Nigeria fails to impress on customer service, survey reveals

Business a.m

The results of the 2023 Nigeria Customer Service Index (NCSI) findings  were not promising for Nigeria, as Africa’s biggest economy scored 61.8 per cent out of 100 in terms of customer service satisfaction, a low score that signifies a lot of room for improvement. 

The first-ever Nigeria Customer Service Index (NCSI) report was officially launched at a special event in Lagos on Wednesday, February 21, 2023. The report was published by the West African Association of Customer Service Professionals (WAACSP), a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting customer service excellence in West Africa. 

The NCSI report uses a letter-based grading system to evaluate the quality of customer service in Nigeria, with A being the highest grade and E being the lowest. The grades are as follows: 95-100 per cent (Grade A), 90-94 per cent (Grade B plus), 85-89 percent (Grade B), 80-84 percent (Grade C plus), 75-79 per cent (Grade C), 70-74 per cent (Grade D plus), 60-69 per cent (Grade D), 55-59 per cent (Grade E plus), and below 55 per cent (Grade E).

The customer service index was developed to provide a national benchmark for assessing the quality of customer service in Nigeria. The index measures the perceptions of customers of various goods and services, both Nigerian and foreign, about their customer service experiences in the country. The NCSI uses data gathered through a web-based survey, in which over 8,000 respondents rated their experiences in nine key economic sectors. These sectors include banking, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, hospitality, transportation, education, and government services.

Business a.m gathered that the researchers used a quantitative research design and a simple random sampling method to ensure a representative sample. Data were collected over a period of 12 months, from January to December 2023, via both online and offline channels. The data were converted to percentile scores, with weighted adjustments to account for the relative importance of each metric to the respondents

The survey consists of eight key customer experience metrics: trust, branches, branding and outlook, competence, complaint resolution, ease of doing business, processes and procedures, professionalism, and customer focus.

“For every sector, the satisfaction index is calculated by taking the mean score for the customer experience metrics, converting it to percentiles, and multiplying it by a weighting that reflects the importance score of each measure,” the report stated.

According to the NCSI report, the weighting of each metric was determined by asking respondents to rate the importance of each factor to their overall customer service experience. The final satisfaction index was calculated by taking the mean score across all companies in each sector, and then taking the average of the sector scores.

Speaking about the NCSI report, Sola Ajulo, patron of the West African Association of Customer Service Professionals, said the results showed that Nigeria, as the biggest country in Africa, still has room for improvement.

“Our goal must be that every interaction leaves a lasting impression. Every customer must feel valued and appreciated enough,” she said.

According to Ajulo, the NCSI will give Nigerian businesses and service providers a benchmark to assess their performance and identify areas for improvement. She stressed that delivering exceptional experiences is crucial for businesses that want to succeed in the highly competitive Nigerian market.

“Having reviewed the data and information provided by the Nigeria Customer Service Index, we are presented with the wealth of information that sheds light on the current state of customer service in Nigeria,” she added.

Yvonne MacCarthy, the board chair of the West African Association of Customer Service Professionals, stated that the NCSI report was not funded by any organisation. According to MacCarthy, the research was conducted by WAACSP because of its commitment to transparency and integrity. 

“It is the first one; so we are trying to capture the whole experience of how consumers feel,” she added.

In light of the findings of the NCSI, MacCarthy urged businesses and service providers to use the report as a tool for improvement.