The Search for Customer Satisfaction: Charm vs. Force

When moving to a place like Rwanda after living in a place like America, one is sure to struggle with the common standards of customer service. There is actually a furniture company here with the motto: “The Customer is a King”. Yet the excitement of seeing such sentiments will quickly wear off when this company fails….

…to build the furniture you requested

…to understand the customer (‘king’) is the one who should dictate which design is best, even when the craftsmen feel it looks better with the alterations they made

…to apologize or inform the customer that the furniture they ordered will be as much as one month later than promised

H.E. President Kagame has made a concerted effort to address the customer service culture in Rwanda. He and others claim that low customer service standards will stunt the desired development of tourism and other key sectors of the economy. Immense amounts of training and funds have been channeled toward addressing this shortcoming, but commonly accepted cultural attitudes do not change overnight.

This common problem presents Westerners like ourselves with a couple viable options: charm or force. I’ve made a mini-study of the effectiveness of each strategy and will attempt to illustrate them in the example below. (Disclosure: The following example is based on an amalgamation of many actual customer experiences)

Let’s assume you visit the nicest coffee shop in town, the one that aspires to be a model of customer service for retail businesses in Kigali. You order a lunch. 45 minutes later, you ask the waitress if it will arrive soon. One hour after arrival, you have seen the people at surrounding tables, who arrived after you did, receive their orders and leave. Your waitress is clearly apologetic, but clearly unable to deliver your lunch. You consider your options and then…

Option A: Force

…you slam you hands on the table and yell at the waitress. While she runs away in tears, you scan the restaurant sure others will affirm your customer service injustice. While bystander reactions vary, some look as though they feel sorry for you… you are someone who simply can’t understand local ways (and perhaps doesn’t belong). You also feel embarrassment and disdain, for you have just exemplified the stereotype that Americans are selfish, loud and individualistic. The ‘net’ result: you still don’t have any food and you’ve perhaps lost current and potential friends as well. In my experience in Rwanda, the harder you attempt to force a quick resolution in your favor, the more resistance and resentment you face from all involved in the interaction.

Option B: Charm

…you smile, tell the waitress you know it is not her fault, and ask to see the manager. When the manager arrives, you step aside and speak quietly so others cannot hear, and explain the problem you’ve experienced. Smiling, you explain you are not trying to blame the waitress, the manager or anyone else for the problem, but you hope the manager has the authority to resolve it in an acceptable fashion as this clearly isn’t the type of customer service a store of this caliber wants to be known for. If this doesn’t work, then the same smiling and charming style may need to be applied to the owner of the restaurant. In my experience, customers who take the time to employ such charm until finding and reasoning with whoever has authority generally get satisfied in the end. Often, they even make friends along the way.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter

One Client's Troubled Story

There is a wonderful man we have had the privilege to know for the past few months. He is the founder and lead investor in a tomato processing company we have engaged as a client. The more you understand this man’s past, the more inspiring and endearing he becomes. He started the tomato processing company in 1986 because he hoped it would be able to provide stable employment to thousands of farmers at wages above the norm. Given the Rwandan climate and conditions for tomato farming, this seemed a promising concept.

The Rwandan market for processed tomatoes was being satisfied by manufacturers in Italy and other distant countries, so it was hoped a local factory could provide better quality and a better price. He and his wife were both heavily involved in managing and operating the factory in these early years. Prior to 1994, the company made good progress. Then, the tragedy of war and genocide ravaged Rwanda. Employees and their families perished in huge numbers. The buildings, infrastructure and utilities, which the company required to operate, were decimated and looted. For those who managed to survive, they were required to find a way to do so without the work and income on which they had depended. The founder personally lost his wife and four boys. For many years, he lost hope and the will to re-establish his company. The very sight of the factory re-kindled painful memories as his wife was so integral in its operations. For 10 years, the factory remained out of commission.

In 2004, public officials and new investment partners convinced the founder to revive his company. Eventually, the founder re-married and his wife gave birth to three sons. At the processing plant, he remained as Managing Director for over two years, but it soon became clear employees were stealing company funds. He took measures to address the issue and appointed a new Managing Director to take his place. Recently, Karisimbi Partners was engaged to work with this new management team and help the company reach its next stage of growth.

Unfortunately, we learned two weeks ago that the founder’s wife and middle son were both being treated for cancer. Days later, we received the tragic news that, at just 11 years of age, the boy lost his fight with cancer. We were asked to join part of the week-long ceremonies to commemorate the boy’s life. We met the founder at his home to offer condolences and a customary gift. As I have an 11-year-old son, my heart broke for this man.

It is an honor to work with clients such as this… individuals that have experienced tragedies, both past and present, yet still do what they can to help their communities. Our privilege is to partner with such people…indeed, those who need it most.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter

African Guidance Required...

For almost two months now, I have been taking classes to learn Kinyarwanda, Rwanda’s local language. It was approximately eight months ago that it became clear the long-term impact we were hoping to affect with Karisimbi Partners would require a long-term residence in Rwanda and long-term relationships with clients. Appreciating the cultural and language translation required to truly understand and help these client companies, it seemed one of those on our team should speak the “language of the heart” which Rwandan’s often prefer to use to when Westerners are not around. Besides… Greg Urquhart speaks French very well, Dano Jukanovich speaks Mandarin Chinese and I felt like an under-achiever (and my weak Spanish is of no use here). They say that your capacity for learning a new language quickly diminishes after your formative early years. Since I’m about to turn 40, I thought I’d better get started!

My twice-a-week tutorial sessions have been led by Silas Twagirumukiza, the warmest and most patient guide you could have for such a journey. It has been a huge blessing that Jennifer Jukanovich has also joined us on the path to learning Kinyarwanda, proving that difficult journey’s are made easier with the right traveling companions. Together, the three of us share a cup of tea on weekday afternoons, struggle with the homework, laugh at the “foreignness” of the language and perspectives. We do take time to admire our surroundings, indulging in the occasional tangent to admire afternoon lightning storms, colorful birds, or cultural insights along the way. But one phrase from our study guide continually jumps out at me…

“This (word/phrase) must be learned with the help of an African”

Rwanda is a small country, and Kinyarwanda is not a major language, thus there is nothing like “Rosetta Stone” to show us the way. We have a book written by a Western missionary over twenty years ago and copied so many times that many pages are hardly legible, and most of those have writing in the margin. There are some efforts to facilitate learning Kinyarwanda using more ‘modern’ methods, but Silas is effective even with such materials (and students such as us!). The reason the phrase “must be learned with the help of an African” jumps out at me is because of the humility of the author and the profound relevance of the statement. It really doesn’t matter how long I live here and study the language, it is likely I will never be as good a teacher as a native Rwandan could be. To expand this notion further, there are many things besides language that require translation here: customs, traditions, assumptions, preferences, etc. I’m fairly certain I am learning more each day here than I have learned for weeks or even months in other places. Rarely have I ever felt the need for so much trusted advice and guidance. Since many things can’t be understood without the help of an African… we are grateful many African friends have joined us on the journey.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter

Wanted: More Searchers, Fewer Planners

William Easterly is an economist by training and practice with a long career at the World Bank and in academia. His book, The White Man’s Burden, has become a ‘bible’ to some of those in the international economic development field. He believes that international aid to the developing world has been characterized by top-down planning in everything from World Bank loans to U.S. Military Intervention, which is why it has predominantly failed. In contrast, those individuals within developing economies themselves or even within international institutions who creatively ‘search’ for solutions to problems based on market demands have and will continue to come up with ways that work to truly alleviate poverty.

Easterly highlights an example of a well-known ‘Searcher’ in Mohammad Yunus of Bangladesh, the founder of the Grameen Bank and the primary individual attributed with the founding of ‘microcredit’ lending (and mentioned in earlier posts). After earning his PhD, Yunus attempted to help the poor by sponsoring tube wells for irrigation during the dry season to increase the growing period. He actually loaned the farmers some of his own money to implement the projects. In his work, he visited as many rural villages as possible to understand the true needs on the ground. He met a woman who ran a small furniture making business but had the majority of her profits eaten up with 120% interest on loans to buy the raw materials for her furniture. His first loan was to this furniture maker. Starting with a PhD dissertation titled, “Optimal Allocation of Multi-Purpose Reservoir Water: A Dynamic Programming Model,” his ‘searching’ led him to establish the microcredit model that has now impacted millions of people.

Easterly’s baseline thesis is worth remembering: Developing country economies need more Searchers and fewer Planners (both in their own countries and in the West). My corollary to his baseline is that humans are innately designed to be creative problem solvers, or Searchers. Karisimbi Business Partners is certainly made up of Searchers. We strive to exercise our own God-given Searcher characteristics while working alongside fellow Rwandan Searchers to solve one business problem at a time.

Dano Jukanovich

Received: The Biggest Check Ever!

Last Friday, Karisimbi Partners received its first client payment…. A check for over 2.8 million! I should quickly clarify that the check was written for 2.8 million Rwandan Francs (just $5,000 in US Dollars), but that should not depreciate the significance of this particular check. This was not only the first client fee received by Karisimbi Partners, in non-financial terms it may represent more than any check I’ve ever received. When I consider why this seems such a milestone to me and my partners, a number of reasons present themselves…

· We were frequently told that “Rwandan businesses won’t pay our fees”

· It is culturally normal to speak positive, even when there is no plan from prospective clients to follow-through

· Rwandan business leaders do not easily part with their money

· We are Westerners and many Africans expect Westerners to either write a check to them, or at least provide free services as a non-profit

· I had met with this particular client more than nine times since last March (and exchanged countless e-mail and voice communications) to develop our relationship to this point

· At this time, the Crocketts, Urquharts and Jukanovich’s had only been located together in Kigali for two weeks

· A different client asked us to begin work without receiving any payment until the work was completed

· This particular client has committed to engage our services on a significant level for at least the next two years

· The Karisimbi Partners business model calls for client fees in order to be sustainable

· What Karisimbi Partners is offering Rwandan businesses is fairly unique and new, hence frightening to some and hard to commit to for others

· What began as a business concept in December of 2008 was validated by four Rwandan clients this week

There is great need here that fits what we do best….and the fact that clients are willing to pay for it suggests we may be afforded the privilege of doing it in a sustainable way for many ventures in the years to come.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter

When Good Ideas are Bad

Downtown Kigali, you are likely to be approached by vendors offering the opportunity to buy various printed material. Among the common items on offer: maps of Kigali. As a new visitor and now resident, I paid the $3,000 RWF (roughly $6) to get my copy, even though I could see it wasn’t going to be as useful as I hoped. Although this is a sizeable city of almost 2 million people, I have yet to find a good map. This is largely because the vendors sell the same map…one that is now outdated. This city has seen such change in recent years, entire neighborhoods (such as the one in which our children attend school) and key landmarks are nowhere to be found. The official language in Rwanda has changed from French to English recently, yet none of these maps are printed in English. And perhaps most frustrating, these maps have no way of showing elevation. In a city consisting of many hills, a 2-dimensional map simply fails to help the reader appreciate the terrain to Point B while sitting in the valley of Point A. As an entrepreneur, one’s mind races to possible solutions, and Greg and I struck upon the following idea: A pop-up map of Kigali! Such a map could be topographical in 3-D, include all landmarks and suburbs to scale, be written in English and hopefully printed at a price that still makes it affordable for the growing number of newcomers coming to this city. Among the army of registered vendors, imagine how popular the one with the new map would be!

Every day, walking in a setting with so much untapped potential, one is struck with such ideas (some better and more serious:). If necessity is truly “the mother of invention”, we should not be surprised to find so many opportunities, given the need is so great on so many levels. Good intention can be spread too thin, as many local NGO’s can attest. Since the amount of time and energy we have is finite, we must not try to do so many things that we fail to do one thing well. It is frustrating having to say “no” so often, yet if we can continue to do so, and pick our focus areas carefully, we increase the likelihood that years from now something truly excellent will have been achieved.

Someday, a vendor will offer us a new map of Kigali, and we’ll be thrilled someone else made a good idea happen.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter

Trust: An Illusive Virtue

Trust is a funny thing. Where trust is present, everything seems easier and better. Where trust is absent, it is difficult to earn or build. Trust is a critical asset that is easily broken and hard to fix. We would all do well to pursue it, but it is possible to have too much of it. It is risky to offer it, but can be very rewarding when returned.

In social settings, from families to nations, there are many benefits attributed to trust. It is often deemed a ‘lubricant’ that makes relationships and transactions run smoother and cheaper. It is also called a ‘glue’ that unites and holds people together. Trust is deteriorated by factions seeking short-term gain, but flourishes where factions subjugate themselves to a unified vision for the long-term.

In post-conflict settings like Rwanda, trust is desperately needed yet hard to build. As foreigners that have just moved here, we can begin to see the want and benefit of trust vis-à-vis settings more familiar to us. Genocide has to be the ultimate destroyer of trust, forgiveness the ultimate healer of what was broken, and a common commitment to a future vision the ultimate road to building something better. In some measure, we can find all these things in Rwanda.

As it relates to Karisimbi Partners, we have already begun to note some of the ways we can build trust and be trusted here in Rwanda:

· Face-to-Face Relationships- very little progress of any substance transpires from a distance, or over phone or e-mail. Getting all relevant parties to meet face-to-face sometimes seems the only way to build trust, albeit business or personal. Less “rich” medium may be valued only insofar as they coordinate in-person meetings. Becoming residents and meeting often has helped immensely.

· Common Motives- most new contacts dedicate some portion our meetings to discerning our deepest motives for being here. Many of those we meet blend social and financial aspirations…. they are clearly interdependent here and now. When they learn we are motivated by faith and social benefit, they smile broadly and say we are “most welcome”. When they learn we seek a practical impact and financially sustainability, they respond as if we’ve said something new or refreshing, and can work with them on what is needed most.

· Commitment- people here want to know you’re “serious”. Good intentions have not been enough in the past. When people hear that we’ve moved here for years and brought our families to empower Rwandans pursuing a better future, they, in turn, take us “seriously”.

On the long road toward building trust, we’ve at least identified some initial steps.

Onward & Upward,

-Carter