For all the simplicity using Safaricom’s M-Pesa is meant to provide, I’ve had a rather hard time at it. I’ve always noticed long queues at various M-pesa agent points and so thought that I’d be better off giving it a wide berth. However, yesterday I needed to send money and therefore decided to give it a shot. Besides, all their adverts made it sound like the best thing since sliced bread.
I went to Mama Ngina Street and at the first agent I tried, I was rudely told that the person dealing with that service had walked out and I could wait. Feeling that our liberalized capitalist society should not allow for such responses, I quickly moved on to the next one. Here, they really went out of their way in their bid to make me feel unimportant. I was the only person there for that service but they had me wait as the staff finished off what must have been a very juicy story even after my request for service. When I finally got their attention, I told the lady serving me that I had never used the service before and had no idea how it worked. In a manner that made me feel like I was wasting her time, she took down the necessary details and sent the money. I was a little put out as I was hoping for an enlightening discussion. She informed me that I couldn’t register for the service as the Safaricom system was down (which is something I hear all too often from complaining customers) and asked that I try again later.
So here I am no more informed than I was before I visited the outlets. I haven’t gone back to register lest I disturb the agents in their all important story telling sessions.
What’s so complicated about the concept of customers being important? Why is it so difficult to get good service in this country? If I don’t spend much or indeed anything today, why not just be courteous and hope I come back tomorrow now that I know what’s on offer? That’s just service provision at this corner of the globe!
I went to Mama Ngina Street and at the first agent I tried, I was rudely told that the person dealing with that service had walked out and I could wait. Feeling that our liberalized capitalist society should not allow for such responses, I quickly moved on to the next one. Here, they really went out of their way in their bid to make me feel unimportant. I was the only person there for that service but they had me wait as the staff finished off what must have been a very juicy story even after my request for service. When I finally got their attention, I told the lady serving me that I had never used the service before and had no idea how it worked. In a manner that made me feel like I was wasting her time, she took down the necessary details and sent the money. I was a little put out as I was hoping for an enlightening discussion. She informed me that I couldn’t register for the service as the Safaricom system was down (which is something I hear all too often from complaining customers) and asked that I try again later.
So here I am no more informed than I was before I visited the outlets. I haven’t gone back to register lest I disturb the agents in their all important story telling sessions.
What’s so complicated about the concept of customers being important? Why is it so difficult to get good service in this country? If I don’t spend much or indeed anything today, why not just be courteous and hope I come back tomorrow now that I know what’s on offer? That’s just service provision at this corner of the globe!
3 comments:
I see Kenyans have forgotten the poor state of the economy and are back to acting like they are doing you a favour by doing business with you, pathetic!
This is all to familiar! First the queues. Then rude attendants who make you feel like you're just a nagging housefly. And Safaricom systems are down a lot. Here in Mombasa the attendants are mostly looking real tired and sluggish. So much for the glorified M-Pesa.
Let's not even talk of Safaricom itself. The queues remind me of some past scenes from Cooperative bank.
i use the service too and In notice that the system goes down periodcialy. It has been a great success, bigger than anyone at Safcom or the dealers (wqho now mainly deal in m-pesa) thought, and taken a huge chunk of the money transfer business in kenya.
My advice is for you to find a good dealership and stick with them to get better service, That said, many dealerships are staffed by kids who are hired to sell airtime and sometimes phones.
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