Time for reflection- is it all about job satisfaction?
What are you saying?
I am going on and on, because I am getting useful feedback! Many people who know me are sending emails but I have also received a few comments, the first of which I have approved for publication. It deals with what I called the "moods of the shopkeeper". The commentator has a point - does the shopkeeper's service have to do with his moods or with his attitudes? I think there is a lot in that comment.
Let us deal with issue of "attitude" towards servicing the needs of the customer. Not so long ago, a London newspaper, if I am not mistaken it was the Evening Standard which claimed that Asian shopkeepers in London are very "rude". They are constantly talking into their mobile phones, only stopping to take money, never saying thank you, never communicating verbally and fully and, in general, they do not show respect for the customer. Today, our commentator says that this attitude still persists in East Africa.
When I used the word "moods" I was thinking that the shopkeeper's 'job' is not an easy one. When I go into my cornerstore which is run by Sri Lankans, there is a hive of activity. Those people are busy - bringing in new stock, unpacking, filling shelves, cleaning and also serving customers at the same time. But they are never dull and boring. It is wrong to generalise.
But imagine a shop on a dirt road in Africa or India. The retailers lot is a hard one. The shopkeeper is often isolated, living in overcrowded spaces with a few competitors as company.
Was the attitudinal problem unique to East Africa, or just a feature of the Asian retailers wherever they operate? I am afraid that the latter appears to be more common. I have seen that problem in Zambia, Zimbabwe, India, Thailand, the US and Canada. Retailing is a hard life but do they not make it harder for themselves by not taking an interest in the customer?
Perhaps its I who looks too much like a boring customer and am failing to earn respect!
I am going on and on, because I am getting useful feedback! Many people who know me are sending emails but I have also received a few comments, the first of which I have approved for publication. It deals with what I called the "moods of the shopkeeper". The commentator has a point - does the shopkeeper's service have to do with his moods or with his attitudes? I think there is a lot in that comment.
Let us deal with issue of "attitude" towards servicing the needs of the customer. Not so long ago, a London newspaper, if I am not mistaken it was the Evening Standard which claimed that Asian shopkeepers in London are very "rude". They are constantly talking into their mobile phones, only stopping to take money, never saying thank you, never communicating verbally and fully and, in general, they do not show respect for the customer. Today, our commentator says that this attitude still persists in East Africa.
When I used the word "moods" I was thinking that the shopkeeper's 'job' is not an easy one. When I go into my cornerstore which is run by Sri Lankans, there is a hive of activity. Those people are busy - bringing in new stock, unpacking, filling shelves, cleaning and also serving customers at the same time. But they are never dull and boring. It is wrong to generalise.
But imagine a shop on a dirt road in Africa or India. The retailers lot is a hard one. The shopkeeper is often isolated, living in overcrowded spaces with a few competitors as company.
Was the attitudinal problem unique to East Africa, or just a feature of the Asian retailers wherever they operate? I am afraid that the latter appears to be more common. I have seen that problem in Zambia, Zimbabwe, India, Thailand, the US and Canada. Retailing is a hard life but do they not make it harder for themselves by not taking an interest in the customer?
Perhaps its I who looks too much like a boring customer and am failing to earn respect!
posted by K Singh Ajimal at
11:39 pm
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