I entered a bank today and meeen! customer service was top notch!
‘small boys and girls’ engaged me in "serious conversation sessions "as they simultaneously served me. However, this kind of customer service was not what surprised me because in the last couple of weeks I have seen and enjoyed the kind of exceptional customer service I haven’t received in a very long time.What actually surprised me was finding out that none of the four front line staff who served me had a degree. The highest any of them had was second year undergraduate level. Really? "And you are doing banking?" I asked in my head.
As
I got out of the banking hall I couldn’t stop asking myself – 'why don’t we have
this kind of customer service and banking environment in Ghana?
In
my opinion, Banking and banking halls in
Ghana come across as too rigid and intimidating to say the least- you are not
allowed to make and receive calls in the halls, you can hardly talk freely and
naturally to a staff member, you have to communicate by whispering, I could go
on. It is just so unnatural and unfriendly! What is the difference between our bankers in Ghana
and these ‘small boys and girls’ who do what they do so well? I think CONFIDENCE is the difference. That is
why they amaze you with beautiful service. Sadly most of us are
unable to exhibit such high levels of confidence because right from the home, through school to the work
places, instead of increasing, our confidence levels rather depreciate along
the line and this is why.
At home
A lot of us who grew up in a ‘the elder is always right’ background are likely to end
up with lower self confidence.
When I was growing up, my elder brother and I
disagreed, fought and got punished by our strict dad many times. After every
punishment, he will invite both of us indoors and will tell me (as if I didn’t
know) that my brother was the eldest so I should obey him. Then he will tell
both of us ‘Listen, obey and do what anybody older than you tells you to do. That is respect!’ It was as if
he was telling us never to think for ourselves...
Many would relate to this and I believe this kind of family
values could be a reason why one could lose their confidence to anybody they
consider a “grown up”.
In school
Some
of us got caned, were called names and even were abused by teachers for giving wrong answers to questions
in class. This classical experience makes an individual feel less confident because it only inhibits
performance , induces fear, worry and stress and ultimately drives people to
give up. Elsewhere,
no answer is "stupid" or no other adjective is used to describe any
answer in the classroom. Instead, a lecturer or professor would interrogate
your own answer further by asking follow up questions until you realize your
own answer was wrong. This makes you understand that it is O.K to fail, and
urges you on to pick yourself up. This would obviously make you talk more in
class and make you a part of the learning process and this would give your
confidence level a great boost.
At work
In
some work places, some of us are looked down upon and even relegated to the
back seat, and treated differently from others not because we are not
capable of working , but because we lack some degree or other higher education.
Obviously, this cannot boost the confidence of anybody. For instance, I think
it is gradually becoming illegal in Ghana to be gainfully employed if you don’t
have a degree -nobody cares how much experience
you may have in the field.
From my experience with the ‘small boys and girls’ who
do what they do so well in the bank, I think it is simply confidence! Sadly confidence
is not awarded with a degree certificate.
Finally, Tweaaa !
In the last couple of days, I have seen a video on social media comparing how two politicians react to heckling. People who discuss the video focus on the politicians, but I don’t! Because if you have an African leader (like that DCE) who I think is so power drunk, thinks the world evolves just around him, and feels everything else is supposed to be about him, you cannot expect anything different from his reaction.
This is what I make of the video- While in the Obama
video, the heckler came across to me as someone confident and brave enough to show
his face, the heckler in the Tweaa DCE video on the other hand came to me as a
coward who had no confidence at all. Thanks to him or her, we still don’t know
who said ‘tweeeaaa’ . Meanwhile I heard the word Tweaa has now entered the Oxford dictionary, how?
Rather than ordering respect and
trying to make people fear you because of some qualifications or position, we
should treat everybody with kindness and
respect. And by respect I don’t mean the ‘fanfool yesayesa’ kind of respect. I
think that is what they do elsewhere and it is very difficult to identify the
boss if you entered any office.I end by saying, in as much as it is important to grow
confidence in ourselves, we should be careful not to come across as arrogant or being deluded. We should give some attention to
negative feedback and also be more self-critical.
'There is a thin line between confidence and arrogance and it is called humility. Confidence smiles and arrogance smirks' – from a friend’s Facebook wall.
'There is a thin line between confidence and arrogance and it is called humility. Confidence smiles and arrogance smirks' – from a friend’s Facebook wall.
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About the author
Worlanyo is a husband sharing thoughts and lessons learned to inspire and challenge you to give more of yourself. Remember, Life is an eternal quest about knowing oneself, and to challenge yourself to rediscover your hidden traits, talents, and tendencies. See more of his thoughts at www.waadzimah.com
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