The Sunday Mail
Business Reporter
All things being equal, this year’s edition of Zimbabwe Customer Service Week would have been marked by extravagant celebrations with the event now in its 10th year, but the jubilation was rather watered-down due to Covid-19.
But ironically, and due to the pandemic itself, an effective customer service celebration culture has probably never been more relevant.
The Zimbabwe Customer Service Week — an initiative of the Contact Centre Association of Zimbabwe (CCAZ) — is an extension of the Global Customer Service Week, which was running under the theme: “Dream Team”.
Established by the International Customer Service Association (ICSA, now PACE), National Customer Service Week was proclaimed an official event by the US Congress in 1992, through a Presidential Proclamation.
Since then, the first full business week of each October has been celebrated by organisations across many industries in the United States and around the world.
It has been a journey and half for the CCAZ to inculcate a customer service culture in the country.
“The National Customer Service Week is a week long event offering companies a unique opportunity to highlight the importance of customer service in their business,” said CCAZ secretary general Rinos Mautsa.
“Although as a country we are yet to reach optimal levels of a customer-centric culture, there has been significant progress over the years.
“Locally there has been an increase in the adoption of technologies that advanced customer experiences with over 94 contact centres now operational this year from 38 during the same period last year.
“We have witnessed more executives taking active role and putting customer service issues to the boardroom agenda which is so encouraging,” he added.
Zimbabwe joins the international community in commemorating the customer service week in the mid of the global health pandemic that has necessitated a rethink on how businesses should engage with their customers.
Experts in the field of customer service say businesses now need to move quickly to adjust to new consumer dynamics that have been brought about by the pandemic or risk being left behind.
Lockdowns and World Health Organisation regulations such as social distancing mandates, have changed the consumer habits of buying and shopping, as well as how businesses offer their services.
In this regard, calls are growing for corporates and service providers to move from “customer service” to “customer experience”.
Customer experience (or CX) essentially refers to customers’ holistic perception of their experience with a particular business or brand.
And according to CCAZ president and BancABC managing director Dr Lance Mambondiani, the ability for companies and organisations to provide genuine customer experiences requires the organisational system to be customer-focused.
“Customer experience is now much more important than customer service. It’s not a department in an organisation, but rather a philosophy.
“When your team’s work is aligned to the same goal, service excellence is guaranteed. Success is an inside job,” he said.
Dr Mambondiani’s comments are in line with this year’s “Dream Team” theme, which reflects the importance of teamwork in providing outstanding service to all customers.
“If your team has embraced new work arrangements, if they are passionate about what they do, strive for excellence, adapt to change, and value teamwork, then your service team is truly a Dream Team,” says the global Customer Service Group, which came up with the theme.
Despite CCAZ’s sterling efforts, Zimbabwe’s businesses — both big and small — still have some way to go to optimise customer experiences.
The country’s customer satisfaction ranking weakened marginally on the latest National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) Report.
The fourth edition of the NCSI was launched earlier in August by the Chartered Institute of Customer Management (CICM) in partnership with the CCAZ.
The overall National Index for 2020 was 62,6, a point decrease from 63,6 last year.
The opportunity for local companies to inculcate a customer culture couldn’t have come at a more relevant time.
“Now is also the time for customer experience (CX) leaders to position themselves at the forefront of the longer-term shifts in consumer behaviour that result from this crisis.
“Keeping a real-time pulse on changing customer preferences and rapidly innovating to redesign journeys that matter to a very different context will be key,” says business consultants McKinsey & Company.
