Jobseeker’s Diary

I’ve noticed another gap in the service industry. There don’t seem to be many companies that deliver food here. Coming from a country where food is prepared and sold right off the street in the capital Kampala, I find it hard that I have to board a bus or motor to find something to eat especially at lunchtime. My workplace must be the worst located place because there’s no restaurant nearby. Unless you pack your own snacks or lunch, you have to trek to the nearest trading centre for a bite. By the way, our office is not in the village in case you were wondering. Sometime back, one of our colleague’s cousins started a restaurant and lucky for us, she agreed to bring us lunch whenever we wanted. All we had to do was make our orders by at least 11:00a.m and at exactly 1:00p.m, our food would be on our desks. What a relief, I thought? Now I can focus on work without worrying about where to get lunch. The first few days, the service was impeccable. Food delivered on time and exactly what I had ordered. As goes with many service providers, it didn’t last. Soon, the food lady as we call her started arriving late and we would end up sneaking around to eat because there’s a no food in office policy at work. Besides, we do have an entire lunch break hour and after that, everybody is expected to be at their desk, not munching away. We tried to explain this to the lady and she would promise to deliver on time the following but with every passing day, it got worse. The other problem is that she also started mixing up our orders. For instance, I stressed that I don’t like egg plants, pumpkins, peas and sweet potatoes. The latter in particular give me terrible heartburn and I told the lady as much. But she still packs them for me. I’ve tried to be understanding, thinking that maybe in a rush to deliver the food early, she ends up mixing things.But with the frequency it is happening and also because she labels the packs with our names, I know it’s not a mistake. She probably thinks that she’s doing us a favour anyway and we should just shut up and eat! The other issue I have is that she tends to give us avocado that should best be thrown away. You know the kind that has blackish patches? Same goes for potatoes. Chips should ideally be yellow, right? So how come I’m served purple chips? I love food but even I lose appetite during such times. When we had just started getting food from her, we would pay cash. With time though, we came to an understanding that if one didn’t have cash, they could still eat and clear the bill perhaps at the end of the month. Well, the lady now seems reluctant to provide food without pay. If she gives you food on credit, she’ll literally drag her feet, either passing on your pack last or not smiling when handing it over. This from someone who used to smile and make small talk before! Sometimes, she’ll even ask, “So Sophie, when will you pay?” even when you sent her a message earlier informing her that you wouldn’t be able to pay that day. Not that anyone has refused or failed to pay her. I think she has just grown wings. If I leave this job, I just might start a delivery service. Having been a disgruntled customer, I know which areas need improvement.To be continued…