WINDHOEK – Nedbank Namibia, Spar, Erongo RED, Roman Catholic Hospital, the Windhoek City Police and the Swakopmund Home Affairs office were some of the winners at Namibia’s first-ever Customer Service Excellence Awards that took place in the capital this week Wednesday, November 05, 2014. The winners were selected according to actual scientific research that was based on a survey conceived and commissioned by the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business (HP-GSB) of the Polytechnic of Namibia as part of a campaign to promote excellent customer service in Namibia.
Other winners included the Walvis Bay Municipality, trains as a mode of transport, MTC, Swakopmund Educational service providers, Sanlam and NamPost Katutura Branch.
Winners were selected according to the survey that targeted the most important services for the typical Namibian and those that consumed 95 percent of the discretionary expenditure of a typical Namibian household. The list of 12 service industries are banks, education services, energy services, health services, home affairs, insurance services, municipal services, post office services, security services, supermarkets, telecommunications and transport.
The survey undertaken by Business Intelligence Africa (BIA), a Namibian research company, is the first step in the movement to raise awareness of customer service and its importance within the relevant industries. “For over two months BIA targeted households in almost all regions throughout Namibia with their team of approximately 30 data collectors, using structured questionnaire with easy to answer questions,”, said Karen Fietz of Business Intelligence Africa. “In this survey we discovered a range of service levels, featuring pockets of excellence and some striking examples of poor service. Most importantly we found a populace that was willing to engage in the discussion on customer service and an eagerness to see the situation improve,” said Rector of the Polytechnic of Namibia Prof. Tjama Tjivikua, during the awards ceremony.
“When we approached this problem there was very little data available, lots of anecdotes, lots of opinions but no hard evidence. We at HP-GSB decided that we would collect the hard evidence and create a basis for action that if successful, would transform the business service delivery landscape in Namibia,” said Professor Grafton Whyte, Director of the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business (HP-GSB).
“The data collected on these services is authoritative and makes compelling reading. In addition the methodology draws on international best practice uniquely adapted for the Namibian and possibly African market. In many ways this research is a first for Africa,” added Prof Whyte. He also remarked that the results would provide powerful insights for companies and managers in each of the targeted industries.