CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Internal And External Customers : Let Both Eat Chicken !
By Sonia Karamagi Kasagga
Growing up in a typical African household , in a way , prepares you for a career in customer experience management - at least , in terms of exposing you to the don ’ ts of the game .
Take the examples of ‘ keeping the best for visitors .’ A rare meal of chicken and rice would only be reserved for the visiting in-laws and other important guests . The residents would be alerted ahead of time - we are expecting important visitors .
The unlucky rooster would be identified , and the kids of the home tasked to chase it around , slaughter and prepare it for the special guests - I call it flawed hospitality .
Many years ago , I was a recipient of such flawed hospitality when a young girl who served me the hot delicious meal was clearly not only hungry but also looked like her only wish in the world at the time was to have a bit of what she was serving me .
Typical me , I invited her to eat with me as the food was clearly too much for one person - much as she would have wanted to join me , the sharp eye from her mother seated across the living room sent a clear signal - dare not you silly girl !
The culture of dry tea for household residents , milk for visitors and the attendant special cutlery , sadly , continues to shape most corporate customer experience design systems . It shouldn ’ t .
We need to strike a fine balance . Internal and external customers should both have the chicken and rice meal - it is in striking that fine balance that we shall begin to draw real dividends of a customer - a ‘ wow customer experience .’
I recently came across a simple concept called WACTEO that stands for ’ We are customers to each other .’ For any organization to deliver a high level of service to the external customers , there must be a fair treatment , mutual trust and understanding and great appreciation for the Internal customer .
Allow me to share with you some thoughts on how we can strike that fine balance and eliminate that flawed hospitality .
Start by pitching the organization vision to the employee for it all starts with employees believing in a vision that works for them and is all inclusive of their needs and aspirations first before they can confidently sell it to the ‘ visitor .’ This requires that organizations create unique experiences for employees that build morale and motivates them to create unique value for their customers in return .
Try applying the Total Quality Management ( TQM ) concept which is themed around the idea that everybody that is producing something is serving the next person or department within the organization . So , if the product does not meet the need of the internal customer , then the product will suffer and so will the end customer .
Take the example of a campaign to launch a product or service - it starts with that internal pitch to employees . The involvement of all employees from the process of ideation to product testing to final launch is critical . The amount of time and investment an organization puts in launching an external sales campaign should equate the same for an internal campaign - once this is put in practice , the organizational growth would be assured .
Finally , ‘ Love-in ; Love-out ’. Heard of the idiom - you can ’ t give what you don ’ t have ? Great treatment should start from within ; everyone in the organization should feel respected , valued , understood , and appreciated to be able to reciprocate the same to the external customer .
So , we talked about selling the vision to the employees first - the organization leaders must act on that vision so it ’ s not just a philosophy . Attitude is a big component of total service quality in an organization - as leaders serve employees , they should be able to communicate to the employees in the right attitude so that they can display the exact attitude they would want them to carry forward to the external customer .
A lot of frustration is often realized when internal customers are not updated with information that could impact their interaction with the external customer . So , it ’ s important that we reduce this frustration by consistently sharing information .
Employee reward and recognition are other ways to motivate workers to extend great customer service to the client . I once got recognized for supporting a consumer marketing campaign as the best innovation ( The Stanbic Blue Weekends ) to drive paperless transactions using the card payment . To date , I find myself constantly trying to come up with advanced ideas to solve emerging challenges that solve client needs .
So , friends - the love inside us is the love we give to those outside , because you can ’ t give what you don ’ t have . Happy holidays !
Sonia Karamagi is the Manager , Customer Experience at Stanbic Bank Uganda . You can commune with her on this or related matters via email at : Kramsonie @ gmail . com .
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