The Day Ghanaian Customer Service Died...& Other Mindless Madness

Few issues make me viscerally turn my head out of disbelief than outright greed. So when I heard that the EXOPA CEO had been caught with cocaine, I couldn't quite make it out. Yeah, so we all love money, but most of us also bear in mind also that the love of if is the root of all evil. Frankly, I feel like history's repeating itself here. This is what I wrote in July 2007:

The week opened with drugs on my mind: a popular musician, Daassebre, who had been caught with two kilograms of cocaine in the UK. It prompted a radio discussion on Tuesday as to why so many Ghanaians want to defy the risk of carrying narcotics into European soil. I called in and made a contribution, which I can summarise thus:



There are two levels we have to be looking at this. There is, first, the local level.

At the local level, we should have a billboard at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) that states explicitly that Ghana is a no-drugs country. That always helps, plus the one thrown in for good measure that Ghana is a strong partner in the fight against drug-trafficking. We should also be building the capacity of officials at GCAA (Ghana Civil Aviation Authority) to be able to have a good idea (discerning eye) for those who might want to take drugs out of the country, or bring it in. If this means going on courses overseas, then fine!

At the sub-regional level, I maintain that there should be an ECOWAS Convention on Combatting Drugs in the same manner there is one on small arms to the degree that the Kimberely Process on Blood Diamonds has eventuated from it. I also think that one should go back to the discussions back in 2002 when ECOWAS Police Leaders met (http://www.iss.co.za/Af/RegOrg/unity_to_union/ecowasprof.htm), and this was discussed[...]

from: http://ekbensahinghana.blogspot.com/2006/07/as-week-draws-to-close-in.html

My solution remains pretty much the same two years later: we do need both a local and sub-regional approach to tackle the drug question.

On another front, I want to quickly broach the issue of my Mid-Week Madness, which I have focussed on customer service--or the lack thereof--in Ghana.

I need to doff my hat off to Ghana Hall of Shame whom I think is doing a great job by trying to become the quintessential nemesis of all that is wrong about Ghanaian retail--and corporate--attitude to customers. I entreat you to visit the site and submit your stories.

Getting back to my complaints, let's start with my entry that featured on my accradailyphoto blog in September.

I don't know about you, but I think Corporate Ghana's got a lot of work to do to tidy up itself. Kids are being used in MTN ads and a worker at GAME (Accra Mall)recently told me when I queried two prices for one product that:

"ah, that's GAME for you!"

For me, that was the day customer service at GAME died.

You do your formulations and calculations on the kind of thoughts that went on in my mind when this customer told me this, but it must needs be said that GAME should revise the way it treats its customers. I believe Ghana Hall of Shame will gladly pick it up for us, but even before they do, those of you who patronize GAME might think about watching the price tags more carefully now.