The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has urged its staff to make the satisfaction of its customers their priority.
The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer (ED/CEO) of NEPC, Mrs Nonye Ayeni, stated this at the Council’s customer service week celebration, which was held at the NEPC headquarters, Abuja, on Monday, themed “Above and Beyond: The Customer Centric Approach.”
Customer Service Week (CS Week) is an international event celebrated annually during the first full week in October when customer-orientated organisations and institutions around the world recognise the importance of customer service excellence to their organisations.
Ayeni said all NEPC activities and actions are geared towards satisfying customers, urging the staff to display a positive attitude at all times while interacting with the customers. She added that when customers’ needs may not be met, it is necessary to inform them ahead of time.
“The reason we are here is because of our customers. They are kings. In NEPC, our mandate is hinged on exporters of no-noil products. They are the reason we were established, and without them, we cannot fulfil our mandate of promoting the development and diversification of exports in Nigeria.
“Therefore, it is imperative that we go the extra mile to satisfy the exporters. All our processes and activities must be geared towards serving them, creating value, and extending the ‘wow’ factor to them. All our promises to our customers should be kept.
“On occasions where there are unavoidable reasons for not meeting our promises, the customers should be duly informed ahead of time stating the reasons why it’s no longer possible and where necessary, other alternatives should be passed on to the customer,” the NEPC boss told Tribune Online.
The guest speaker at the event, who is also the Provost of the University of America, Nigeria, Professor Mike Ikupolati, said organisations can achieve their goals and mandates through effective leadership and followership with like minds.
He added that every member of an organisation should be a good ambassador, irrespective of the position he holds.
“No organisation can progress without effective leadership. Leadership is the wheel that moves organisations forward. And when we talk about effective leadership, we’re talking about a leader who is capable of influencing the team in an organisation to achieve their predetermined goals, which means the leadership of NEPC should have the ability to influence, inspire, motivate, and mobilise their staff towards the accomplishment of their mandate.
“It is all about how the leadership of an organisation is effective in ensuring that their mandate is effectively and efficiently achieved. Leadership is not positional; it is functional. Leadership is not about the head of the organisation; it’s about everyone in the organisation, meaning everyone is an ambassador of such an organisation in terms of customer service and creating a conducive environment for both internal and external customers to function effectively.
So, it is everybody’s duty to perform and to move the organisation forward. Effective leadership is a collective responsibility of everyone within the organisation, ” the university stated.
Earlier in her remarks, NEPC’s head of the corporate service department, Mrs. Esther Ikporah, charged the staff to always display good conduct, treat customers with all sense of dignity, and allow room for free flow of communication.
About 270 staff, including the maintenance, technical, and security departments, were rewarded for outstanding services.
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