What explains our poor customer care?

I have always assumed that the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) would result into drastic improvements in service delivery. However, trends among service oriented firms both in the private and public sector, are worrying.

The growing queues in banks despite reports of increased ATM coverage across the country, inaccessible customer care or call centre service numbers by telecom companies, ministries, and institutional websites that are not regularly updated with client focused information, among others, necessitate an examination of the quality of customer care amidst advances in ICT.

Reflecting on my experience as a graduate trainee at the British Council Information Centre, I cannot desist from asking “What happened to customer care?”
At the British Council, we were cognisant of the fact that excellent customer care service is all about bringing customers back and sending them away happy - happy enough to pass positive feedback about our services. Analysing clients’ feedback constituted part of our breakfast menu and was a key component of our continuous improvement strategy. Not only did we emphasise cultivating an empowered client base that knew their rights and obligations, but we also strived to maintain our shared values and high service standards.

The website was always updated; phone calls and e-mails were promptly responded to. It was a ‘flat organisation’, in which anyone could attend to a telephone call (within three rings), or a physical inquiry and referred the client to the best placed person to handle the matter in case one was not in position to do so. Through regular stakeholder engagements such as breakfast meetings, management forum gatherings, and professional development courses and trainings, among others, we tapped into stakeholder concerns and identified creative avenues for improving our service delivery.

Thus, through shared values and standards, we shaped our attitudes and leveraged technology to deliver quality services to our clients. Experiences like calling 222 that is never accessible, waiting for six months to receive an ATM card without progress updates, standing in a queue at the bank where the average time for a single transaction is between 15 and 30 minutes, searching in vain a ministry/agency website for the latest statistics on people accessing ARVs in Uganda, make me wonder whether such institutions value their clients at all.

Do these organisations have any service delivery standards or do they just take their clients for granted? Why do telecoms and banks with such reputations of poor service delivery continue to promote and advertise their products and services yet they cannot satisfy their current clientele? Do they still attach value to the notion of customer care?

As Uganda prepares to celebrate 50 years of independence, it is important that firms and institutions prioritise customer care and reflect on the quality of their services. Instead of exploiting consumer ignorance, they should consider the benefits of having an informed and empowered clientele. Consumer protection agencies in conjunction with service oriented firms should sensitise the public about their rights and obligations.