Ugandans Customer Care is so Poor & Pathetic!

By Frank Gashumba

Is it Customer care OR Customer Scare!!???

We have a long way to go. I don’t know if you guys see what I see every day. As a person who always sits on panels interviewing people for different jobs.
I can confess that unless there is a miracle in this country, Asians and Kenyans will always be ahead of us. If you want to know the real attitude and customer care that Ugandans can offer, you walk into any bank and talk to someone who heads the customer care department. You will collapse!
Someone is appointed to head a customer care department when s/he is the exact opposite of a customer care attendant. Their self-esteem is low, if she walks from one desk to another to pick a documents, it’s like s/he just came from an intensive care unit.
Go to any shop in town, owned and operated by a Ugandan. When you walk into a shop, everyone is on his or her smartphone. When you try to ask for the price of a certain product, the response from them is as if they are speaking to their co-wife.
If you want to know people that value customers or potential clients, walk into a shop owned by Indians. As you walk in the shops, Indians will stand up as if they are welcoming the Pope. The smile that is accorded to you is like kindergarten kids receiving ice cream. They will explain to you each and every product they are selling and they are willing to give you a discount.
One day I was looking for items in Dubai. It was my first time entering that shop, in the process of bargaining, this Indian told me that this price is for me only because I am his friend. Trust me the man convinced me and I ended up buying equipments from his shop. He requested for my number and now every after two to three months, he calls me to check on me.
Because I am an inquisitive person, I always ask Indians why they treat customers like kings and queens, they told me the answer is very simple, their businesses survive on customer care.
Now back to Uganda, it’s only in Uganda where you buy a TV worth 5million and a Ugandan will give you a receipt saying ‘once goods are sold they can’t be returned.’
What can we do to change the value of the mindset of Ugandans, to value each and every customer? The only people who value customers in Ugandans are the ladies who sell tomatoes, onions, passion fruits, etc. on roadside markets. These women know their lives depend on customers unlike their corporate counterparts.