Do Big Companies care about the Average Joe?

By Genevieve Amaechi

Consumer satisfaction is not always guaranteed in products bought by the consumer, sometimes it might even exceed the customer’s expectations.

Regardless of which it is, companies provide contact point where such complaints or feedback can be given to the company. When these complaints are left unattended customers get frustrated.

Some of these frustrations can lead customers to simply change brand or just excuse the company and continue to use the product, others might take a more drastic action such as taking the company to court or simply posting it on social media.

In Nigeria, there are different consumer protection bodies including, he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Federal Road Safety commission (FRSC), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) among others.

Although these bodies exist and serve the different sectors of the economy, the social media space has however taken centre stage as first point of product or service issue reportage.

Companies are often not aware of issues with their products as experienced by the consumer until they see these complaints tweeted or posted and reposted on several social media platforms.

Should Consumers make first Report on Social Media?

Social media offers a free platform to vent their anger and frustrations immediately they occur. Consumers are sometimes not aware that companies, particularly the big companies, provide contact information on the product purchased. These contacts could be emails or/and phone numbers to leave both complaints, suggestions or even compliments.

A company as big as Guinness Nigeria with so many products made and sent all over the country will find it difficult to track a single “Low fill” can missed during quality checks. This is where reporting the issue the company comes in.

As a personal experience of a low fill malt drink from Guinness Nigeria, I was expecting my mail lost or not recognised, since it wasn’t from a distributor or a known name. However, they called and though it took some time, they apologised and resolved the issue satisfactorily.

In another product issue with Nutzy concerning one of their peanut butter product, they promptly investigated the complaint made, found the issue, apologised and replied with details of investigation, all within 24hours.

So before you think about venting your anger on social media or changing your favourite brand, check your product’s feedback methods and contact them. You might be surprised that they care about the average Joe and Jane.