Consumer Rating: WAACSP says Nigeria 5.18% increase places her on poor category

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The West African Association of Customer Service Professionals (WAACSP) in its has 2024 “State of Customer Service in Nigeria” report released recently revealed that the nation’s overall customer service experience remains poor.

According to the report, with a national average score of 67% that marks a slight improvement from the previous year’s 61.82%, which is 5.18 % increase still falls within the association’s “poor” rating category.

The report, presented to the press and industry stakeholders last Monday in Lagos, was based on surveys conducted in 2024 encompassing 12 sectors, 20 sub-sectors, and over 1,100 organizations, with more than 16,215 responses.

“While we see some improvement, the overall picture is that customer service in Nigeria still has a long way to go,” stated Mr. Olatunji Adeleye, a fellow WAACSP during the presentation.

“We hope that this report will serve as a wake-up call for organizations to prioritize customer-centricity and drive meaningful change.

“Nigeria’s customer service scored 67%, placing it in the poor category (60-69%) according to WAACSP’s grading system,” the report detailed. Transportation, finance, and hospitality led the way with high customer satisfaction scores. The public sector also saw a significant jump, attributed to government efforts to improve service delivery.

E-commerce and power experienced declines in customer satisfaction. E-commerce suffered an 8% drop, likely due to issues like slow processing and lack of transparency. The power sector, plagued by persistent challenges, saw only a slight improvement.

New entrant sectors like education, real estate, sports and entertainment were included in the survey this year. The public sector saw the highest improvement of all sectors surveyed.

Real estate scored 62%, with Lekki Homes & Gardens, Sujimoto, and Primerose Properties leading the sector. Sports and entertainment scored 69%, with Betway at the top. The education sector was divided into private and public universities, with private universities scoring 70% and public universities 61%. University of Benin was the top public university, and Covenant University was the top private university.

The hospitality sector scored 72%, a slight decrease from the previous year, while the transportation sector showed a significant improvement, scoring 73% with Uber as the top performer. The public sector showed a massive improvement, going to 63% overall, with the Corporate Affairs Commission leading the government agencies. The power sector saw a slight improvement, reaching 61%, with Ikeja Electric leading.

E-commerce experienced a decline, landing at 60%, with Jumia at the top. The telecommunications sector improved slightly to 63%, with MTN leading in the GSM space and FiberOne leading among ISPs. Banking improved to 72%, with Wema Bank, First Bank, Sterling, Access, and UBA leading the sector, and OPay and Moniepoint leading in fintech. Healthcare rose to 70%, with Reliance Family Hospital leading private institutions and the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital leading public institutions.

Across most sectors, trust emerged as the most important factor for customers, highlighting the need for organizations to prioritize transparency and communication. The report emphasized the importance of digital channels in meeting evolving customer expectations. Organizations need to invest in self-service options, proactive customer service, and AI-powered solutions to enhance efficiency.

WAACSP emphasized that the findings should be interpreted with caution and that further research is needed.

Addressing concerns and defending the methodology at the press briefing, Sola Salako Ajulo, Patron/Fellow, WAACSP, emphasized the report’s independence and its reliance on customer feedback. “This is the opinion of people. If you want to fight with anybody, fight with the people. If you want a better representation, treat your customers well,” she said.

She highlighted the association’s long-standing experience in conducting similar surveys in other West African countries, ensuring a level of professionalism and credibility. “We are not trying to impress anybody. We want to grow customer service in Nigeria. And we feel that giving this feedback to the practitioners would help them to understand that they need to improve,” she said.

She urged organizations to embrace transparency and prioritize customer-centricity, emphasizing the importance of measuring customer satisfaction and using the report as a benchmark for improvement.

On his part, Adeleye, pointed out that, “What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get improved. We want a report that can show us where we are as a nation in terms of customer service.” He encouraged customers to share their experiences, contributing to informed decision-making and driving industry improvement.

Ajulo further reiterated WAACSP’s commitment to driving customer service excellence in Nigeria and the West African region. They emphasized the importance of continuous improvement and the need for organizations to adapt to evolving customer expectations. “We believe in transparent and proactive communication. Our approach is to keep customers informed at every step which is essential in building trust and ensuring and enhancing satisfaction,” she said.

She called on organizations to utilize the report’s findings to enhance their service delivery and contribute to a better customer experience for all Nigerians.