Customer care service is more than just a smile

Editor,I read this interesting piece from Dawnn Anderson with too much enthusiasm. I’m however so sorry for the bad customer care that she and her friend received at the restaurant. I also thank her for reminding us how real customer care should be.I know that there is still a long way to go, but I do believe we are on the right track compared to how the situation was a few years ago. It’s just a matter of time and commentaries like this one will be no more, but I know we will definitely reach.As you well know, many people here confuse customer care and service delivery with a smile. Yes,the smile is one of the elements, but customer care goes beyond that. I will draw some lessons from anthropology and work ethics. Unless we understand who a human being is, what moral values we ought to possess, the philosophy of work, then we are heading nowhere. Work ethics and the etymology of a human being must be at the forefront if we are to address the above issue. If we understand ourselves as individual substance and inseparable, we ought to understand who others are and treat them accordingly. The same goes with customer care.The philosophy of work encompasses all – we need to build from that. David Nkunsi, Nyanza, RwandaReaction to Dawnn Anderson’s commentary, “Customer Service in Kigali: A work in progress”, (The New Times, May 20)

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Customer care service is more than just a smile