We've all had different experiences with numerous traders during the course of our lives, and one thing we can all agree on is the fact that some attributes some traders possess will either make or break their businesses, because while for some the way experience we had during our business transaction can be so heartwarming that it literally makes you want to visit them over again to have such feelings, on the other hand, we've those who'll make you regret going near their store because of how you felt after your encounter with them. I've been in both shoes, and in this article I'll love to share some of my experiences in both situations with you.
You see, even though I don't really like the idea of being a trader myself, probably due to my personal traits and inability to convince people to buy something, yet I can still beat my chest and say I know one or two things about being a trader because my mum is one, and aside from the fact that she has done this for every single time I can remember her, she has gradually introduced me and my other siblings to it via helping her to sell in her store or hawk some of her goods. Via all of these and our words towards us, I've come to understand that as a trader, you must possess some top-notch attribute that'll help you woo consumers towards you.
Traits such as excellent communication skills, honesty and transparency, empathy, knowledge of the product, a customer-centric mindset, and professionalism, to name but a few, all of these put together can go on to help you not only sell your products but also go on to help you retain a customer who won't mind coming a long distance just so they can patronize you, and if you don't possess all of the above but the opposite, many customers will gradually depart from your store, and their review to those around them can ruin your business because no one wants to be treated like shit for trying to help your business.
Talking about traders I've had positive encounters with, I remember a few years ago during my days in Kano State, Nigeria, there was a time one of my friends wanted to get married in Ogun State, and since I was invited to be one of his men in suits, I had to travel down from Kano, which is in the northwest, to Ogun State, which is in the western part of the state. So I needed cash before embarking on the journey, and so I paid a visit to the trader in my neighborhood who's also into the POS business so I can withdraw some cash, so I send the amount of money I needed to his account, but for reasons best known to Access Bank, the money, although it left my account, yet it didn't show up in his.
After waiting for minutes without any sign of the money showing in his account, I was feeling down because I didn't have any other money with me. I had sent him everything with the hope that I'd have enough cash with me, but seeing how frustrated I was, he told me to come back later, and I narrated my ordeals to him. I guess since that's not the first time I was withdrawing from him, he was moved with compassion and gave me the money I send him despite not seeing alert; he said it best: I have the cash so I can travel, and who knows, he might see it before I get there.
I was thrilled by his decision because I'm certain there are few people who'll do such, and that's how I collected the cash and traveled down for the wedding ceremony. To make matters worse, rather than for my bank to pay him the money, they reversed it back to my account, and I had to quickly call him to inform him about the latest development. He just said no problem; when I'm back, I can pay him back. I was wowed by his level of customer relations, empathy, and the likes, and since then, after coming back from that trip, anytime I wanted to buy something and I knew he was selling, I'd prefer to buy it from him, even if I was far away and someone else was selling close to where I was at the time.
Still on the positive encounters with traders, there's this trader in my neighborhood where I stay presently; it's from her I usually buy things, and each time I'm done shopping, I regularly just transfer my payment to her account, but on one fateful day I was facing difficulty sending money to her after she'd done sorting all my purchases; she insisted I could go and try later, but I waited to try again, and it later went through.
Later that night I was home and about to sleep when I received a call from her number, informing me that I had mistakenly paid for the goods I bought earlier twice. I didn't even realize, and yet she still showed a level of integrity to look for my phone number via my Opay account to call me and inform me. It was surprising because some traders will just be like, That's their luck, and hold on to the money, which is exactly what the encounter I had with a bad trader is all about.
My worst encounter with a trader was a lady selling snacks in my workplace. That very day I was hungry as I didn't come to work with any food, so I decided to patronize her. I told her I didn't have cash, but I'd transfer to her if she didn't mind, and she said it was fine. She sold what I wanted to me, and I sent her the money, unknown to me that rather than sending 1500 naira, I had included an extra zero, meaning I paid 15000 naira instead. I didn't realize it in time, and I guess it was after two days that I was wondering how I had such a huge difference in my account, and when checking through my transaction history, I saw what happened.
On the third day, I approach this trader, and she is acting as though she's not aware, after which she argues with me, but I make her check her bank app and be sure I'm saying the truth; obviously, she's already aware of it and had even spent the money. To cut the long story short, after arguing with me, cursing, and realizing there's no hiding place, she tried to use a soft voice and was like, Can't you leave 14k for a fine girl? It was annoying; I made sure to collect my money and never patronize her again.
What I learnt from these encounters with both the best and my worst experience with traders is that trust, integrity, and professionalism are very important in the trading business; without these, you'll most likely lose customers, while having them will help you retain and attract more customers. Having empathy and the likes fosters loyalty amongst customers and will encourage them to want to repeatedly patronize you; also, how traders handle challenges really matters and plays a huge role in the growth and sustainability of their businesses.
All photos are taken and edited on canva.