Of Black and White Hospitality

Restaurant hopping is one of my favourite pass times, usually under the guise of looking for a nice quiet environment in which to write, meet up business partners and sit my with my colleague to plan and map the coming period’s activities. Nice excuses to try out new places right?  Well, the experience of sitting in a wide variety of eating places brings about an interesting phenomenon that although is fiercely denied in the hospitality industry, still exists – racism.

Interestingly is isn't racism practiced in the hard cold black and white, or coloured way, where discrimination occurs one entity against the other, but covert racism where the employees of an establishment completely fawn over customers over  a specific race, in this specific case Caucasian, providing a starkly different level of service above other customers.

Without much variation – this is how the scene plays out……..

• Enter Mzungu (Caucasian) customer(s).
• Staff run to the entrance/lobby/reception area to welcome customer(s).
• Wide wide smiling and over exuberant words of welcome from staff.
• Customer(s) is shown to the most vantage sitting space.
• Manager of facility comes out to add to the welcome chorus for the customer(s).
• Staff proceed to fawn over customer(s) attending to their every whim, expressed or otherwise.
• Manager hovers about never far from the customer(s) table.
• Customer(s) finish and are thanked profusely for coming.
•  Staff provide a chorus of goodbyes expressing enthusiastic appreciation for the visit.
• Staff escort customer(s) out performing acts akin to deep bows and curtsies.
• Staff return to ‘normal’ ignoring other customers and only attending to them when summoned.

Change the restaurant name, location, food specialty, star grading, cost or orientation – same script, different cast. Always.

So let’s speculate why this happens like clockwork without fail……..

Why is it that staff from all ranks in these eateries are reduced to fawning, adulatory and obsequious beings on the entry of Wazungus. Is it because…….

• We are still tangled in the web of colonial hangover where we believe we should submit?
• These types of customer(s) leave tips as a matter of practice?
• We believe they patronize restaurants often as against other races who do so on ‘occasion’?
• It is the in the establishment’s rule book to do so and observation otherwise is fatal?

Do you suppose these are valid postulations? Could there be any other reasons why this phenomenon happens? What are your thoughts? Please add to the list and spur a healthy discussion?

Whatever the case may be, it is possible that some of the perpetrators of these acts may not even be aware that their bodies speak and that they display such mannerisms. In service delivery – body language and non-verbal communication is a strong factor for success. 

This therefore goes out as an appeal for raised awareness and consciousness and to have the people in leadership have their teams adopt a brothers' keeper system, be aware of, point out and kill that behaviour.

The Power of Customer Feedback - A Case of Coptic Hospital.

In this country we have been so rightly accused of being very tolerant to mediocrity. And whilst we would like to stand up with placards and declare this untrue, a common hashtag that follows any mal-happening both verbal and written is #accept-and-move-on.

It is claimed that we are socialized this way - to not speak up and demand what is due to us, and to humbly accept that we cannot change the status quo. If this is so, and we claim to want to be the first world of Africa, how will we influence service delivery from service providers, if we the consumers do not rise up and demand our service rights?

Well – I was pleasantly surprised last week when the leadership at Coptic Hospital sent me evidence of their having mapped out the patient journey complete with visual guide to communicate with customers and guide their steps. This visual is placed in customer contact areas to have their patients know and understand what to expect.  I was blown away!

That they responded in the first place to my comment on social media was great. That they took the feedback positively and committed to do something about it and get back to me was even greater. That they delivered on their promise was startling. Startling in a very delightful way. So used are we to empty promises that when one honours their word – it absolutely thrills us.

And so yes – I am thrilled. That this Hospital has customer centricity right where it belongs – being steered from the top and that customer feedback governs their decision making. Hats off to the Coptic Team. I am duly impressed. You have converted me from a complaining customer into an ambassador.

I have many engagements that have me speak about Customer Service do’s and don’ts as well as engagements that have me input into many an organization’s customer service strategy. The response to customer feedback by Coptic has wormed and warmed its way high up the ladder of examples that I will elucidate.

Well Done Dr. Francis and Team! I acknowledge you all.