ABSTRACT
An increasing number of African countries have, since the 1990s, experienced economic challenges resulting from operating in a highly competitive global environment. For instance, the rise of China and that of other Asian economies and the adoption of economic liberalisation policies by countries such as Kenya have exposed firms in Africa to increased competition. Providing excellent customer service is perceived to be one way of attaining sustainable competitive advantage in a turbulent environment. Customer service training enables employees to consistently provide quality services to both internal and external customers. This is partly because trained employees are better placed to understand the need for loyal customers, the areas to emphasise while interacting with customers and the benefits that accrue from such training. Given that customer service training has numerous benefits, such as better customer retention, this chapter recommends that firms in Africa, particularly those originating or owned by Africans, should embrace this kind of training especially for employees who interact with external customers.
