02.04.07 Customers Are Your Bosses – Greet Them Before They Greet You (Orig Ng 23)
23. Milk and the ‘Greetings Myth’
The morning breeze whistled gently through the trees, as Akello carefully laid out cups on scratched plastic tables, in anticipation of hungry customers needing hot milk for breakfast. She had strategically opened her Kiosk ahead of her competitive neighbors; optimistic that the ‘earliest bird would catch the worm’.
Akello had been operating this Kiosk for three years, after having been given a cow by Heifer Project. However, things had not been so good lately; since the phrase “money is scarce” had become a recurrent lamentation by many of her routine customers, resulting in lower revenues from the Kiosk. The phrase was becoming increasingly notorious, for her husband’s boss had used the same expression the day that Otim (Akello’s husband) lost his job as a driver. She still remembered that day vividly. Otim had relayed the bad news to Akello, explaining that his boss’ tourism business had suffered from the ‘credit crunch’, causing a cut back on the number of employees. Consequently, her family had become a victim of the ‘global financial tsunami’ as her husband could no longer afford to pay school fees for their daughter Aziza. Subsequently, the girl had just been chased from school.
Akello had listened in disbelief; as a crying Aziza related the way she and some others had been embarrassingly called out during the school parade. The headmaster had said, as if defending himself from the wrath of hungry students, that Aziza and other slow fees-payers were responsible for the lack of school porridge. He had forthwith condemned them to stay at home until the outstanding fees had been paid. With Aziza’s exams just round the corner, Akello desperately prayed that God would shine His countenance on the milk; by bringing in at least enough customers to enable her pay a deposit on the outstanding fees. She knew that a little bit of money would appease the headmaster, thence allowing her daughter back to school.
Back at the Kiosk, circumstances did not seem to favor Akello’s whims. For by the time evening settled in, she had only sold a few cups of milk. The rest of her merchandise was still in her rugged but clean milk can. And as the shrieks of crickets welcomed the dusk, her heart slowly sank with the setting sun. “What am I going to do?” she asked herself in frustration, almost failing to fight back the tears.
But as is common with most women regarding issues concerning the livelihood of their children, she still had a flicker of hope; an inner voice which kept pestering her … “hold on, don’t close the Kiosk just yet, give it a little bit more time”. As her friends from neighboring shops said their goodbyes, she opted to linger on, in desperate hope that the ‘voice’ will yield its promise and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
There is wisdom in the old-age saying ‘patience pays’, as Akello soon found out. For just at the brink of giving up, she heard the roar of a car engine. And as the car screeched to a halt to reveal its arrogant driver, she could not help but wish that her miracle had just landed.
As the customer walked to the Kiosk, it was not hard to tell that he was highly irritable, and so ‘full of himself’. But that aside, he was the redemption that Akello had been waiting for since morning. So, his attitude was something that she was not even ready to notice. Rather, the milk-seller was quick to greet the customer; and could not hide her gratitude as she gracefully sold 10 liters of milk, receiving the ‘long-awaited for’ money in return.
Akello’s story came to mind when I visited Tagenda and his colleagues recently. As I arrived outside their office, I could almost overhear the friendly yet argumentative tones that were breaking through the newly painted door. Youthful wide smiles greeted me as Tagenda introduced his friends Wangolo and Shakur. As soon as I took my seat, Tagenda uttered with provocative relief... “we are glad you are here…as we were having a very hot debate. Wangolo was saying that we should greet the customer first, but we do not agree with him. It is culturally known that the one who enters an office is expected to greet the people he or she finds in that office, and never the other way round!” “What do you have to say about this?” he asked.
This is when I narrated Akello’s story to Tagenda and his enthusiastic friends.
I drew their attention to the fact that Akello had found it very easy to greet the customer first; emphasizing that the secret behind Akello’s greeting was because she quickly located her success in the customer’s visit. She knew that despite his bad manners, the customer had come for her sake, like an angel sent by God, with an answer to Akello’s desperate prayer.
I added that each customer carries a blessing; and that those employees who appreciate the connection between the customer and their (employees’) dreams never shy away from greeting the customer first.
As I completed my discussions, a customer opened the door; and I was impressed when Tagenda looked at the customer and said welcomingly; “Good morning..: How may I help you?”. Then I knew that the principle ‘Greet the Customer First’ had become Tagenda’s professional attire. A standard to which he will always conform.