‘Small’ issues spoil the broth

10 Oct, 2021 - 00:10 0 Views
‘Small’ issues spoil the broth

The Sunday Mail

Editor’s Brief
Victoria Ruzvidzo

As Zimbabweans we need to tie all the loose ends and deal with what we call “small” issues as these have potential to compromise efforts being made at the grand stage to get the country back to its glory.

Last Sunday I had the misfortune of passing through a prominent food court just after Gweru City Centre on the Bulawayo-Harare Road.  My desire for a cup of tea turned into a nightmare as we were subjected to poor customer service.

I sent my son to grab a cup of tea for me, but it took 25 minutes of negotiations before we eventually got one. Something that should have taken a few minutes given that not many people visit the food court for this beverage, at that particular hour especially.

Firstly, the lady behind the counter said there was no tea, before saying that they had all ingredients, but no cups. On inquiring how this could be, we were then told that in fact they had cups, but they did not have lids.  When I said I could have the tea without the lid (my love for tea is legendary), I was then surprised to see my son coming with a cup of tea with a lid on it. He said the till operator had mumbled something to the effect that it was actually not the lid for this particular cup, but that it should work blah blah blah. I was tempted to go into the place myself to find out what was really happening were it not for the long drive I had endured.

Had I not been insistent, I would have left without my tea right at the first instance. Why would such a big brand take customers for granted like that? I shudder to think how much this company was losing due to such shoddy service. Why would they give a flimsy excuse that they had tea, but not the cup as if it was a rare commodity. And why lie because it turned out they had the cups.

To make matters worse, this happened to me just a few hours after coming from Rwanda where there is exceptional service all-round. So you can imagine the shock, if not trauma I suffered before acclimatising myself with the way some things are done here. In many instances we have adjusted to poor services it has become normal.

This may appear like a small incident, but it is actually a big deal in our books. Small issues add up to become the sum total of how this country is regarded. What if I were a foreign tourist driving to Matopos or Victoria Falls and had just stopped by for a bite and a cup of tea?

Fortunately Zimbabwe is renowned for its hospitality, but such incidents have the potential of denting our image. In fact, such instances can cost a company heavily if they go unchecked.

Why should buying a simple cup of tea be such a mission? It took a lot of back and forth, arguments and counter-arguments for such a big brand to finally produce the cup. It is not something we should tolerate. In this time and space every dollar counts for corporates. How many customers were turned away on this day and other days if that is a habit?

Zimbabwe really needs to work on such “small” issues.

On the east side of Africa is a country called Rwanda whose citizens are aware of the fact that if you want to earn a good name and all that it brings you must take care of every facet of life and ensure smooth systems throughout whether it is at the airport, in a taxi, in a shop, on the road, in the bathroom, at bus stations or informal markets — everywhere.

Rwanda is an economy that has taken care of all these small issues and is earning big returns in the process. Globally who does not want to be associated with Rwanda? Tourists love their gorillas, investors love the environment and the six-hour turnaround to get an investment project approved plus much more.

Kigali, its capital, is neat and fresh. You do not find a small piece of paper in the wrong place. Litter is in the bin and the roads and pavements are so neat one cannot help noticing and marvelling.

They eat fruits, candy, pies, burgers and other take-away foods, but they know where to place the litter. Bins are available every few metres.

I asked taxi driver Emmanuel . . . how it was so that everything is neat and in its place and he uttered the magic word — discipline! He stressed that it is every citizen’s mandate to keep the public places clean. And everyone has a responsibility to ensure no one drops litter everywhere and walk scot-free. The citizens themselves, and not necessarily the police, cause the arrest of anyone found littering and they pay a fine of a minimum US$10.

In some instances litterbugs are taken to a stadium where they go through environment drills even overnight and the need to keep the city clean. This is meant to ensure they do not litter again. Definitely the strategy has worked. Kigali is squeaky clean you do not even find a strand of hair on the ground.

The City of Harare could learn a thing or two in this regard. Efforts have been made to keep Harare and the rest of the country clean, but enforcement seems to be lacking.

Over the past few years we have seen corporates coming in to increase the number of bins in town and cities, but many disregard these. Others even throw litter out of the window as they drive.

There is need for a mindset shift among Zimbabweans to deliberately keep our country clean. Many investors consider a country’s cleanliness when searching for a destination.

The introduction of heavy fines should force everyone to comply.

Harare’s desire to become a sunshine city can be aided by keeping it clean. The mountains of dirt that we find in most suburbs and other public spaces are a real eyesore and should be removed regularly with no excuse.

The President and First Lady have led the way in promoting cleanliness in this country. It is an attribute we should all get hooked to.

Furthermore, one aspect that we could borrow from Rwanda is the absence of crime. The eastern country has very little crime if any. People are free to move about without fear. They leave their belongings anywhere and everywhere and no one will steal them.

Such a culture may be difficult to restore in this country, but it is worth a try. Some give an excuse that economic challenges have resulted in increased crime, but that is just a mere excuse. There is so much that people can do to feed themselves instead of taking what is not theirs, even killing their victims in the process.

Rwanda’s population, at 13 million people, is slightly lower than Zimbabwe’s 15 million as of Friday. The two countries are in the same range so we cannot give an excuse of high numbers for the levels of crime or littering.

Also of interest is that Kigali does not allow damaged cars on its roads. My driver-cum-tour guide Emmanuel said it was unlawful to have an accident-damaged vehicle on the roads. Even a faulty or smoking vehicle was prohibited from ply any routes. Periodic licences are given to authorise vehicles for the road. Those cars older than 20 years are recommended for car breakers. None such should be seen on the road.

Zimbabwe could have its own version and limits to ensure unroadworthy cars are kept away from our roads. This also minimises accidents, many of which are caused by poor vehicle condition.

In the five days I was in Kigali I never saw a vendor in town or by the roadside or bus terminus. I was to be told that all vendors are restricted to vending sites in their areas of residence to ensure there is order in the city.

A visit to one of the bus terminuses in the city left me wondering whether Kigali had people at all. The place is neat and there is an orderly electronic system that matches buses to the areas of residence. These buses have a timetable that they stick to. Boarding buses is orderly there is hardly any noise either from touts (a word that does not exist in their vocabulary) or commuters fighting for space on a bus.

All these small things add to the sum total of what has made Rwanda gain the global fame it has as the place to be.

In this Covid-19 era, as happens in this country too, police round up anyone found without wearing a mask. They are again taken for lessons at stadiums where they go through the paces until they fully appreciate why they should never walk about without a mask.

They are taught of the dangers of Covid-19 and the need to ensure it is not spread around.

While Zimbabwe is not too bad in terms of such issues as listed above, it is important that we all make a decision to do the best we can to keep our environment clean and that systems that must work are actually working. This reduces incidences of corruption and other forms of crime usually committed to short-circuit a system or circumvent it completely.

There is more to be achieved through orderliness, attention to detail and implementation of strategies identified as key in our day-to-day living. Making the right choices and action in the home, community, society and the nation at large will benefit the country and turn Zimbabwe into the must-visit and must-invest destination that it is supposed to be.

Dealing with any micro issues should naturally feed into the national discourse and its happy days!

In God I Trust!

 

Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 992.

 

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