Over the years doing business, I have had to make many calls send a lot of emails to different individuals and businesses, making complaints about some things that had gone wrong in the course of doing business with them. 

I am not exaggerating when I say that only a few have ever made contact with me about my complaints, and of the few that did, only one or two actually apologised for the inconveniences. This is a shocking and very unfortunate thing that occurs regularly for many businesses and I daresay it is not just the small ones. 

I recall an online store I contacted three years ago to purchase an item and after making my order and getting my confirmation code, I never heard back from them. I made several calls and sent tons of emails. The calls were either not responded to or I was told to call back, and they never got in touch with me either. This is five years on and I have not heard back from them. They are not the only business to have done this to me.

Do you want to know why some businesses are failing today? Their customer service and communication are very poor or non – existent. 

I can understand that sometimes the pressure of work, health, deadlines and other unforeseen circumstances make business owners and staff make mistakes and forget things. We are all human after all, right? The thing is, once you see there is something like this happening, you need to make sure you reach out to and apologise, set the record straight on what went wrong and proffer a solution. If it was about them making general enquiries, the same still applies.

You need to understand that there are not many businesses that are total monopolies in any one market. For instance, there are many makeup artists, designers, writers, editors, sales companies, cleaners, event managers, party favour suppliers, printers, dry cleaners and the like, and if you do not treat your customers right, showing them the best of your services, they will leave. Even the loyal ones will eventually start to shift their patronage to other businesses.

Do you want to know why some businesses are failing today? Their customer service and communication are very poor or non – existent.

Here are some ideas for you in the New Year:

1.      Make sure you have a smartphone.

A business that uses old phones that are not capable of sending and receiving emails and cannot use other online apps to communicate is not going to go very far in today’s world. You need to be able to reach out and respond in a timely fashion and a smartphone is the easiest and fastest way to do this.

2.      Have an automatic email or message responder available.

Email services and a few online apps often have a special function that many small business owners do not seem to know about even in 2020. These special functions can be used to generate an automatic message response. This helps if you are not with your mobile or computer or are otherwise too busy to respond immediately. They can be personalized any way you want and they tell your client that they matter and you will get to them as soon as possible.

You need to understand that there are not many businesses that are total monopolies in any one market. For instance, there are many makeup artists, designers, writers, editors, sales companies, cleaners, event managers, party favour suppliers, printers, dry cleaners and the like, and if you do not treat your customers right, showing them the best of your services, they will leave. Even the loyal ones will eventually start to shift their patronage to other businesses.

 

3.      Learn to call and message people back.

That this person initiated the contact does not mean that they always have to. There is no rule or law that says this and if you have an attitude of expecting people to contact you constantly then you may not be as ready as you think to make headway with your business.

You may not make the sale but the way you handle your business gives an impression that sticks in the mind of the client and they may return some other time or be a referral for someone else. It also lets them know that you take them seriously and are not only after their money.

4.      Proffer solutions

A sad and disappointed client is not a good thing, but an angry client is even worse. If you find that you have failed to satisfy a client because you communicated late, not at all or failed in proper service delivery, do not wait to hear from them. Take the initiative and make contact, apologising sincerely for your mistake. It is sad that so many small business owners and some large ones as well, tend to feel some element of pride in themselves and see no reason to apologise for their mess-ups.

I had a dry cleaner who disappointed me once by not having some clothes ready on time and I was to travel with them. I was quite upset as there was no way I could miss my flight. I began to consider going to a shop that morning to buy some clothes to replace the ones that were not yet ready – a move that would cost me money I had not planned on spending.

Not only was I apologised to and my clothes eventually made ready, but the owner of the business also drove me to the car service I used to catch my plane! He saw that his team had failed me and wanted to make amends. It is sad that not many businesses would care about this and not even acknowledge their ineptitude.

Communication is vital before, during and after service delivery. Do it right and do it on time. Everybody deserves respect and when your clients see it is lacking, you lose them to others who treat them better.

Onuora Onianwa