My Waakye Experience

A little over a decade ago, on a fine Sunday morning, my love for two things was concluded; love professed to a lovely, beautiful, and sweet young lady, whom I affectionately call Jem, and the second…one of the tastiest and well served “waakyes” on this part of the globe.

Let me elucidate further, it was my wedding day, and I was with two of my very good friends (most of the good things come in twos I guess), preparing to make that young lady my wife 😊

Now it is always important to eat well before such a day because the pomp and pageantry, toasted with all the excitement, can make one forget about food until too late. So yes, my boys and I made the rather odd decision to go look for waakye. I know what you are thinking. Who eats waakye on their wedding day?, Well, We did. We were lodging in a Guest House, in a different neighbourhood, and so asked the receptionist to show us to where we can get some good food around. He did not mince words in directing us to a particular waakye joint.

As a self-certified connoisseur, let me attempt a description of this ‘delicacy’. Waakye is made from rice and beans, with a natural brown colouring. It is best eaten with gari (flaked cassava), spaghetti, friend plantain (usually ripe and soft), shito, and tomato stew. The stew comes with various proteins, including beef, chicken, goat meat, wele (boiled soft leather 😊), boiled egg, and or fried fish. For vegetable lovers, there is some variety for you, including avocado.

It was love at first sight when we got to the Haatso Waakye joint, and in spite of the long queue which is characteristic of every good waakye joint. I was mesmerized- the sellers were all neatly dressed in aprons, hairnets, and nose masks (this was before COVID-19), and o they still wear masks post covid-19. There were sellers at the four corners serving people with speed and accuracy, and by accuracy, I mean prompt and correct calculation of how much your food costs. Do you remember a time when you ordered food by the roadside, and after your bill was mentioned, you wanted to run away, no! This doesn’t happen at Haatso Waakye. Let me add that there are several payment options, including Momo and QR Codes (O yes, modern payment methods)

Speed is of the essence to every customer, and so is fair treatment. There is the joke that goes like this “If the waakye seller calls you from the back to serve of the queue to serve you, then you have arrived.” At Haatso Waakye, every customer is treated with the same respect, and so you wait your turn. Let me add that the courtesy and friendly nature of the sellers is one of the factors that has kept this love still glowing.

Now to the big question, what would make someone travel 34 kilometers by road, bbypass several waakye joints, just to go get Haatso Waakye?

Let me answer in a few words; friendly and bespoke service, speed, consistency in taste, and adherence to health protocols.

It is one that brings that nostalgic feeling, not to mention the hoopla when you arrive home with it, and making you look forward to the next weekend to make that journey to the west (just because I go through the Westlands community).

If you have experienced any culinary neuralgias in the past, be assured this is not on the list.

You might have heard the saying “a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, but as Valerie Maltoni put it – “The way to a customer’s heart is much more than a loyalty program. Making customer evangelists is about creating experiences worth talking about.”

I have unconsciously found myself telling colleagues, friends, and family about Haatso Waakye, anytime a chat on food vending comes up.

It’s been over a decade and my love for Jem brewed in the African pot continues boiling hot and fueled by our mutual love for Haatso Waakye.

Let me garnish my conclusion on this experience with some CX Nuggets.

Handle customer requests with speed: Speed is one of the most important components of customer experience. About 50% of today’s customers cannot wait, neither do they want anyone to waste their time, and they are likely to spend their money elsewhere.  Long wait times, send signals of disrespect for their time. Endeavour to shorten your processes and the time to serve your customers.

Remain consistent in your service delivery: This fosters customer loyalty and trust. Customers should always receive the same service, even when dealing with different staff within an organisation. A brand’s reputation is affected if service delivery is inconsistent. For food vendors, the taste should remain the same, and this is one of the strengths of Haatso Waakye. It’s worth adding that the consistency in their service delivery has been influenced by their decision to specialize in the business of waakye, instead of multiple food types.

Harness Technology to drive your business: All business types can harness the benefits of technology and modern trends of receiving payments to enhance the business and reach a wider target market.  Many customers today do not carry cash, for convenience and security reasons. Vendors must therefore make use of mobile banking services, QR codes and Momo services to augment their cash collections.

CX is not the preserve of big businesses, anyone who engages customers, must build knowledge in CX.

There is a paradigm shift in service delivery and Jeff Toister captures it this way- “‘Platinum rule’ has replaced the golden rule as sage customer service advice”… it’s no longer treating customers the way you want to be treated, but treating customers the way they want to be treated.

Author

Samuel Afotey
Manager, Tech & Service Excellence
CalBank PLC

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-afotey