In this new #SliceOfGasant column, Gasant Abarder reflects on how he has taken to applauding basic services that people in their respective jobs have to do anyway in the hope that it encourages others in stores and offer services in Cape Town to offer a better customer experience so they will come back for more.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve enjoyed incredible service from my respective vehicle and homeowners’ insurers. Then the panel shop surprised me even more for having my car back in just a few days. The car rental company was on point with the courtesy vehicle. A special shoutout to Auto Prism for fantastic work.
For those wondering, I reversed into my own driveway gate.
But I made a point of thanking everyone who provided these basic services because the service I usually experience in Cape Town is quite woeful. Whether it’s a restaurant, a convenience store or at a hardware shop where there is never anyone available to help.
When I ask stupid questions at a computer store, I’m made to feel like a dunce.
Cash registers stand empty while there are massive queues in supermarkets because the owners of these big chains care more about their bottom line than the customer.
I do experience way better service in Johannesburg all round and it makes me think that perhaps because Cape Town is such a beautiful holidaying destination we take things for granted. Perhaps it is considered quaint or cute to be dismissive of a customers’ needs. But it’s not a good look.
None of the services I experienced deserved the kind of gratitude and superlatives I was dishing out. I paid for them! People were just doing what they were supposed to do. But it was a far cry from the questionable service and attitudes I regularly experience.
So, when I enter a store I engage the staff, make sure to smile and ask them how their day is before asking for help. People are tired and overworked and I’ve heard horror stories of contract workers – especially in the building trade – who go on short time with no pay because of the weather. And boy, have we had some fierce winter weather.
I feel a great sense of injustice because it isn’t the workers’ fault when Mother Nature is in a mood. But employers, once again, don’t cover themselves in glory and I wish the Department of Labour would pay attention.
I have thus taken a decision to thank people for their service, to be polite and not take it personally when the cashier doesn’t smile or greet. I don’t know what is going on in their lives.
It’s a bit like patting a fish on the back for swimming, praising a cop for catching a crook or saying good job to an auto panel repairer for switching out ready made parts on a vehicle. These are all jobs they’re supposed to be doing. But because the standard of service is so tawdry usually, I find myself filled with gratitude for just the basic services being rendered.
Chances are, I’ll go back there, irrespective if I can get the same service cheaper, just because the employees gave me a great customer experience. And I will happily recommend places where I experience good service to friends and family too.
Life is hard enough for the folks who rely on their minimum wage jobs for us to be behaving badly towards them in stores. Put yourself in their shoes. Some are working double shifts to support their families, they have the same problems as their customers (often worse), and they get up every day to do it again doing an honest day’s work.
But Cape Town, get your act together. Remember COVID, when the hospitality sector was on its knees? That wasn’t too long ago. A service with a smile goes the extra mile and you may just make someone’s day who is having an awful time of it in a job that they resent. There are not many of those jobs going around.
Let’s be nice. It’s not that hard. Pat a fish on the back for swimming.
Also read:
Picture: Victória Kubiaki / Unsplash