In 2022, a surreal, fast-paced film titled Everything Everywhere All at Once captured the imagination of audiences around the world. It told the story of a woman pulled through multiple realities, juggling crises, timelines, identities and expectations all at once. That title now mirrors what many businesses face in the realm of customer experience (CX) today.
Modern CX is no longer about a single call, a queue or a complaint form. It involves delivering high-quality, real-time experiences across every channel, for every customer, simultaneously. Much like the film, it can feel chaotic, overwhelming and disorienting. Nevertheless, with the right mindset and tools, it can also be transformative.
Today’s customers are not passive recipients. They are informed, vocal and exacting. They expect a great deal: speed, transparency, empathy, ease and personalisation. They are present across a range of platforms, including mobile apps, USSD, WhatsApp, social media, contact centres and physical branches. Furthermore, many of them expect all of this at once-instantly, at any time of day or night, on any device, and without the need to repeat themselves.
What may have once been considered aspirational is now increasingly becoming the standard in many sectors. A customer who interacts with a bank via WhatsApp anticipates the same level of service and accuracy that would be expected in a branch or over the telephone. When that expectation is not met, customers are unlikely to wait. They will simply leave.
Across Ghana and the continent, the customer experience landscape is evolving in compelling ways. Many organisations are attempting to balance traditional service models with the expectations of digitally fluent customers. Telecommunications companies such as MTN have made notable progress with self-service apps, mobile money platforms and AI-powered chatbots. Nevertheless, customers still encounter long queues at service centres and inconsistencies in service resolution across different channels.
Certain banks have made significant investments in CRM systems and omnichannel platforms. However, fragmented systems continue to present challenges. A customer may be recognised as a valued user on a mobile banking platform but treated as a stranger by a contact centre agent who lacks access to their interaction history. These failures are not only technical in nature; they are also emotional. They diminish trust.
Elsewhere on the continent, Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform revolutionised customer experience by making money transfers as simple as sending a text message. Its ubiquity and reliability remain a benchmark on the global stage. Internationally, companies such as Amazon and Apple have redefined customer expectations. Amazon supports its customers with seamless returns and timely service. Apple creates a connected ecosystem that anticipates user needs and builds loyalty through consistency.
These global leaders excel at anticipatory service. They identify and resolve issues before customers raise them. They apply data insights to create moments of delight and reinforce confidence through reliability. In similar fashion, platforms such as ChatGPT are influencing the evolution of customer experience. They provide context-aware responses in real time, reduce wait times and simplify information retrieval.
Although global benchmarks offer inspiration, they must be viewed within context. Companies such as Amazon and Apple operate in environments supported by robust infrastructure, deep capital reserves and mature digital ecosystems. In Ghana, many organisations face constraints that include legacy systems, siloed data, limited cross-platform integration and regulatory complexity. Digital adoption is uneven across demographics and regions. Moreover, customer-facing staff often operate with limited tools, minimal autonomy and little room for proactive engagement.
There is also a cultural dimension to consider. Too often, CX is viewed as a department rather than a mindset. It is perceived as a reporting function rather than a strategic priority. As a result, customer experience strategies often lack coherence, and execution falls short of expectations. Feedback loops remain reactive and are not sufficiently embedded into real-time operations.
To succeed in this “everything everywhere all at once” environment, organisations must adopt a deliberate and structured approach. The first step is to unify systems and data, creating a single, comprehensive view of the customer. This eliminates silos and empowers staff with timely insights to support better decisions. The second is to implement automation with care. Artificial intelligence can reduce friction and improve speed, but it must not diminish human connection. When customers require escalation, the transition to a human agent must be swift, seamless and respectful. Although technology may fail, relationships must not.
Staff empowerment is equally vital. Frontline teams should be equipped not only to resolve complaints but also to create positive and memorable customer experiences. This requires access to relevant context, clear escalation frameworks and the authority to act decisively. Even the most advanced systems cannot compensate for employees who are disempowered or disconnected from the customer journey.
Agility is also critical. Platforms, policies and decision-making cycles must evolve alongside customer expectations. Listening must shift from periodic reporting to continuous engagement. Tools that monitor sentiment and feedback should enable timely responses, not retrospective adjustments.
In addition, CX must be elevated to the highest levels of leadership. When boards and chief executives speak about customer experience with clarity and conviction, it establishes a tone that resonates across the entire organisation. It sends a clear message that customer experience is not merely a support function; it is a strategic imperative.
Ghana is well-positioned for a breakthrough in customer experience. The country has a youthful, connected population, increasing smartphone penetration, competitive sectors such as banking and telecommunications, and a growing appetite for innovation. What remains is a change in mindset. CX must be recognised not only as a measure of service efficiency but as a core business driver that influences retention, brand perception and growth.
Imagine a Ghanaian bank that identifies your preferred channel, anticipates your need, confirms your satisfaction and thanks you with a personalised gesture. This is not wishful thinking. With strong leadership, the right tools and a commitment to excellence, this vision is well within reach. It begins with building systems that listen, teams that care and experiences that are designed around the customer.
The film Everything Everywhere All at Once explored chaos and identity. Today’s customer experience journey mirrors this same tension. The organisations that will thrive are those that find clarity in the chaos. They will unify systems, preserve the human touch and act with empathy and urgency.
Customer expectations are accelerating. The true challenge for businesses is not whether customers will adapt to them, but whether they can adapt to customers. The goal is not merely to be available everywhere. It is to deliver excellence, every time.
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The writer, Makafui Asante Amponsah, is Affluent Services Manager, Absa Bank Ghana Limited
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