Shei.

consulting
01 BP 4259 Cotonou BENIN
P.o.Box 14536 Accra GHANA
www.sheiconsulting.com

TRAINER’S REPORT

BP 1348 Kigali

Rwanda
Submitted on October 15th 2008 by Sandra IDOSSOU
 INTRODUCTION
Following the demand of the Management of Banque Populaire du Rwanda sa, and in
partnership with Alain Molens & Associates in Kigali, a series of training on Customer Care
has been organised for 50 staff on 4 different sessions of 2 days each from September
22nd till October 11th at IWACU Training Centre, Kabuzungu in Kigali.

The objective of this training was to give practical Customer Care and welcoming knowledge to
participants in direct customer contact. The training was to help participate acquire new
knowledge and techniques in dealing with customers.

The participants came from all branches of BPR in Kigali and upcountry and work as :
Branch Managers; Customer Relations; Credit Managers; Cashiers Managers etc;.

Trainings were conducted by Jean Mukunzi of Alain Molens & Associates based in Rwanda
and Sandra Idossou from SHEI Consulting, Bénin & Ghana.
Participants enjoyed the training, participated very much and the group dynamic had a very
positive effect on their learning process. Trainings were done with less of theory but with
numerous practical exercises with French as the main language and for rare occasions
English.
The Management and the Training Manager of the Bank were present during all sessions and
were helpful and active throughout these trainings.

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 The Training
Objectives
Gain a better understanding of Project a positive
customer expectations self-image

Master the techniques

of welcoming

Control personal
feelings
Understand the importance of
Develop an appropriate customer Care
vocabulary and attitude

Handling Objections
Understand the importance
Understand the importance of competition
of Quality of service
Handle complaints effectively
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 Topics Treated
Day 1 by Sandra

Theme 1. Who is my Client?

The Customer : definition, his behaviors and motives

Customers’ Expectations.

Theme 2. Quality of Service

Characteristics of Service

BPR Promises to Customers

The advantages of quality of service

Theme 3. Importance of Customer Care

Customer Satisfaction = Customer Loyalty

Roles of Staff

Theme 4. Welcoming

The 7 secrets of Welcoming

The 4 X 20 Rule in a First Contact

Film « The Guest »

© Customer Care Training. sandra.idossou@sheiconsultingcom
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 TOPICS TREATED
DAY 2 by Jean

Theme 5. Customer Satisfaction Survey

Importance of Customer Satisfaction

Debriefing of BPR customers satisfaction survey

Theme 6. Importance of Competition

Why is Competition Important in this present environment?

Visits of 6of our Main Competitors

Theme 7. Communication

Active Listening

Reformulation

The rules of language

Non Verbal Communication

Theme 8 Handling Difficult Customers

Handling Objections & complaints

© Customer Care Training. sandra.idossou@sheiconsulting.com 5

 PARTICIPANTS
FEEDBACK
From the evaluation forms filled at the end of this training, here below are the most appreciated
factors that contributed to participants satisfaction.

Importance of Customer
We had a lot of debate around the importance of customers and participants appreciated
much the following quotations;
"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the
chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.“
Sam Walton Founder of Wal Mart USA.
“It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer
who pays the wages.” Henry Ford

The Importance of Good Quality of Service

Participants worked in 2 sub groups to list these advantages. They realised that customer
service is also beneficial to the person who renders it as well as to the Customer, the
Company and even beyond all this, to the country. The circle of good quality of service made
them understand that they have no choice but to offer good quality of service if they want to
resist in this competitive environment.

Role Plays with Professional Actor

We worked in the afternoons with a professional actor on practical scenes of welcoming.
Participants laughed a lot but learnt different types of welcoming, attitudes and behaviours
that are mostly given to customers. We used this technique to validate the acquisition of
welcoming phases. Participants appreciated this method as it made the topics clearer.
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 PARTICIPANTS
FEEDBACK

The Trainer’s methodology
Participants enjoyed the methodology and general ambiance of the trainings. SHEI
Consulting’s trainings are very practical and dynamic as we believe that it is in a good and
happy atmosphere that adults learn fast. The warm up exercises during the course of the
trainings helped participants to stay awake and dynamic through out the trainings especially
after lunch.
But of course, the two trainers had different styles and methodology that were differently
appreciated.

Images
It is said that pictures speak louder than words and a lot of images were used during these
trainings to allow participants really understand certain topics.

Competition Visits of 6 Commercial Banks in Kigali

This was a very interesting exercise for all participants. Putting themselves in the customers
shoes made them understand the importance of good customer care and welcoming.
Participants went to Bancor, Ecobank, BK, Cogebank, BCR, Finabank.
They really appreciated the mirror effect of this exercise as it made them feel how customers
feel.
Some participants complained about the fact the exercise was too short considering the
distance of the training centre to the commercial city center where all these banks are
located. For future trainings, they would like to have more time for this.

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 PARTICIPANTS
SUGGESTION
Participants evaluated the training and here are some of their suggestions.

 Training Duration
They would have appreciated having more time for certain topics and suggested
that this training be done on 3 to 4 days instead of 2.

 Organisation of this training to all staff

For a real impact of this training on customer service, they suggested that this
training be done to a majority of staff. They said that they have learnt so much
and would like their colleagues to also go through this training. They appealed to
management to organize this session for every person in the company.

 BPR Customer Satisfaction survey

Participants appreciated this exercise as for most of them, it was the first time
they were having a direct customer survey.
Some complained that the exercise was too short; we would need to find a
solution for the future trainings.

 Lack on Video projection on certain days

Some participants complained about the fact that on certain days, the projection
was not available due to technical reasons. For future trainings, we would make
sure that everything works before training begins.
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 PARTICIPANTS
PROMISES
These are the points on which participants promised to work on as part of their action
plans:

1. Understand that every customer is important to the company

2. Welcome every customer with a SMILE by greeting them
3. Make sure that their working environment is clean
4. Even when busy, they will acknowledge the arrival of customers
5. Ask Customers their need and try as much as possible to Understand them
6. Improve on the professional dress code & personal grooming
7. Respect the promises made to customers
8. Being more professional in handling customers
9. Always put in mind that the Customer is the most important person in their job and
offer him the due respect
10. Understand that every person is responsible for the company’s image.

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 FEED BACK
ON LOGISTICS

Welcoming and Availability of BPR Organizers: Excellent
They were very present and implicated and took part even in some exercises

Welcoming and Availability of Iwacu Staff: They were available but their
service is not very efficient.

Coffee Breaks and Lunch: Average. Lunch was sometimes late

Training Room: Good.

Equipment: Good when the the video projector was working

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 TRAINER’S
FEEDBACK

Opening sessions by Management
The opening of most of the sessions were done by sometimes, Dieudonné, Peter Bruggeman,
the Change manager and Théogène
This was much appreciated. During their introduction speech, they invited participants to take
full advantage of this training.

Late coming of Participants

It was regretted that we always had to start late on every first day of session because
participants came late. For future trainings, a lot of emphasis will have to be made on the
punctuality so that all topics are fully covered.

The report of the mystery client to BPR

Prior to training, SHEI Consulting sent mystery shoppers to BPR to evaluate the services
offered to customers. Their reports clearly show customer service in their branches needed
to be given a full attention. The feed back was so very poor and participants realised the
importance of changing their attitudes.
They promised taking up the challenge and offer a better customer service.

Interactive Trainings
We managed to have a very interactive sessions where every participant gave his points of
view. This helped participants to open up to and share their experiences with their colleagues
from other branches.

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 TRAINER’S
FEEDBACK

Participation of trainees
I very much appreciated the general ambiance of these trainings though it was a bit difficult
to make all participants speak at the beginning. We had to imagine lots of exercises to bring
them the quiet out of their shelves.
At the end of the sessions, participants were so happy that they did not want us to end
their trainings. Some groups were so demanding that the time attributed to them seemed
very short.

Closing Ceremony
Dieudonné came himself to do the closing ceremonies of some of the sessions and this
turned out to be a very positive moment between management and the participants.

General appreciation
The management of Banque Populaire du Rwanda sa did well in choosing this first training
on customer care. There is definitely a need for many more people to attend these trainings
for a quick and visible impact on service.
I personally think that this pilot sessions were positive and provisions should be done for
more sessions for all staff of the Bank.

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 TRAINER’S
RECOMMENDATIONS

I would definitely recommend that all staff with a direct customer contact undergo this
training. There is no way people can just change their habits if they do not understand the
importance of Customer Service for themselves and for the Bank. I will therefore suggest
that we work quickly on the program for the remaining staff. That will be the only way to
have quick and visible impact on Service.

Also, BPR Customers need to see clearly the positive impact on the changing process in the
services offered to them. All team members need to understand the good vision of
management.

It will be a very good idea that BPR management organises a get together session with all
participants. This could serve to have a direct feed back on what participants have been able
to put into place in their working places since the training. This moment will be used to issue
training certificates for all participants.

I will lastly recommend that BPR takes seriously the recommendations. Good customer
Service is a journey and not a destination and a lot of efforts need to be continuously done to
maintain good quality of service

I’m therefore looking forward being of help for BPR in this change process.

(1) Documents given to Théogène: Copy of Training Module in French & English; Participants Evaluation
forms; Attendance sheets,
(2) Attachments: Template for Participants Evaluation forms 1 month after training, Template Training
Certificates.

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