Whether in the public or private sector, we have come to see that great service should be seen as neither a duty nor a burden; it should derive from a spirit of sharing and genuine desire. Those sentiments were echoed by Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi in a speech read on his behalf by Youth and ICT minister, Jean Philbert Nsengimana at the launch of a book, 7 Steps to Exceptional Customer Care by 22-year-old Dominique Ntirushwa. The book is fraught with the author’s personal experiences from four years back in the customer care department at MTN Rwanda. It is the promise of practical and home-grown remedies to the country’s specific customer care needs that forms the appeal of this book. There is as much need for more of such efforts to be commended and encouraged, as for everyone (at least in the service industry) to borrow a leaf from Ntirushwa. What are the experiences of the thousands of customer care personnel in this country? Is there a familiar pattern in what they go through day in, day out? What are the voices of the people for whom this customer care is offered? How can the service giver and service taker harmonise their position in a way that enriches both their experiences?Until we create a conduit through which a free flow of this kind of information is possible, service provision and customer care will remain a burden to its givers and its intended beneficiaries.
