By: Sheku Putka Kamara

Maybe and just maybe, this is not just about banks. Generally, I am of the firm opinion that customer service in this part of the world is something else, but if one is to soberly attempt to even understand the situations, there is the high likelihood that foremost, a good number of employees have little or no clue about what strategic customer relations truly is. As a result, we tend to find ourselves in situations that tend to suppose that people are doing us some favours when in actual fact, the reverse is the case.

Banking has obvious challenges, but the Sierra Leone experience leaves me wondering. The systems are not only slow, some tellers would spend almost thirty minutes attending to just one customer. As someone who deals with almost all banks in Sierra Leone, I am constrained to single out a bank that stands out. You’d have your cheque book for example, but you’d still have to join those elongated lines. The same for deposits or cashing out in some other name.

Worse case, even if you spend an hour or more with no one attending to you, it is almost normal practice that ‘nobody truly cares.’ How unfortunate! Some of these situations always tend to question our sincerity of purposes more so when it comes to strategic execution of tasks and functions as and when appropriate.

Aside the banks, go to our universities and see how clients/students are treated. You have those secretaries and admin assistants that behave as if the students should be lucky that they are alive. Must we remind those people that without the very students, most if not all of them would be jobless? The same to us the lecturers (especially for those that ‘ONLY LECTURE.’  I feel there is a need for some positive paradigm shifts. Situations here could get crazy!

Go to public transportations and see how some conductors treat and mouthwash passengers and commuters. It’s not only disturbing, but it is equally troubling. Many a time, I am inclined to believe that many of us do not tend to understand how to set priorities right!

Whiles there are merits and demerits to these discourses, it is also worth noting that other parties have roles to play. On students, we know that they are customers and that they should be treated right, but again, what happened to seriousness etc? A student will miss a class, miss a test and later come to a Lecturer like me to ask ABC. Surely, I feel the pain of miscommunication more so because, I have always stressed the need for timely communication.

Again, to the banks, you have rules to follow and so a customer that may not et things right may be asked to sort some of such essentials. The same for public transportation etc.

In summary, I am making a case that there is need to improve on systems and processes. This will be in the best interest of all and sundry and the time to act right is now, like never before.

• PUTKA ON EXPO

Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Monday, December 18th, 2023 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)