It’s Customer Service Week again, that annual moment when Nigerian companies suddenly remember that customers exist. For one week, timelines are filled with smiling photos of front desk staff, branded cupcakes, and captions about “valuing our customers.” But if we’re being honest, it means absolutely nothing in Naija except sharing cake with customers, pretending to be polite and cautious for seven days, then returning to default settings once it’s over.
That line came from a frustrated customer on WhatsApp, and honestly, it captures everything about our collective experience with customer service in Nigeria.
This is the week brands start talking about “empathy,” “excellence,” and “experience,” but on the other 51 weeks, they ghost you when your internet stops working, your refund is delayed, or your complaint is “still under review.”
And if we are handing out awards this year, then let’s call it what it is. Dear FibreOne, you have officially won Nigeria’s Worst Customer Service Experience of 2025.
When the Internet Isn’t The Problem
Let’s get something clear. FibreOne’s actual internet product isn’t the worst. The connection speed, when it works, is fine. The coverage is solid in many parts of Lagos. But reliability means nothing when service recovery is nonexistent.
Here’s what the average FibreOne customer goes through:
- You subscribe.
- It works fine for the first few days.
- The connection drops without warning.
- You call customer care, and they promise to send someone.
- Nobody comes.
- You follow up again and again.
- Silence.
- Then a week later, you receive an automated renewal reminder.
That’s the FibreOne experience in one sentence: you pay for the privilege of being ignored.
The People Have Spoken
This is not personal. The people have spoken loudly.
On X (formerly Twitter), you can find hundreds of frustrated threads from customers sharing the same story.
“FibreOne has been down for the past month.”
“I called customer care more than seven times.”
“They promised to send a technician, nobody showed up.”
“They sent me a renewal email instead of a fix.”
In the BuildersCabal founders’ group, one user complained about how FibreOne’s downtime was killing productivity. Another replied, “That’s the tale of prideful Glo.” The whole group laughed, but it’s not funny when your business depends on reliable internet.
Even on the WithOnyeka Community, someone wrote: “Between MTN FibreX and Starlink, which is better? I am tired of the fraud called FibreOne.” It got dozens of laughing emojis, but behind the humour is resignation. Nigerians have accepted poor service as normal.
Customer Service Week or Customer Stress Week?
In theory, Customer Service Week is a time to celebrate teams that support customers daily. In practice, most Nigerian brands see it as a PR opportunity. They bake cake, post smiling selfies, and create hashtags. Meanwhile, the same customers they are “celebrating” are still on hold with customer care or waiting for someone to come “check the connection.”
There’s no empathy. No urgency. Just theatrics.
This week should be about listening, not posing. About reflection, not decoration. Because what customers want is not your cake, it’s competence.
The Real Cost of Poor Service
Bad customer service doesn’t just irritate people; it destroys businesses. In Nigeria’s highly competitive market, switching is relatively easy. One viral tweet can undo years of advertising.
Every ignored complaint becomes an unpaid marketing campaign — against you. Every unresolved issue becomes a thread on X that goes viral with screenshots, hashtags, and comments like “same thing happened to me.”
When that happens, you don’t just lose a customer. You lose trust.
And when you lose trust, no influencer, billboard, or celebrity endorsement can save you.
What FibreOne (And Others) Can Do Better
FibreOne has potential. It has brand recall, decent infrastructure, and nationwide visibility. What it lacks is urgency and empathy.
Here’s what can change everything:
- Empower customer care teams: Stop treating them like robots reading scripts. Train them to make decisions.
- Invest in real-time tracking: Every ticket should have a timestamp, escalation path, and resolution window.
- Reward responsiveness: The best agents should be the most celebrated, not the ones who avoid confrontation.
- Apologise and compensate: If service is down for weeks, don’t pretend. Offer credits or partial refunds. It’s cheaper than losing your reputation.
- Leadership visibility: When the CEO or senior management occasionally addresses customers directly, it signals accountability.
Beyond FibreOne: A National Problem
FibreOne is not the only guilty party. From banks that delay reversals to logistics companies that lose parcels, Nigeria’s customer service culture has become a collective embarrassment.
Companies spend millions on marketing, but pennies on customer experience. They hire PR managers before customer experience directors. They measure “tickets closed” instead of “customers satisfied.”
The result? A generation of Nigerian consumers who no longer expect good service. We are shocked by kindness and impressed by basic efficiency.
That’s the true tragedy.
So What Should Change?
First, every brand must redefine what Customer Service Week really means. It’s not a celebration. It’s a checkpoint.
Ask:
- Are customers truly happy, or just tired?
- Do our systems work, or are we surviving on autopilot?
- How fast do we respond to pain points?
- What happens after the apology?
Answering those questions honestly is more valuable than any cake-cutting ceremony.
Dear FibreOne, This Is Your Wake-Up Call
This article is not an attack. It’s a wake-up call. FibreOne, you’ve built something that could be remarkable, but your brand is sinking under the weight of broken promises.
Every unresolved ticket chips away at your credibility. Every unacknowledged complaint spreads faster than your ads. Every “we will send someone” that never happens is another customer gone forever.
You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to care.
So while other brands celebrate Customer Service Week with cupcakes, I’ll say this instead: the best celebration you can give customers is consistency.
Because the people have already voted. And this year, FibreOne, your network isn’t the only thing that’s down. Your reputation is, too.
