We knock at her office door at 6:30am on Wednesday morning of 4 October 2023. We have a 7:00am appointment. She greets us with enthusiasm adding, ‘’You are 30 minutes early, that’s a good sign! Come on in.’’ She is aware of what we want to discuss but we do a little catch up on the weather. Then we settle into the interview for which we have 10 minutes. First, we would like to hear her definition of Customer Service.
So we ask a direct question.
What’s your definition of customer service?
Customer service is the end to end experience of a customer with a brand, from the point of awareness and getting to know what they do, to consideration and consumption and even after. It is how an organization conducts business and interacts with customers at all touchpoints. It is a brand’s way of life. Customer experience is long term, it goes the long haul, beyond the immediate transaction and satisfaction to being a partner in everyday consumption moments. And in the food industry, especially at Farmer’s Choice, that means business to us.
We delve a bit deeper into the subject when we ask the next question,
What are some of the initiatives that Farmer’s Choice does to achieve the best customer experience?
Our commitment on quality, innovation and consistency at Farmer’s Choice is unwavering. We do not compromise on quality, which is why our product stands out unrivalled in the market. And to stay agile to our customers’ needs that keep changing, we innovate. We realize that food preferences change over the years. The constant feedback from our customers and benchmarking with global standards is what drives our product offering year after year. So while our sausage has that unique meaty and originally Kenyan taste, we have developed other recipes such as the low fat sausages, for that customer whose preference leans that way.
Our wide network of partners in the value chain makes it possible for us to remain timely and consistent in delivering our quality meat products to our wide range of customer categories including those buying to cook, those having a meal at a hotel or even those having a snack from our Smokies Vendors, not to forget the sausages that are enjoyed globally! All those touchpoints provide our consumer with special experiences with our products. That is why we have to guard and grow the partnerships. Moreover, our operations run seamlessly due to the very committed team we have; from production, to sales and marketing, to dispatch, distribution and customer service as well as back end teams in IT and finance to mention but a few. To support the efforts of the sales team we have a cold chain fleet of trucks traversing the country, day and night, to deliver fresh and frozen meat products. Important to mention is that every member of staff at Farmer’s Choice whether senior or junior, in all departments is trained and retrained on customer service etiquette. In fact, our staff handbook spells out repercussions of mishandling customers. That is how seriously we take the subject of customer service around here.
As we close the interview we ask Ms Felisters,
What’s happening at Farmers Choice this week?
As we mark Customer Service week at Farmer’s Choice we are making very deliberate efforts to remind our customers that we value them. We also take time to appreciate our very able, hardworking and smart teams for making the customer experiences possible, because the joint and seamless efforts are what make it happen as goes the theme this year #teamservice.
We have had a series of activities which our marketing team arranged throughout the week, both internally and with business partners to commemorate Customer Service Week.
#CSWeek2023
#Teamservice
#Sausagesloveatfirstbite
