Customer care in Swaziland

Hello everyone,

The way customer services are handled can greatly affect your views on certain brands, products, companies or stores. As a consumer, it is important to get familiar with local practices regarding client assistance in Swaziland and try to understand how things work in the country.

How would you describe your customer service experiences in Swaziland?

Do you feel welcome when you enter a store? Do you get useful tips and advice?

Are after-sales services available in Swaziland?

Thanks for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

Although I have had many very pleasing Customer service experiences these last 2.5 months in Swaziland, I give customer service mixed reviews. I am unwilling to rate all customer service representatives poorly due to several horrendously bad employees who cost me lots of time and money due to their negligence.

I have run into two nightmare people at the telephone company who, together, gave me the run around for over a month. I don't drive so I paid a driver MULTIPLE TIMES to take me to the SPTC office about my telephone & internet service. After about 10 visits, I got someone on the telephone who was determined to help me and sorted the problem immediately.  When I asked what the excuse was from the two people who were supposed have been helping me--she said they were mute on the matter. They were just lazy, I think, and didn't feel like working. One Swazi told me they were discussing in SiSwati that it was Friday and getting late and they weren't going to help me because I was paying for new service and it would take some time to set it up in the computer...I needed to come back on Monday.

On the other hand restaurant and retail customer servants have been very helpful. Culturally, I think they wait until you need something instead of hovering. Once you flag them down, they're very accommodating and friendly.

** is a government entity in Swaziland; my observations with government entities including most at port of entries in swaziland there is no sense of service to users of their service, and they seem to think they are doing you a favour by servicing you thus they must treat you any how.  It appears that there are no consequenses for ill treating members of the public by**  I happened to come accross such ill-treatments even for swati citizens, escalating the matter to seniors within the establishment yield no results. What matters is who are your parents, who is your community representative  (utalwa ngubani? wakuphi? Ngubani umgijimi wakho?) If you are from a prominent swati family that's when your matter is taken seriously otherwise you find yourself being a laughing stock and in some instances austracised. Some of them do not want to be confronted for the ill-treatment against members of the public and foreigners. If you confront them they will remind you that they are at the kings service not at your service thus your confrontation is labelled as undermining the royal authority.  Very few of public servant i came across in swaziland have sense of proffesionalism and customer/client service.  For them this seem to be a private sector thing