Customer Service Week is an international celebration of the importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis.

Customer Service Week has been celebrated since 1987. This celebration usually takes place annually in the first week of October.

A significant weapon for every business, especially in this competitive business environment of today, is providing excellent customer service. In fact, it may be the most important factor influencing consumer behavior, brand loyalty, and future business opportunities beyond the quality of the good or service being provided.

Customer service is the assistance that businesses provide customers before and after they buy and utilize their product or service in order to make their experience simple and enjoyable. Offering an excellent customer service is crucial for businesses in terms of customer retention as customer support is more than just providing answers but an important part of brand value to its customers.

However, on Wednesday, 28^th September, 2022, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in a statement announced to the general public of the technical challenges which has affected the prepaid metering, resulting in the interruption of the purchase of electricity credit.

In the following days, some customers could be seen lining up at various ECG offices with the hopes of being able to purchase the electricity but to no avail. For some, darkness in homes have become the new norm. Majority of businesses in Ghana are operated by power supply, the technical challenge has led to many businesses experiencing an unplanned downtime.

Unexpected technical challenges of electricity supply results in situations that may be difficult to recover from, especially for entrepreneurs who have a hard time in realizing profit in the long run. For the ordinary Ghanaian entrepreneurs who own businesses like the salons, tailoring shops, barbering shops, printing press and even provisions shops have had their productivity greatly affected by this disruption as many have closed down.

It is said that customers are the lifeblood of every organization. Customers share their opinions and experiences and may directly request changes in services. Customers like to be informed about the nitty gritty of every activity that may occur in a business. Thus, transparency must always be the hallmark in addressing customers of the actual cause of the technical issue and the promptness of its resolution.

In another statement released by Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), it announced that “customers can now purchase electricity credits from their nearest vending points, and all ECG District offices, including tomorrow Sunday, 2nd October, 2022 from 9.00am – 4.00pm.”

However, what differences does it make as individuals are seen queueing painstakingly for long hours just to purchase the prepaid credit, leading to a decline in productivity as well as leaving some frustrated, pessimistic and hopeless in achieving the solution to this woe?

In this Customer Service Week, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) must see itself as being a customer-oriented business and not just a service provider to our nation.

A business strategy known as "customer orientation" prioritizes the needs of the customer over that of the company. Customer-oriented companies understand that the business cannot thrive unless it consistently improves upon customer focus. It is a way of thinking that aligns business goals with customers' goals. When an open dialogue is maintained and customers are kept informed at all times, it will significantly earn customers’ respect and satisfaction.

The author is with the Kumasi Technical University-Department of Marketing.