By Shephard Kembo
IN this instalment, we seek to unravel why Zimbabwean corporates continue to neglect their most vital stakeholder, the customer, and what must be done to reverse this systemic failure.
By all accounts, Zimbabwe’s corporate citizenry has increasingly turned a blind eye to the value and centrality of the customer. This disregard is not without consequence, it is visibly manifesting in many companies’ bottom lines, and the ripple effects are telling.
Across the business landscape, the customer, who should ideally be the heartbeat of every strategy, is too often relegated to the margins. What ought to be a deliberate and strategic pursuit of service excellence has, instead, degenerated into a cautionary tale of dismal customer experiences, executive arrogance, and an unsettling culture of entitlement among service providers.
What is unfolding is a crisis in service culture and it demands urgent and holistic redress, from the boardroom to the shop floor.
Symptoms of a Failing Service Culture
Zimbabweans are no strangers to long queues, unresponsive call centres, dismissive front-line staff, and a general lack of empathy in customer interactions across most sectors of the economy. The unfortunate scenario has unfortunately been occurring in both the public and private sectors.
These are not just isolated incidents. They are systemic manifestations of a culture that tolerates, and sometimes even rewards, poor customer service. In many instances, the blame is unfairly placed on poorly trained customer-facing employees. However, the root cause lies far deeper. This malfeasance unfortunately has pervaded and percolated the corporate fabric deeply. It has now become deep-seated and entrenched so much that it requires systematic surgical removal from our corporate body citizenry.
The manifestation of poor customer service at shop floor level is not accidental. It is the result of systemic neglect, cascading down from the corporate boardroom level, where customer service often fails to be given the strategic attention it deserves. When executive teams prioritise short-term profits over sustainable customer satisfaction, it’s no surprise that front-line staff mirror the same disregard for client experience.
Corporate Arrogance and the False Sense of Entitlement
A worrying trend in Zimbabwe’s business environment is that of growing corporate arrogance, where some organisations behave as though they are doing customers a favour simply by being open for business. This false sense of entitlement creates a toxic environment in which customer loyalty is taken for granted, innovation is stifled, and genuine engagement becomes rare.
This arrogance is particularly prevalent in sectors where competition is limited. Instead of fostering excellence, the absence of viable alternatives has given rise to corporate bullies, companies that exploit their market position to deliver subpar service with impunity. Customers are forced to endure this mistreatment because they lack options, not because they are satisfied.
The Role of Monopolies and Oligopolies
Nowhere is this culture more visible than in sectors dominated by monopolies or oligopolies such as telecommunications, financial services, energy, and utilities. In these sectors, the lack of competition has led to complacency and blatant disregard for consumer welfare. Calls go unanswered, emails are ignored, and feedback channels are virtually non-existent.
Rather than seeing customer complaints as opportunities for improvement, many firms respond defensively, stonewalling criticism or shifting blame. This defensive posture only deepens public mistrust and further erodes brand equity.
Consequences of Ignoring the Customer
The economic cost of poor customer service is significant. It drives informal competition, stunts brand loyalty, and leads to revenue leakage. In a country where word-of-mouth is powerful, one bad experience can shape the perception of an entire brand. Worse still, poor service discourages foreign direct investment. Investors, just like local customers, expect efficiency, professionalism, and responsiveness. A culture of indifference to service standards signals broader issues in governance and operational discipline red flags for any potential investor.
What Needs to Change?
1. Leadership Accountability
Customer service must be championed at the highest levels of the organisation. Boards and executive teams should embed customer-centric key performance indicators (KPIs) into their strategic scorecards. If poor service continues unchecked, it is not just a failure of frontline staff, it is a board-level oversight failure.
2. Training and Culture Transformation
Companies must invest in meaningful training, not just box-ticking exercises. Employees need to understand that customer service is not a department, it is an ethos. It needs to be part of recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and corporate storytelling.
3. Technology and Accessibility
Embracing customer relationship management (CRM) tools, feedback analytics, and multichannel communication platforms can help bridge the gap between companies and their customers. Firms need to be reachable, responsive, and willing to resolve complaints swiftly and professionally.
4. Regulatory Pressure and Consumer Advocacy
Zimbabwe Government regulators and industry watchdogs must play a far much more assertive role. Regular penalties for repeated customer service violations should be enforced. Additionally, strengthening consumer protection laws and empowering consumer associations can help shift the power balance in favour of the customer.
5. Celebrating Excellence
Amid all this gloom, there have been some pockets of excellence. There have been businesses that go the extra mile, that listen to their customers, and deliver consistent service, and they deserve recognition. Positive incentives like Industry awards, public endorsements, and media features can incentivize others to follow suit.
Conclusion:
Faced with the afore mentioned challenges as numerously and as clearly tabulated, what is the way forward one may ask? My view is that it is not too late for Zimbabwe’s corporate world’s redemption.
Rebuilding Trust from the Top Down
The dearth of customer service in Zimbabwe is not just a customer experience problem, it is a business leadership problem. It is a reflection of deep seated and entrenched internal values and cultures that fail to value empathy, feedback, and continuous improvement. To move forward, there must be a deliberate shift, one that recognises that customer service is not a cost centre but a competitive advantage. The future belongs to corporations and companies that listen, care, and, deliver consistently. Until then, the Zimbabwean consumer will continue to suffer under the weight of atrocious service, enabled by monopolistic practices, and worsened by executive indifference. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The solution starts at the top.
(Shephard Kembo Managing Partner at Globavel International)
