COURTESY PAYS:Making the customer King

GISAGARA–Authorities in Gisagara District have launched a one week customer care campaign to assist businesses and government officials improve the quality of service as the debate and courtesy spreads across the country.The issue of poor service delivery and poor courtesy in serving the public has been subject of campaigns and seminars but with little success.The general consensus has been that though there have been improvements in some areas over the years, a lot more needs to be done.The campaign in Gisagara District was launched on Friday at a function that attracted grassroots leaders, district authorities, school heads, health workers and other service providers. Gisagara district Mayor Leandre Karekezi, noted that both public and private institutions still have a long way to go in improving customer care. "Poor service delivery is still a serious challenge that we need to combat. It is affecting national development,” said the mayor. He spoke of various effects of poor customer care which hamper the growth of the national economy."We still have some officials who attend to residents while speaking on phone or chatting with someone else on the internet…we have seen a number of health officials failing to attend to patients on time while others cannot even address them (patients) politely,” lamented Karekezi. "We even fail to accomplish simple things, like smiling while providing a service or simply apologising whenever we fail to offer timely services,” he said.He noted: "Imagine if you were that person seeking the service. You would not be happy with an official fails to address your needs in a timely and courteously manner.”Appealing to service providers to promote a culture of customer care, Karekezi noted that Gisagara District "is not behind others in service delivery but we have not yet attained our desired level of quality services.”Echoing the sentiments, Dr Fulgence Nkikabahizi, the Director of Gakoma Hospital, said that though there was still a long way to go, though service delivery was improving. "A lot has been achieved but more still needs to be done. It will take time but surely it is improving,” he said.Aboubacar Hategekimana, a resident of Ndora sector, told The New Times that if efforts to improve customer care were sustained, the district’s economy would grow.He said "There are areas in which service delivery is still poor and others where you can see a significant improvement. Some residents, for instance, are still spending many days before their queries are addressed by local leaders.”"But, there is a big difference between today and five years ago”, he adds.