I have slept on this story for a long while before I made a decision to write about it. Last week was particularly a bad week for me, in the light of trying to get value for money for services provided to me by a number of businesses in Uganda.

Lets start with FOOD SERVICE PROVIDERS/SUPERMARKET

Last year a couple of friends and I were looking for a hotel to host our annual dinner and decided to check out some up scale hotel. We wanted to eat there and get a feel of what they can offer before making our decision. We ordered, and when our food arrived, roaches  were rushing from under the sizzling chicken wood board. When we raised this issue, the response not an apology , but a ” these things, we have been trying to get rid of them”

I happened to have a business breakfast at a very upscale restaurant during the week. Browsing through the breakfast menu, I quickly decided on what I wanted to eat. Disregarding the rather high price for Ugandan standards, I placed my order.

Well it came, parts of my order were frozen inside!!!!!!! and the sausage brand they used must have been the same you would get on the street for 500 shillings a piece, instead of using the best brand on the market. So when I called the waiter and complained, the meat was taken back for recooking and for the sausages, I was told they had, had several complaints and were changing them this week!! I was instead offered a pancake to substitute the sausages. I would rate it 3/10.

In Uganda we have become so receptive of poor service that even the providers do not make an effort to improve their services.

I walked into a supper market and made a few purchases. When I got home, I looked at my receipt and found I was charged twice for a certain item. I drove back to the mart and asked about the overcharge and the reply I got was that sometimes the cashiers have so many customers to work and make errors. I was then offered to take a second item! which i declined and asked for my money back.

FUEL COMPANIES/STATIONS!

This sunday I went to a fuel station to refuel my car. I always check the pump reading thingie( the one that shows you how much fuel is being put and how much each liter costs). The pump showed that the last purchaser before me had taken petrol worth 150K Ugx. I quickly looked into my wallet and decided on getting the same amount of fuel. I informed the attendant and asked for a receipt.

I had my son in the car and he was shouting wanting to get out of the car seat, so I turned to attend to him. After 3 mins I turned to look at the pump reader thingie, and to my amazement much as the nozzle was in the car, there was no fuel being dispensed. When I asked him why the meter was not moving, he said he forgot and started the meter. If I had not looked at the meter at all, I would have walked out with nothing and paid 150K.

Next time I will talk about  banks in Uganda and making over charging “mistakes”

BE WARE.