Consumer satisfaction, a pillar of product loyalty, corporate trust – Babatunde Irukera, DG, CPC

The Director General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Babatunde Irukera has charged businesses to understand the signs of times and embrace the new order of prioritizing consumer protection as the pre-eminent factor in protecting brand, businesses, managing crisis, building confidence and corporate growth, emphasizing that customer satisfaction is the most vital pillar to loyalty and trust.

Irukera, who made this known at a meeting with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of food and beverage companies who are members of the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFTBE), noted that customer service cannot be ancillary to business, especially in the food and beverage industry, rather it must be the core of business and operations.

He informed the meeting that the CPC will introduce a more efficient system with the right technology that will ensure companies are the primary point of resolution, and only when that fails are complaints escalated to the CPC, except in serious or industry wide situations or abuses that require major and urgent immediate intervention, while encouraging the CEOs to ensure their companies adopt the comprehensive system and plug into it when it goes live.

Further, the Director General noted that from internal information and the feedback, including from this meeting, a major threat to both consumers and businesses is counterfeiting and adulteration.

He informed the meeting that the CPC will focus more on traceability and enjoined companies to cooperate in being more innovative and proactive in partnering with regulators to address this menace.

Earlier, the Group Managing Director of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc., Paul Gbededo, while welcoming CPC boss to the meeting, described AFBTE as a group of industries that have daily encounters with Nigerian consumers.

According to him, partnership between the association and the Council will be for the good of the country and the numerous consumers of their various products.