EZULWINI – Prime Minister Russell Dlamini wants government offices to improve the way they serve members of the public, saying public service delivery is central to the country’s development agenda.
This was conveyed by Minister for Education and Training Owen Nxumalo, who delivered the Prime Minister’s (PM) speech during the 11th Customer Experience Awards. The event was held at the Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini under the theme, ‘going the extra mile’.
The PM said customer experience should not be regarded as the responsibility of frontline employees alone, but should involve everyone in the service delivery chain, including government, business leaders and support teams.
turnaround
He explained that government policies, regulations, approval processes and turnaround times could either make it easier or more difficult for businesses and members of the public to receive services.
According to the prime minister, the quality of service experienced by customers is influenced long before they interact with the person behind the counter. He said leadership, organisational culture, operational systems and processes all played a role in determining whether promises made to customers were fulfilled.
The prime minister further linked customer experience to economic growth, explaining that good service encouraged customers to spend more, remain loyal and recommend businesses to others.
On the other hand, poor service could damage an organisation’s reputation and discourage potential customers. He noted that the service sector accounted for more than half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), making customer experience an important consideration for economic performance.
improving
The prime minister said customer experience also influenced how investors, tourists and trading partners viewed the kingdom, depending on how they were received.
He called on businesses and public institutions to support initiatives aimed at improving customer service, including professional training, certification, the annual customer experience conference and Customer Service Week.
The PM also challenged the initiative’s organisers to extend the customer experience movement to every sector of the economy, including mining, transport, education, agriculture, local government and the informal sector.
He said no sector should be left out of efforts to improve service standards.
The PM further acknowledged the contribution of local speakers and facilitators who shared experiences from Eswatini’s banks, hospitals, government offices, businesses and contact centres.
He said their contributions demonstrated that the country already had local expertise capable of advancing customer experience.
The speech also recognised customer experience practitioners from South Africa and Zambia who had supported the initiative through their participation, speakers and involvement in the awards.
Addressing the nominees and winners, the prime minister said nominations were an important form of recognition because they came from members of the public, who were the customers being served.
However, he cautioned the winners against treating their awards as the end of their efforts, saying customer expectations continued to change alongside technology and developments around the world.
He urged them to continue innovating and listening to customers to maintain and improve service standards.
The prime minister said government wanted Eswatini to reach a point where the rest of Africa looked to the kingdom as a benchmark for customer service excellence. He pledged government’s continued support towards achieving this ambition.
