Customer Service Delivery in Africa : Consumer Perceptions of Quality in Selected African Countries.

ISBN:

9781003856276

Title:

Author:

Hinson, Robert Ebo.

Personal Author:

Hinson, Robert Ebo.

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (148 pages)

Contents:

Intro -- Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- About the Authors -- 1 Why Customer Service Matters -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- The Paradox of Customer Service Experiences in Africa -- The Cost of Poor Customer Service Delivery for Africa's Development -- Importance of Cultural Influences on Customer Service Delivery -- Organisation of the Book -- Conclusion -- References for Further Reading -- 2 Customer Service during a Pandemic: Citizens' and Health Workers' Perceptions of State COVID-19 Interventions in Ghana -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- Literature Review -- The Intervention Theory -- COVID-19 in Ghana -- COVID-19 Fund -- Methodology -- Data Analysis -- Results -- Knowledge of COVID-19 -- Infectious Disease -- Viral Disease -- Major Sources of Information about COVID-19 -- Relevance of Knowledge about the Pandemic -- Authority -- Perceived COVID-19 Threats -- Health Workers' Perspectives -- State Intervention Against Covid-19 in Ghana -- Medical Interventions -- Perceptions of Health Worker Safety -- Appropriateness of Interventions -- COVID-19 and National Security -- The Link between State COVID-19 Interventions and Civil Liberties -- Discussion -- State Interventions and Healthcare Delivery -- Addressing Identified Gaps in Healthcare during the Pandemic: Recommendations for Practitioners -- A Conceptual Framework of Public Perceptions of State Interventions -- Implications -- Conclusions -- Limitations and Directions for Future Research -- References -- 3 Customer Service in Ghana -- Chapter Outline -- Customer Service as Competitive Advantage -- June 2016 Interrogation of Customer Service Issues in Ghana -- What Was the State of Customer Service Delivery in Ghana in 2016? -- The Banking Sector -- Issues of Tangibility -- Issues of Responsiveness -- Issues of Reliability -- The Hospitality Industry.

Issues of Tangibility -- Issues of Responsiveness -- Issues of Reliability -- The Telecommunication Industry -- Issues of Tangibility -- Issues of Reliability -- Issues of Responsiveness -- Other Service Industries -- August 2016 Hector Wulff LinkedIn Post -- May 2017 Ghanaian President's May Day Speech -- Simon K. Avorgah 2022 Observations of Customer Service in Ghana -- Yvonne Ohui McCarthy's 2022 Observations of Customer Service in Ghana -- Customer Service Delivery Gaps in Ghana -- How to Bolster Customer Service Delivery in Ghana -- References -- 4 Customer Experience in Higher Education Institutions: A Focus on African Universities -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- Marketing Universities -- Market-propelled Mission -- University Survival -- Reframing -- University Marketing Communications -- What Is University Marketing Communications? -- Challenges Confronting University Marketing Communications -- The African University Context -- What Do University Marketing Communications Teams Do? -- The University of Ghana Example -- How Marketing Communications Offices Should Develop -- The 2Rs - How to Create "Lovemarks" for Delighted Alumni -- "Lovemarks" -- Alumni and Giving -- Recognise the Importance of Strategic Planning -- Realign Student Experiences with Alumni Experiences -- Redefining African University Propositions to Make Them Top Foreign Student Destinations -- International Students - An Example from Kenya -- International Student Recruitment in African Universities - a Focus on Rwandan Universities -- 4 Ps of International Student Recruitment -- Plot a Global Engagement Strategy -- Pull in International Collaborators -- Pursue an Integrated Communication Approach -- Position Your Website as Your International Gateway -- How to Improve Customer Service in Universities -- External Customers -- Internal Customers -- The "3Rs".

1. Recognise That Digital Is the New Normal -- 2. Reassure and Inform -- 3. Revisit the Basics -- References -- 5 Customer Service in Egypt -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- Country Profile of Egypt -- Customer Service and Service Quality in Egypt -- Components of Service Quality -- Tangibility -- Reliability -- Responsiveness -- Conclusion -- References -- 6 Customer Service in South Africa -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- Definition of Customer Service -- Service Quality as a Component of Customer Service -- SERVQUAL Model -- Profile of South Africa -- Customer Service Issues -- Tangibility -- Reliability -- Responsiveness -- General Observation -- Conclusion -- References -- 7 Future Directions for Enhanced Customer Service Delivery in Africa -- Chapter Outline -- Introduction -- Strategies for Improving Customer Service Delivery in Africa -- Conclusion -- References -- Index.

Local Note:

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

Subject Term:

Customer services-Africa, Sub-Saharan-Management.

Added Author:

Mensah, Esi Akyere.

Odame, Doreen Anyamesem.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view book

Publication Date:

2024

Publication Information:

Oxford :

Productivity Press,

2024.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
658.8120967	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ON-DEMAND	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Customer service management is one of the key pillars of today's business environment. Businesses operating in sub-Saharan Africa and other frontier markets have begun to embrace the concept of customer service management, with many incorporating the notion into their mission statements - with many forward-thinking companies transitioning from a transactional to a more strategic view of the customer. As customers have evolved and transformed from "passive audiences" to "active players" businesses are moving away from "the old industry model that sees value as created from goods and services to a new model where value is created by experiences".

Today, businesses and customers create value through customised, co-produced offerings. This co-creation of value helps firms highlight the customer's or consumer's point of view and improve the front-end process of identifying customers' needs. Given the increasing recognition of the customer as a co-creator of value, perceptions of customer service quality during COVID-19 and afterwards matter to businesses in Africa looking to thrive in a new post-COVID era since customers increasingly face several choices in the bid to access consumer products and services.

This book consists of seven chapters beginning with an overview detailing the importance of customer service matters to Africa's development and ending with a discussion of the future directions for enhanced customer service delivery in Africa. Each chapter in this book includes actual customer service and delivery practices from various countries on the African continent, including Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa, and uncovers the challenges, successes, and potential areas for improvement in delivering quality customer service.

Author Notes

Robert E. Hinson is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor at the Ghana Communication Technology, having served previously as the Deputy Vice Chancellor - Academic at the University of Kigali with additional responsibility as Interim Vice Chancellor of the same University. His main research interests lie in the academic areas of marketing and communications, information and technology management, service management, and social responsibility and sustainability management. He has 33 monographs/Edited volumes and over 150 peer reviewed journal papers/book chapters to his credit. He was ranked by the 2021 and 2022 Alper-Doger (AD) Scientific Index as the #1 African Marketing Scholar and leading business and management scholar in Ghana. His book collection can be accessed at www.robertebohinsonbooks.com

Esi Akyere Mensah is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management with over 9 years of teaching and research experience in Ghanaian, British and Ivorian institutions. She has taught tourism and business management and sustainability courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research areas cover a wide range of topics, including post-COVID-19 tourism recovery, sustainability, and leadership in higher education. She is interested in the intersections of migration, development and tourism. Her research in tourism focuses on niche tourism such volunteer tourism and host guest interactions in tourism. Her papers have been published in Tourism Management Perspectives, Journal of International Migration and Integration, International Journal of Tourism Cities and Anatolia. She is currently an editorial board member of the Tourism Planning and Development Journal, a copy editor and a reviewer for tourism journals and corporate institutions. Her social media handles include https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-esi-akyere-mensah-156bb0103 / and https://www.facebook.com/esiam).

Doreen Nyarko Anyamesem Odame is the examination officer in the Department of General Studies at the Ghana Communication Technology University and she can be reached on dodame@gctu.edu.gh. Doreen's research interests lie at the intersection of African Business Management, African Developmental Issues and Public Sector Management in Africa. She is published in prestigious journals like the International Journal of Social Economics and has a forthcoming co-authored book titled "Social Media and Africa's Public Sector: Perspectives on Contemporary Issues" 'to be published by Springer in 2023.