. Unfortunately, she is a German. The truth of the matter is that she is very economical with the truth,” he said.

    Abiona stated further that Coscharis has given her warranty and other benefits. “If Coscharis has done any bad to her, BMW German would have used the German sentiment to please her and even complain about the way we handled her complaints as a customer.

    “BMW has told her to come back to us but she will not tell you that some of us have championed her cause; we pushed for discount but she said we wanted to sell her car. “This is a car she bought in 2012 and we should be objective. She’s using CPC to threaten us. The fact is that we managed her car since 2012 when she started complaining. So, if we have done anything wrong, BMW would have used the German sentiment to sort her out. She has been rubbishing our brand in the media. She is just being economical with the truth. Three years down the line, she would have gone to court if truly she is pursuing a true cause,” he said.

  • AfDB Board approves pact on customer complaints

    Customers of the African Development Bank (AfDB) will henceforth, have more opportunity to voice their complaints to the lender. This is because the bank’s Board of Directors of the  bank  has approved the revised version of the resolution establishing the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) and its operating rules and procedures.

    These procedures, it said, have simplified the process of filing complaints from persons adversely affected by a project or programme financed by the bank. They also enable the IRM to provide advisory service to the bank.

    Administered by the Bank’s Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU), the IRM gets involved when two or more affected persons submit a complaint accusing the Bank of failing to comply with any of its policies and procedures. As a result, such failure threatens to affect them adversely.

    The bank explained that under the approved resolution, the IRM will undertake problem-solving, compliance review and advisory functions.

    “The CRMU is to disseminate information about the IRM to Bank staff, civil society organisations, affected communities and the general public. The Bank’s management is required to mainstream information about the IRM in Bank policies and project documents,” it said.

    According to the AfDB, the IRM’s problem-solving function will be applicable in cases where complaints or grievances can benefit from techniques that try to address underlying issues. These techniques, it added, will include independent fact-finding, mediation, conciliation, and dialogue facilitation, taking into consideration best customary practices for handling complaints.

    “The compliance review function will focus on issues of non-compliance by an institution within the bank group. The advisory function shall come into play after the President and/or the Board shall have been provided with sufficient information detailing how the bank group can benefit from IRM’s role to strengthen the social and environmental impact of Bank-funded projects,” it said.

     

  • ‘How to drive customer loyalty’

    ‘How to drive customer loyalty’

    The success of many global brands has been traced to creating attractive partner and customer value propositions using effective communication.

    The publicity and goodwill generated around the recent partnership between Chivita 100 per cent and Manchester United Football Club is a testimonial to how effective communication strategies have not only endeared consumers to the fruit juice, but also helped increase its sales.

    Brand observers said the deal has boosted Chivita’s growth, especially with the level of deployment of online, television, print and outdoor campaigns.

    From reviews of the partnership in the media and on prominent billboards and Rapid transport buses, expert said the strategy has been effective in creating and sustaining brand loyalty.

    This is also being measured social media; for example, the Facebook. “Communication of the partnership has ensured that the number of likes on the page crossed the 200,000 threshold and is approaching 250,000,” Chivita brand handlers said.

    According to its Head of Marketing, Probal Bhattacharya, the company developed a communication strategy for publicising the partnership which has been effective.

    “For us at Chi Limited, our style of placing premium on our consumers cannot be compromised and it drives the way we engage with them through advertising strategies that are informative, exciting and rewarding.

    ‘’We embarked on the journey to adopt a 360 degree marketing philosophy and engagement platforms that are veritable and accessible to our consumers. We are happy that through the communication mix deployed in the campaign, the consumer response has been very encouraging,” added Bhattacharya.