Guess what?
Had I had just four more months in Dakar, I would have dedicated 100% of my energy setting up a periodical pamphlet titled: business 101 for the Senegalese trader. I would make sure it is free of charge, weekly published, with simple materials and pictures that could be understood by a four-year old and finally, widely available, especially by small shop owners. I would dedicate 100% of my time finding funds and supporters, building a great team to carry on the publications and the operations and make sure all medias in Senegal talk about it.
This is just, a summation of the state of utter surprise and desperation I find myself in, as I navigate the twisted, complicated and super illogical code of business, being it the formal or informal sector, in Senegal. Just to give an idea:
The third day after my arrival in Dakar, a shopkeeper forced me (no kidding) to buy an additional pack of tissues after he arrogantly stated to me he did not have change and he could not find me any. A week later, there were three instances when taxi-drivers verbally harassed me because I gave them a bill of CFA 10,000 (~20$) when the fare was CFA 2,000 (~$4). A few days later, a friend of mine got held up in a chain retail store in Dakar, for an extra, uncomfortable period of fifteen minutes, while all other customers waited in line, because the store clerk thought it was my friend's duty to bring the exact change she intended to spend in the store. I mean, not only did she dare to blame her for not paying with the exact amount of money on the bill, she also forced her to a few other items until she finally gave her change--and as a side note, while the drawers of her machine were full of change.
I mean, this is blatant terrorism and bullying of customers. It violates the first law of business common sense:
"the customer is king" ~business common sense
Throughout January, I kept being verbally assaulted by idiot and illogical taxi-drivers, who would agree to drive you at 11 pm without even $10 of change ready in their account and would shamelessly make you wake your whole household to get change, and insult you in the face for 'wasting their time'. I am just like "excuse me?!!!! Who is supposed to have change between you and me? Your are the business owner!"
Sometimes I wish the situation was just a question of change. Recently, I have seen a plethora of "change ladies" in Dakar. These women (in general), give people change and in return, they have to buy 1-2 products the ladies sell. It is a great opportunity! One of the ladies even said her income doubled as a result of this strategy and less people complained about change. Nonetheless, the complaints and mistreatment of customers have not decreased.
If it's not change, then it is a store clerk or a taxi driver on the phone while you wait for them to finish; sometimes it is the slow attitude and carelessness with which they will take care of your products or your requests. Just two days ago, I took a taxi in the hope of getting to my destination as fast as possible, which would be impossible if I had taken a bus. I tell the taxi-driver upfront about my situation and he say: "yes, get in". Ten minutes later, we have not covered a lot of distance. Suddenly, he stops and tells me: "I think one of my wheels isn't working properly." He then checks it out, comes back, gets out again, and comes back two minutes later letting me know that there is no problem. I am praying God to contain my impatience, since I am on the brink of lateness. Then again, when it's not the slow servicing, it is the bad mood and stress that these business owners can transfer to you.
This anecdote is about a closed performance a singer who had just received an all Africa award for best young talent and traditional performance, was giving in Dakar. A group of friends and I went, paying each CFA 10,000 or $20, which is a big deal in Dakar for such an endeavor. On the pamphlets, Internet and at the radio, the time announced for the start of the performance was 11 pm. Being in Senegal, we expected of course that it would start late, but just how late, we had no idea. So we thought 11:30-12 am would be a safe bet. Let me say this, we were WAY too early! We had already had two dinners, chatted for a while, taken a nap on the sofas of the club, woken up and we were about to leave, when the orchestra played the first tunes, at 1:35 am, and I shall precise the 'lead' singer was still absent. It is only at 2 am she showed up on the podium. In my mind, the calculator was racing: just how much money was worth 2 hours and a half of our precious time? Then that would make it exactly how much it cost us to be there, probably much more than $20. I wondered by how much it would increase the fare of the return taxi we would have to catch way too late, thus, not only affecting our safety but also depriving us of extra CFA. I kept wondering, how much was the total cost of this situation if we took into account the inconvenience caused to all the audience. I wondered... about how many times and how many people were facing these casualties from all types of business owners in their environment.
And these are only little stories, in the sea of assaults, verbal harassment, humiliation, lateness and uncomfortable situations that a few millions of customers face in my dear country everyday. I must say it is an irony! Because everyone is a small business owner in some way or another here, an entrepreneur or someone working in someone else's business. These same business owners who make my life hell are someone else's customers. But invariably, no one learns anything. Everyone competes to make
life harder, and theirs easier. Every business owner partakes day by day in the accepted, unquestioned and repugnant style of laziness and misplaced blame.
Perhaps the root cause is that essentially, my fellow business owners, from the taxi-driver to the orchestra giving concerts to the store clerk maintaining someone's business do not see their actions as business transactions. Perhaps there needs to be wider, objective awareness and self-assessment of their daily actions with the lens of rights and duties, in the light of the adequate relationship between a customer and a business owner--and by business, make it clear that it is not just referring to the owner of a formal business, but the wider trading industry, formal or informal, as long as there is money involved in the interaction.
Perhaps startled and frustrated customers like me should get on a non-profit venture whereby we establish a Hotline and a police of business owners, and whereby customers can direct and provide evidence to all these casualties they go through everyday. This will certainly facilitate the initiatives around awareness of problems and at the same time best-practices for business-owners. It will certainly be a great source of information for policy-makers in the business climate in Senegal.
Whatever the root cause may be, education is a good start to solutions.
"Senegal business 101: respect your customers"... that is all I have to say for now.
A few facts
A few facts
