Is customer service a victim of economic hard times?

**Customer review satisfaction feedback survey concept**. [iStockphoto]

A recent search for car tyres for my Vitz ended up being a lesson in customer service. I was surprised by the domination of the local market by Chinese-made tyres.

I visited several outlets on Thika and Limuru roads looking for a bargain.

I found a long queue in one outlet, which I left after about ten minutes.

No one talked to me or offered me a seat, not that I wanted special treatment. But someone greeting me and informing the queue is longer than usual would have made all the difference.

I finally settled on Limuru Road. One curious observation is that tyre sellers rarely stock all four tyres for one brand. You get one piece, two pieces, or three. Sign of economic hard times? The service on Limuru Road was much better. UN effect?

Customer service seems to be going down. Are hard economic times making workers pessimistic and affecting their service delivery? The ghost of layoffs makes matters worse.

One business owner explained to me that even in the best of circumstances, most workers are not that enthusiastic about their work.

They are looking for the next better job or pay raise and not based on their productivity.

No wonder some employers prefer less educated workers; they are less mobile. The situation is not made better by employees‘ dislike of the owner, and jealousy is real. The bigger problem is that we have not internalised capitalism and its ethos. Owners of the capital are seen negatively, as selfish, not job creators. That is reinforced by religion.

Curiously, the rich had lots of respect in our traditional societies. In central Kenya, they used to say “ûthuri wa gîtonga ndúnungaga,” no one noticed the fart of a rich man! Some languages are easy to learn. Let’s enrol for local languages in Competency-Based Education (CBE).

Curiously, we hate the rich but want to be rich. We can’t rule out our mistreatment and low pay for employees. They take revenge by not working and providing poor customer service. No wonder thriving businesses are run by owners. And in big corporations, employers own shares or are given bonuses based on productivity to have a sense of belonging.

If employees see the linkage between their work, salaries, bonuses, and their economic tomorrow, they would probably improve customer service.

What if they believe outside forces, like hard economic or political circumstances, are to blame?

It must be hard for entrepreneurs and business owners, more so when automation is not easy. Has your customer service deteriorated lately?