02.05.05 Your Individual Contribution Is Critical to a Customer's Service Experience (Orig Ng 7)

7. The Worm that ‘Spoiled the Show’

Early one rainy morning, the blaring noise of a neighbour’s notorious radio awoke Mwebaza, shocking him into urgent remembrance that he had to rush to the airport to pick his father Dr. Nuwa who was arriving from the UK to attend an international conference in Kampala.  

As Mwebaza sped through the traffic, he recalled how their family had left Uganda in the 80s, after his father landed a high profile job in London.  Dr. Nuwa, a staunch believer in preserving African traditions, had insisted that his children continue with their studies in Uganda; and shuttle to London for holidays.  And, Mwebaza was happy that his father had made that decision, since he felt strongly that people should always ‘know their roots’.  

The most recent positive happening in Mwebaza’s life was his marriage to Hana, which had taken place only three months ago.  However, Dr. Nuwa had just flown in for the wedding, departing immediately thereafter.  Therefore, this visit was a ‘God-send’, as it would provide the opportunity for Dr. Nuwa and Hana to get to know each other better.  So, Mwebaza had discerned that lunch at his home would be a good starting point.  The plan was, “…pick daddy, check him in at the Serena, then proceed to Mwebaza’s home at Munyonyo”.

But preparing lunch for an almost westernised father in-law was not an easy task for the village-bred bride.  Consequently, Hana had to listen intently as her husband explained Dr. Nuwa’s cuisine preferences.  Two rules had stuck to memory.  Firstly, raw salads were a ‘must-have’.  Secondly, the serving would have to commence with starters, then main dishes and concluding with desserts. 

Back in Munyonyo, Hana carefully related Mwebaza’s instructions to her close friends who had gathered to lighten her work-load.  And in no-time, her kitchen was like a bee-hive as women followed Mwebaza’s advice to the tooth.  With such comradeship, the dishes were ready in record time.

Mwebaza’s hooting at the gate announced their arrival.  And after greeting the father in-law, Hana excused herself back to the kitchen.  Soon thereafter, mouth-watering dishes were arrayed on the dining table, with ‘raw salads’ first in line.

As Hana pulled back the light plastic cling wrap to reveal the well garnished combination of different colours of vegetables, Dr. Nuwa said, “This salad looks very appetising, are we in Serena?”  This comment sent Hana on ‘cloud nine’ as she had invested all her energies to appease her father in-law.  And when Dr. Nuwa helped himself to a generous serving of the salad, Hana secretly breathed a sigh of relief.  

Mwebaza, who had started with the main dishes, could hardly hide his contentment that not only had he married a beauty, but an expert cook as well.  Dr. Nuwa’s story was silently different; for no sooner had he started on the salad when his fork revealed a dead vegetable worm hidden in the intricately cut raw vegetables.  Not wanting to create a scene, he discarded the rest of the salad; and unwillingly proceeded to get the main course.  But his appetite seemed to have gone on strike the moment he had set his eyes on the dead worm.  Mwebaza was becoming concerned, since it was obvious that his father was not enjoying the meal.  “Dad, are you ok?” he asked; and the only answer that Dr. Nuwa could manufacture was that he was feeling awfully tired due to jet lag.  

For Hana, the fact that Dr. Nuwa had left his food almost untouched was heart-breaking to say the least.  It was as if she had failed an exam that would have proved her fit for the Doctor’s favourite son.

Hana’s story reminds me of the way some few employees could spoil other people’s efforts to provide excellent services to customers.  This disappointing fact formed the gist of my discussions last week when I shared Hana’s predicament with a group of frontline staff.  As soon as we settled down, one of them asked “What is the meaning of frontline staff?”  My answer was, “Frontline staff are like a salad”.  They listened with concentration as I emphasized that, despite the fact that Hana’s main course and dessert had been superb, the salad, which was the first on the line, had ‘spoilt the show’, thereby biasing Dr. Nuwa against the rest of the food.  Had the quality of the salad been excellent, Dr. Nuwa would have been ready to objectively try out the rest of the dishes on the menu.  In the same way, while excellent frontline services ‘sell’ the organisation to customers, poor frontline services can make customers blind to any goodness that an organisation may have to offer.  

As we winded up our chat, they said “Joy, we promise to be the worm-free salad that will attract customers to our organisation”.  And as they boarded their cars, I could hear them jokingly allocating each other various vegetable names “...Musa you are the cucumber…and Lusi, you are the onion...”  I could not hold back my laughter…it had been great fun talking to them.