As Ghana marks this year’s Customer Service Week, the Managing Director of Jobberman Ghana, Hilda Nimo-Tieku, is calling on employers to rethink and reform their approach to customer service, which is always customer-centred, leaving out the employee.
The MD of Jobberman has observed that many employers often look beyond the very people behind the service delivery.
In an article to mark the celebration, which is under the theme “Mission Possible”, Hilda Nimo-Tieku argued that many employers neglect the welfare, worth, health, and contribution of their staff. She cannot fathom how employers expect employees who are “undervalued, poorly motivated, and feel worthless” to provide a good customer experience.
According to her, the real mission of every business that wants to revolutionize its customer service begins not with customers, but with employees.
In her view, a happy and delighted employee is the one likely to delight a customer. She argues that many of the poor customer service experiences are largely a result of the spillover effect of employees who are unwell, undervalued, and dissatisfied.
“Every company’s mission statement highlights service excellence. But delivering excellence is impossible if employees, the very people driving service, are disengaged, unwell, or undervalued. If the mission is to delight customers, then the first step is to delight employees,” he indicated.
In Ghana’s work environment, where long commutes, economic pressures, and mounting workloads are the norm, many workers struggle to stay motivated. And when their challenges are ignored, those frustrations eventually spill over into how they treat customers.
She added, “In many Ghanaian workplaces, staff face long commutes, economic pressures, and heavy workloads. When these realities go unaddressed, they spill over into customer interactions.”
For Hilda, it’s unrealistic to expect staff to offer smiles and warmth when they themselves feel unheard, unseen, and underappreciated.
She called on employers to recognize that supporting staff well-being is not a “soft issue” but a necessity. Simple yet meaningful gestures such as fair compensation, flexible schedules, wellness programs, or even small recognitions like ‘Employee of the Month’, can make a remarkable difference in how staff engage with customers.
“When employers take steps to support staff well-being through fair pay, wellness initiatives, flexible schedules, or even small recognitions like “employee of the month”, they send a powerful message: you matter. And employees who feel they matter will make their customers feel the same way,” the MD of Jobberman recommended.
Customer service in Ghana’s corporate and service sectors, over the years, has had very bad reviews. However, experts say customer service remains one of the key differentiators in competitive markets.
The insights from Hilda Nimo-Tieku indicate that whether in banking halls, hospitals, call centres, or restaurants, the quality of service customers receive is often a reflection of the emotional and psychological state of the people serving them.
She is therefore calling on employers that, before chasing delighted customers, organizations must first build delighted employees. This is because only when the people behind the counter, the desk, or the delivery van are happy, healthy, and appreciated can the mission of excellent customer service truly become possible.
