Mission Possible: The business of service excellence
During this Customer Service Week 2025, with its rallying theme “Mission Possible”, we are reminded that excellent customer service is not a marketing campaign—it is a culture, a mindset, and a lived reality.
In African tradition, we understand the wisdom of community. A harvest is only bountiful when every hand tills the soil, and a village thrives only when the well is maintained by all. The same truth applies in business: no single department can own customer service. It requires leadership, human resources, finance, operations, and every employee to recognise that their daily work touches the customer.
“In African business cultures, hierarchy often creates deference. Staff may bow, nod, and echo “yes, sir” out of habit, not genuine respect. True respect shows when employees volunteer ideas, take initiative, and go the extra mile.”
“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb
The paradox of service in business
Too often, service is misinterpreted as the polite smile at the front desk or the scripted greeting at a call centre. In truth, it is the cumulative effect of every internal process that affects the customer journey. An invoice delayed by finance, a late delivery by logistics, or a payroll error by HR—all these ripple into customer dissatisfaction.
That is why the African proverb resonates. To go far in the mission of service excellence, organisations must go together. Service is not about heroics; it is about systems aligned toward the customer.
Mission Possible: Breaking the myths
The theme Mission Possible challenges the myth that world-class service is unattainable in the face of Africa’s infrastructure deficits, economic pressures, or talent shortages. The truth is that:
Mission Possible begins with clarity of purpose. Employees who understand how their role connects to customer satisfaction bring ownership into their work.
Mission Possible thrives on empowerment. A staff member trusted to resolve a customer issue instantly creates more loyalty than a scripted apology.
Mission Possible is sustained by systems. Good intentions collapse without structures—training, recognition, clear feedback channels, and accountability.
Leaders who treat poor service as inevitable institutionalise mediocrity. Leaders who believe service excellence is possible—and back it with deliberate systems—prove that the impossible can be made possible.
Read also: Customer service, that ten percent and other related matters
Examples that Inspire
Across Nigeria and Africa, both private and public institutions have demonstrated that Mission Possible is not a slogan but an achievable reality.
Private sector champions
Stanbic IBTC Bank (Nigeria) was recognised in 2025 as Bank of the Year for Customer Service at the Industry Summit/Awards. Even in a crowded sector, it proved that digital channels, empowered staff, and operational efficiency can distinguish customer experience.
PalmPay (Nigeria/Africa) won Consumer-Friendly Business of the Year at the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) Awards. By investing in trust, responsiveness, and grievance resolution, it showed that fintechs can scale without losing empathy.
Access Bank (Nigeria/Africa) continues to earn awards for innovation and customer-centric banking. Its reputation as the Best SME Bank demonstrates how aligning technology with customer support builds loyalty across markets.
Keystone Bank (Nigeria), once considered a smaller player, has been recognised for customer service excellence. By focusing on accessibility and consistency, it proved that service culture can be a differentiator even without the scale of the largest banks.
Advans Nigeria (Microfinance) was named Microfinance Bank of the Decade at The Edge Awards in 2025. In financial inclusion, where trust is everything, Advans demonstrated that serving underserved communities with fairness and dignity is both good business and social impact.
Public sector lessons in Africa
Across Africa, several public-facing institutions provide lessons. Rwanda’s civil registration services, Kenya’s eCitizen portal, and South Africa’s municipal service desks have been highlighted in governance reports for streamlining citizen access, improving transparency, and treating citizens as customers.
The lesson is clear: service excellence is not the preserve of private enterprise. With the right systems, even government agencies can transform citizen experiences and rebuild trust.
HR as the custodian of service culture
Human Resources must be positioned as a central driver of customer service culture. Recruitment should prioritise service orientation, not just technical competence. Training should emphasise empathy, responsiveness, and problem-solving. Performance systems should reward behaviours that protect and enhance customer trust.
Service excellence is not about perfection. Customers do not expect flawless processes, but they do expect responsiveness and care. A mistake corrected with urgency and humility often leaves a stronger impression than a seamless but impersonal transaction.
The African business lesson
In the African marketplace, service has always been personal. Customers return to the same market stall not just for the goods, but because the seller greets them by name, extends credit when times are hard, and keeps promises. The modern challenge is to scale that intimacy across large organisations and digital platforms without losing its humanity.
Technology can accelerate service, but culture sustains it. Without a culture of accountability, even the most advanced platforms collapse under the weight of indifference.
Conclusion
As we commemorate Customer Service Week 2025, let us remember the proverb: “If you want to go far, go together.” Service excellence cannot be achieved by a single department. It is the business of everyone, from the boardroom to the shop floor.
The Nigerian and African institutions highlighted above prove that Mission Possible is not aspirational—it is achievable. Their example teaches us that service excellence is built not by chance, but by purpose, structure, and culture.
When organisations embed service into every process and empower every employee to act with empathy and accountability, customers do not just stay—they become advocates. That is the essence of making “Mission Possible” not just a theme, but a way of life.
Dr. Olufemi Ogunlowo is the CEO of Strategic Outsourcing Limited, a leading provider of personnel and business process outsourcing services in Nigeria. He is also a regular columnist on employment and workforce strategy.
