And no……………….. I am not talking about Malcolm Gladwell’s
award winning book The Tipping Point that
talks about the tipping point, being that magic moment when an idea, trend, or
social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire, that has
dramatically changed the way people worldwide think about business development
and idea publishing.
I am talking about a different tipping point…………..
Last night we went out to dinner at Peppers Restaurant in
Westlands Nairobi with a group of guests from China. One of my clients was
hosting their publishing partners who had come visiting them as a major customer.
We were a group of eleven people in
total. After an excellent dinner which
was an interesting combination of Indian, Chinese and African, that the guests
were delighted with, my colleague Jane paid the bill using the assigned float
that she had carried.
When the waiter returned her change and she was counting it
to ensure it was correct given that she would need to account for the company
resources against the receipts issued, the waiter said to her pointing at the
billing wallet where bills and change are placed “Na hi mfuko yangu? Hauweki kitu ndani ya hii
mfuko yangu?” “And this pouch of mine? Are you not putting anything in this
pouch of mine?” And when Jane looked at him rather confused for she hadn’t
quite understood what he was saying, he repeated in an angry voice “ Yaani, hautaweka
kitu hapa! Umewacha mfuko yangu hivo bila!” “You mean you are not going to put
anything in here, you have left my pouch empty!” and then stormed
off in a huff.
Now here’s the million dollar question – is tipping
mandatory? Is tipping or not tipping a tipping point?
The angry reaction of this waiter completely erased the good
service and the delightful meal that we’d had. The rest of the conversation as
we wound up was about how surly he was and whether staff at a restaurant have
the right to demand a tip when it is not forthcoming, as well as the conditions
under which tips should or shouldn’t be issued.
I am not too sure about the dos and don’ts of tipping best practice and this incident has had me go
online to check if this answer exists, with varying feedback as outlined here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/18/tipping-guide-around-the-world_n_5489427.html
And as with most other types of research – I couldn’t find
any statistics for Africa L
However – what I am dead sure about is about service
excellence. So let’s explore that……
What good customer service dictate?
It dictates that customers must be treated with courtesy,
dignity and respect. And there’s no two ways about it. No matter what the
situation, no matter how aggrieved one may feel, no matter if the customer is
right or wrong, the non-negotiable of customer service is to maintain sanity
and handle customers with aplomb.
Was Jane handled with level headedness and composure? I
leave you to answer that question, and to ponder over the next reaction you may
have when your customer has done something you ‘deem’ as unacceptable. Over to
you……………………………..
