The more I think about it, the more I realize that most of the time, the bigwigs of a certain industry are usually the ones with the most shortcomings. The fact that they’re popular and have a lot of customers doesn’t mean that they get to treat their customers right, no. They just do as they want because they believe that no matter how bad things get, people will always find their way back to them.
Well, while that can be true in some cases, it’s definitely not true in my case. Because I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have favourites when it comes to buying things, and if I feel like I’m not getting a good deal with you, as long as there are options, I’d always check out the competition. No time!
It’s one of the reasons many people here in Nigeria are patronizing these fintech banks and abandoning their old traditional bank accounts. Because the hassle is just too much, and many of them have poor customer service. From having your money stuck in digital limbo to having some major issues with your accounts. Many of these issues are almost non-existent with fintech banks. Should we also talk about how easy fintech banks are to open? And how you can take days or weeks to even open a proper account in a traditional bank.
It’s crazy, but it is what it is. I’ve said this before, competition breeds progress. I made a post one time about how a mall was messing up in my area because they had the monopoly of the place, until competition began to trickle in. And now, I shuffle my patronage between one or the other. Funny thing though is that I also experienced something similar this past Sunday.
Last Sunday was Archdiocesan Youth Day, and it was celebrated at Lekki, in the Lagos Business School. I attended, and it was loads of fun! On my way home though, I stopped at the shopping mall along the Lekki-Epe expressway for some shopping. Just something light to take home with me. However, to my shock, I didn’t find what I was looking for. I wanted some biscuits, Fox Cookies, to be precise. But I didn’t find it.
I don’t know if it was because it was a Sunday evening, or that it was just another regular weekday to them, but I just found it disappointing. But on the flip side, that was my first time shopping there, so I don’t really know how a regular day is for them. Personally, I hold shopping malls to higher standards than I hold regular shops. Because I believe that they should have better structures in place to serve customers and make sure that money is always flowing in.
Goods should never run out of stock, especially the ones that people buy a lot. Before they finish, you quickly restock and make sure you keep the flow going. I find it frustrating when I want to buy something that I know the mall sells, but can’t find it at all. I hate it even worse when they try to get me to take a cheap substitute instead.
Well, like I said, I don’t know if that’s a regular occurrence for them. I do know that their branch in Owerri has similar issues, and it made me dislike going there. Anyway, I can only hope that they get better and take the affairs of the customers closer to heart. Whether they like it or not, a happy customer will always make a happy business.
