On the evening of Idd, I paid a visit to a fancy joint in Kiyovu as part of a writing assignment to chronicle the growing Kigali entertainment circuit and I was not disappointed. A cup of exquisite Rwanda coffee and a snack later, I was so impressed by the excellent customer care, the waiters’ impeccable English language skills, a rare ambiance that invites one’s sensibility to imagine exotic locations and after my drink, I decided to chat up a waiter to give me a few words about the restaurants’ theme. That is when I hit a rock.

My inconstant cajoling to just get even just a sentence of what the joint promises for potential patrons were all futile. The good lady kept insisting that nobody except the owner could sanction any contact with the press. I was impressed by the fact that all along she kept a wide smile though she never really offered any answers to my questions. I was even forced to profess that I had a 12 hour deadline and was desperate to use the joints picture as main picture so that the proprietor would reap the benefits of the story. But it was all in vain.

I had already heard and read about their place and even listened to the proprietor, a young fast entrepreneur, talking about the experience that he wants this place to offer so I kept literarily pushing the boundaries, Ok, can I at least get an anonymous quote, without naming names. And it was a silent and gentle no. Eventually, I left all my contact details and walked away. Later, I was forced to put together a positive review of the place based on information from the place’s Facebook page.

It then hit me that customer care should include a facet of public relations. Businesses must learn to engage with the public, not just the customer. By the public I mean the press, other organizations. Of course, possible defense would be that many people do not trust journalists because they are sometimes misquoted by members of the press and the like. In fact in other countries a scribe doing a review does not introduce themselves, and perhaps since am just a writer by hobby, not a journalist per se, I tend to lean towards writing to promote the good efforts of others, and that may be weakness on my apart.

I may have ended up doing an excellent review of this particular joint with a wonderful photo opportunity for them, but I was completely irked by the fact that employees cannot see a good opportunity to promote their proprietor’s business when they have the chance, instead they would rather be loyal and not say anything for the fear of saying the wrong thing.

Also, business people should inculcate good public relations skills in their customer care trainings. Employees should just be happy looking and be welcoming; they must also learn to say the right things. The best adverts are not necessarily paid adverts but the small things that staff says as they talk to other people and the power of the messages behind those spoken words.

I wish you a confident Sunday.
kelviod@yahoo.com