Customer Service Week Chronicles: Gifts, Gbas Gbos, and Grace

My friend, Vovome, nearly landed me in trouble today.

She said, “Because it is Customer Service Week, you can go to your clients and ask them any kind of favour and they will most likely grant it.”

Excited by this new information, I decided to visit a client whose hidden mission, I believe, is to kill our business, they have been owing us for over two months!

I took some small gifts along to show that my coming was in peace, but the conversation did not go well at all. The first bashing that hit me was, “You should have asked for an appointment before coming.”

Before I could even breathe, another gbas gbos followed:

“If you knew your company was not buoyant enough to work with organisations like ours, you should not have participated in bidding for the job.”

I quietly held back my apple gift, because I knew that this was not the kind of gift that could melt such hearts, especially the kind that promise to pay after one month from delivery but still owe you after two.

And I did not argue much either, because in my country, arguing with someone who owes you can sometimes lead to even more delay.

Determined not to give up, I decided to visit a second debtor. From the gate, I was told that the accounts people I wanted to see were in a meeting with procurement. Smiling, I simply said, “I just want to drop this small gift for them.”

You won’t believe it, within seconds, someone came out to meet me! I didn’t waste time and quickly asked when we could expect our payment, because honestly, our business was in dire need.

Smiling (unlike the other guy), the procurement officer said, “Our director is on vacation. Once he returns, I’ll make sure your payment is processed.”

I just replied, “Okay,” but added a silent prayer that someday our business would grow to the point where we wouldn’t need to serve these kinds of companies anymore, the ones who would rather see you struggle than succeed.

It’s Customer Service Week, and yes, customers are indeed the lifeblood of every organisation.

But while we do our best to serve, we also pray that our clients do their best to help us thrive.

Happy Customer Service Week from all of us at Rapid Express Logistics Limited, Jewel Publishers, and Jewel Multiservices.

Shalom.

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