Customer Service in Africa - Kate's Rantings
December 1, 2001
Dear Ones -
I am finally back in Taabo after spending two long weeks in Abidjan. I love the luxuries available in Abidjan - internet access, good restaurants (burgers, pizza, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc...), and lots of other Peace Corps volunteers for companionship. But I am truly glad to be "home" - sleeping in my own bed, living the slow life of an African village, and making progress on my projects. I have been going to Abidjan every three weeks, but will extend that to every four weeks in January. Besides that Abidjan is expensive, I find I miss being in Taabo too much! And, I also hope to visit other volunteers' sites throughout Cote d'Ivoire, so I'll probably be traveling more than less.
I am disappointed that NO PROGRESS was made on trash collection while I was gone. The staff here at the mayor's office is perfectly capable of keeping the project moving while I was gone, and I even left a list of top priorities! I'm questioning whether I'm working on the right project - if it stalls each time I'm gone, does the mayor really want trash collection? After I leave, will the trash collection stop? If there are so many "emergencies" that re-direct the groundskeepers from trash collection, maybe Taabo needs to take a step back and work on short-term planning before we go ahead with trash collection. I'll be posing those questions to my mentor this weekend.
I do think, though, that all this is typical of working in Africa and with Africans. The sense of time is radically different. The sense of priorities is radically different. Last week I arrived at my bank right at 7:45am - opening time. There are three teller windows, and you have to go to the teller that has your account number. Since lots of records are kept on paper, each teller has a set of file cabinets at his/her desk for his/her specific accounts. Well, my teller did not arrive until 7:50. And once he arrived, he had to get his money, count it, and log onto his computer. He did not start on the first customer until 8am! I was livid! I never have a good experience at the bank, probably because I expect customer service, and they think they're doing me a favor by holding my money.
But here's the reaction of African's to the story - maybe he was sick and go up late; maybe the first bus was too crowded and he had to wait; maybe...
Where I've learned all my life that being on time (especially for work!) is important, African's have learned that other things (family, health, small-talk) are more important. And while I think the bank should have an employee who can fill in (or work two lines), the bank seems to have priorities other than customer service.
Oh - and don't get me started on the grocery stores! Too late... There's some sort of severe shortage of change in Cote d'Ivoire. And it has become the customer's responsibility to provide the correct change - in taxis, at the grocery, and even at the bank! Often, this leads to a contest of wills between the customer and the grocery clerk. I have seen clerks void out a sale of over $10 and send the customer to another line just because could not agree on who would provide change. Hard to believe!
Last week at the grocery, I was to get 25cfa - about 3 cents - in change (plus some bills). The clerk first just ignored the 25cfa. She handed me a sucker. Yes, the store has decided that they will give out cheap gum or candy instead of change! Try that in the US! I told her to go look for change, since I cannot give a sucker to a cab driver for payment. She refused. Finally I realized I was going to buy bread at their bakery counter for 125cfa, and told the cashier to make the bread guy sell it to me for 100cfa plus a sucker. At first she tried to tell me he wouldn't accept the sucker, but my face must have told her to give in. I got the bread for a 100cfa coin plus a sucker.
Still, I ask you, why isn't it the business' responsibility to provide change? This week, on friend was shorted about 20cents by another grocery. Why is the shortage always on the customers' side? Why doesn't the grocery price things to avoid needing small change? Who has hoarded all the change in Cote d'Ivoire? And most importantly, when will this society learn that customer service is key to success?
What got me started on this subject is not really customer service at all. I was at work this morning and needed to print something. Well, the mayor's office is out of paper! They had just run out when I left Taabo two week ago. The story is they've written a purchase order, but the paper hasn't arrived. What kills me is there are no alternatives - no one can go buy paper and bring it in - they just haven't printed anything for two weeks! Can you imagine? A mayor's office! Oh - I have lots of work to do here - planning is unheard of! There's no such thing as "Plan B" or inventive alternatives. Argh!
Then the voice in the back of my head asks - are you really improving things? Or are you just westernizing them? Sometimes the line is a fine one, and I'm not sure which side of the line I'm on...