Customer Service is About Caring for the Customer Now and In Future

Every great business is built on friendship – JC Penney

It takes a while to trust a friend. It takes adversities to identify true friends. Once the true friend is identified, there is a connection that is filial and long-lasting.

Now. Does that describe a business known to you? Not really. Right?

Yet that is what service delivery in business should feel like. A customer should be so attached to the service or product that there exists an emotional connection.

The coming of Customer Service Week provides a unique opportunity for service and support professionals around the world to join in the celebration of the important role the customer service plays in every organization.

In a business world that is controlled and ruled by stiff competition, customer service comes out as the only defining feature that sets average businesses from successful ones. Matters are even tougher because today’s customer is informed, discerning, demanding and wants value for money. The customer will call you out if they feel you are giving them a raw deal and he has many communication platforms at his disposal to do so.

Therefore a future-looking business has to intentionally plan and execute customer care. The end goal should be to build trust because trust is the only invisible currency in today’s business. Customer service is about having a listening ear for the customer and meeting all their expectations. It is yearlong, every day exceptional service. It is not a one week every October kind of thing. Clever customers see through that.

Laura Ashley, when she was asked about customer service, she said, “We don’t want to push our ideas on to customers, we simply want to make what they want.”

As the world kicks off the marking of the Customer Service Week, Takaful Insurance of Africa comes out as a business that has a long-standing tradition in putting the interests of the customers first.

I borrow the sentiments of Tony Hsieh that clearly define what Takaful does and stands for in terms of customer service. He said, “Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company.”

In Kenya, there has been an existing notion that uptake in insurance products and services is low with the blame going to insurance companies for failing to place the customer at the center of every product and service.

Takaful Insurance of Africa is aware of this and its model of insurance stands apart from conventional insurance.

Caring

Takaful Insurance of Africa is interested in the lifestyle of its customers. It promotes a safety-conscious way of life so that the client reduces their vulnerability to risk.

Ethical

In giving the customer the best and making sure that they are protected, Takaful Insurance of Africa only insures ethical businesses and declines taking up any business that might cause harm to the society in line with the Islamic guidelines of Halal (permitted) and Haram (Prohibited). For instance, businesses that promote alcohol intake, cigarette smoking and gambling are not booked.

Long term

A happy, safe, healthy and financially stable client will bring in repeat business.

Reach out

If you need more information on Takaful Insurance of Africa, as they celebrate you this Customer Service Week, visit their website and learn more.