Many years ago, a customer walked into our Lekki outlet, visibly very upset. She had ordered a smoothie and angrily complained that she could taste banana in it. The problem? That particular product wasn’t supposed to contain any banana at all.
My team replied, saying there was no way banana could have found its way into that drink. We are very strict about following our standard recipes, but the customer insisted. She demanded a refund and said she would never come back. Then she added that she was actually allergic to bananas and was having reactions already. Allergic to bananas? That was a new one for us.
My team collected the drink, tasted it, and held their ground. We can't taste any banana, ma, and it was simply impossible. We would never add an ingredient that wasn’t listed. But the customer remained firm, insisting she could taste it and was reacting to it. She left the store angrily, never to return.
At that point, they reached out to me. I told them to call her, apologize sincerely for how she was feeling, and deliver a fresh drink right away. Then I spoke to her myself, apologise and reassured her that we would investigate, and promised to find out what really happened and her next smoothie order would also be free.
So, I immediately asked the QA Manager to dig deeper. If the customer insists, I told the team, we owe it to her and to ourselves to find out why. The investigation revealed something we had completely missed: the person who made the smoothie had used the same knife to cut banana for another product few minutes earlier, then used that same knife to cut the fruits for her smoothie. Woah!! The smallest of cross-contamination. A tiny action, but for someone highly sensitive to banana, it was enough to trigger a reaction.
That single complaint led us to introduce major changes in our production process. It changed how we handled tools, tightened our production and hygiene standards, and reinforced a stronger culture of listening.
The best customers aren’t always the happy, smiling ones who never complain. Sometimes, the best customers are the ones who challenge you, who point out what’s wrong, even when it’s uncomfortable to hear.
Never see a complaint as an attack, see it as a gift. The truth is a complaining customer still cares enough to speak up instead of walking away. And if you listen, investigate, and act, you don’t just fix a problem, you make your business better for everyone.
So, the next time a customer comes back to complain, don’t dismiss it. Lean in, listen, and learn. That’s where real growth begins.
Of course, you guessed right, she remained a very loyal customer.
You see, back in 2013, I used to be that guy with brilliant ideas but who did absolutely nothing about them.
One day, I attended a pitch event where they needed four business ideas. I submitted three… and they picked all three.
They called my name once. Then again. Then a third time.
And the crowd would murmur each time: “It’s the same guy, he’s already up there!”
So instead of four different people standing on stage, it was just me and one other person. And there I was, standing tall, grinning like a fool, full of pride.
But I later realized something that changed my life: that ideas are BS.
Because I never executed any of them. I kept “refining”, endlessly polishing ideas.
Then one day, I woke up and decided to stop overthinking.
I built my first website, launched my first info product… and soon, I was making enough small change to “pimp up” my small room in our family house and buy an old Audi 80.
That’s when I learned one of the most powerful business lessons ever:
Execution is all that matters.
Sometimes, you just have to jump in and figure things out as you go, ideas are just mental farts.
The people who make the most headway in life are not the ones with genius ideas.
They’re the ones who take something simple… and push the living daylight out of it.
I am ranting because I am not doing well.
Forget all the saturated pictures and collaged videos from £87 trips but all of my family is in Nigeria.
They don't have the same travel access, same illusion of comfort, freedom to buy whatever they want without mental gymnastics - and this is the fucking truth.
Whatever policy they're affected with, affects me.
Whatever injustice they're robbed off with, robs on me.
Geographically, I might not be on Nigerian soil but mentally, I never left.
Financially, I never left.
Emotionally, I never left.
I am aware that I am not doing well.
Wherever you are in the diaspora, if you current situation isn't mirrored across all of your current family members, I'm sorry to burst your bubble - you're not doing well. You've not escaped.
So if awakening citizen consciousness is my own contribution to the possibility of a better Nigeria, I will play my part.
This is why we speak up.
I can't peel off my skin, erase my Oduduwa factor, dump my green passport so in an out, I'm still a Nigerian - I'll always be. From a distance, that's all anyone will ever see even if I get a second citizenship, so again, something has to give.
I won't be silent. I won't cower. My voice will not be compromised because of proximity to access.
These conversations are like lints and sparks - I can only but hope it eventually sparks a fire that makes us hit the streets.
Finally,
Nigeria works. If a system is designed to fail and it fails, that system has succeeded.
The problems of Nigeria are artificially manufactured, so a new government comes in reverses one floor of a mountain of problems they created - they can praise it as progress.
The poverty levels we're in, is a deliberate design - it is a tool and it's weaponization is the only way the cankerworms in charge can reign supreme.
If you keep a people hungry enough, you can flash them hope with AC chilling, WiFi blazing and jollof steaming.
If you systematically strip people of their dreams and aspirations, keep them at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs - you can easily convert them to willing slaves.
Nigeria works - but the question is, who is it working for?
NO BABY DESERVES TO SUFFER LIKE THIS ON DAY 1, PLANET EARTH! 😭😢
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
Hello dear pregnant women,
I want to speak with you about something vbery important, not just for your health, but for your baby’s future.
When a pregnant woman takes drugs like opioids, cocaine, cannabis, or even drinks alcohol regularly, those substances do not stay in her body alone. They cross the placenta and go straight to the baby. And bbecause babies cannot clear these substances the way adults do, their tiny systems become dependent.
The painful truth is that after birth, when the cord is cut and the drug supply suddenly stops, the baby begins to suffer withdrawal. This is what we call Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). The baby may cry uncontrollably, shake with tremors, struggle to feed, have breathing problems, or even seizures. It is heartbreaking to see a newborn in so much distress simply because of what happened during pregnancy.
But here’s the good news: NAS is preventable.
By avoiding drugs and alcohol completely in pregnancy, you protect your child from a painful start in life.
If you are already using substances, please do not feel ashamed, but do seek help. There are safe, supportive programs that can help you stop in a controlled way, so both you and your baby stay healthy.
Avoid self-medicating with painkillers or sedatives. Always consult your doctor if you need treatment.
Every mother wants her child’s first cry to be of life and not of pain. And you have the power to give your baby that gift... by choosing health, by choosing support, and by choosing to let go of drugs and alcohol.
Your baby’s body is built from your choices. Let those choices be ones you can be proud of.
I’ve contemplated going back to Nigeria like 5 times this week. I’m genuinely tired 😓 but home is equally hell. the life we’re living here is just slavery. I’m tired.
One year ago, I did the best photo bomb ever. Them no wan feature a whole me! Hope you "You have tiny eyes" "Your eyes no dey open?" people can see the white of my eyes, and see where the eyes came from. 😏
One of these boys shot Tomi in the eye with a locally made pistol whilst trying to rob him. He’s permanently blind in both eyes today. I have zero sympathy for them.