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Khuphuka Nasingeni
My bar stool gets colder nowadays. Cold because of the cold weather, and also because of the few friends that trickle in.
We are yet to align our drinking days in line with the prevailing drinking realities, only uMzo goes to the bar with me for obvious reasons.A� He either buys or I buy.
Anyway, instead of whining over the cash situation, we have struck up a partnership that goes beyond our bar stools.
We are now into buying and selling, virtually anything really.
The trick is to sell stuff that costs at most one dollar.A� We have been accumulating the dollars.A� However, the revenue growth has seen us drink less and less as we try to save up to order more stock.
We are also seriously considering money lending in future as we diversify our portfolio, to borrow terms from those who have made it in business!
I am angry with this dry cleaner who is holding on to my suit, where is instant service in these days of cash hunger?
You see, we have an appointment with the bank manager as we are trying to find out how we can also make use of plastic money under our tree.
If barbers can do their business under trees I am sure we can also be granted access to swiping for our products.A� We are finalising our winter specials and we could just launch some promotion and bring some cheer to our customers to displace the chill.
I hope the dry cleaner will not let me down; and being new in business I believe some of these businesses are giving us invaluable lessons on how not to do business. My mini-survey is now taking shape in time for our winter madness specials . . . I shall not share what products we deal in save to say anything really.A� The last time we shared our quails attempt our friends who were into cutting and designing suddenly abandoned their needles for those noisy little creatures.A� We learnt our lessons . . . these Zimbos!
Back to my survey, I really do not know whether to start with the bad habits or the good ones (I am having a toss right now), or to compare and contrast. Heads for the comparing and contrasting formula.A� And who said you need a college degree to master customer care? I was deep down in some remote part of the country, where to access any cellular network you have to climb a tall tree or find some hill nearby or move to and from like a makorokoza wielding a metal detector, searching for the slightest sign of network signal.A� I have never seen women fight for a man like that. And I have never felt so appreciated, so important, so . . . I could go on. There I was (by the way, the man was me) surrounded by ladies trying to seduce me to buy their wares!
It took me about 20 minutes of banter and idle talk as I sucked in the attention and pinched myself to make sure I was not in dreamland. I eventually parted with my $5, but distributed it among five families represented by the ladies to reward their enthusiasm and unparalleled customer care. My mind was quickly drawn to some experience that I had with some animal products shop along 11TH Avenue in Bulawayo recently.A� There I was excitedly remarking to these shop attendants how relieved I was to discover they were open during a holiday! The response was quite a shock when I pointed out that I was parked a block away where I just had a shave and wanted to know if I could rush to get my car and load some animal feed from these guys.
This lady sternly warned me against wasting any more time inquiring about prices since chances were that by the time I came back with the car after having paid (since they were still open) there could be no one to load my stuff. Suffice to say I had motivated myself to go to this shop, where I had bought animal products before. The response propelled me in a different direction where I am met with smiles every time since the attendants there value their customers.
There are no plans, whether immediate or future, to go back to that shop. I could consider going back there only if that attendant goes on attachment at this remote village where ladies spoilt me with their attention . . .
Customer care is an area that many Zimbabwean businesses are yet to grasp and appreciate its value.A� Small time businesses start off quite well, giving customers a personal touch but veer off terribly once they think they are big, and have now arrived . . . joined the big league!A� Business could learn from the most unlikely of places. Take for instance, ladies of the night.A� I once overheard some pair laughing over the gullibility of a customer who felt loved after they sang his praises, something that he confessed his wife never did.A� a�?Uyadlala nge- customer care yewule wena,a�? the lady of the night said boastfully before bursting into laughter.A� The lesson is that these women know how to attract and retain customers.
If I could afford a prize, this week I would give it to this gentleman in this other city (of gold?), at a Chinese shop.A� A customer by the till insisted she had given him 25 cents for some product but the guy politely pointed out to the lady that she had not.A� The woman insisted she had given him the money but still the guy was unmoved, even suggesting that the woman checks her purse as he could not make that mistake. On checking her purse, the woman discovered that she had not handed over the money and just smiled, mumbled something to the effect that the guy was right.
They say customer is king . . . I guess it explains why the woman never apologised for having accused the attendant of trying to bill her twice!
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