NATASHA 'S CHRONICLES : Service in itself

I believe ‘Service in itself is service from the heart.’ I don’t think I am the only one who has noticed the poor state of service within our community. Many prefer to receive excellent service be it from our own homes, places of work, and at the shops. However, I’ve noticed a peculiar negative attitude that I wish to address today-- The lack of hospitality towards the recipients of our service and a lack of devotion towards what we do. I saw this clearly last week when I went to one of the National Identity Card offices in my neighborhood. As a proud sixteen year-old Rwandan citizen, I was unfamiliar with the process so I asked the man in charge what I should do next. Beginning from his response to the very look on his face, he made me feel like I was wasting his precious time, and obviously my pride was gone! I wondered whether the person in charge should be making customers feel like they’ve come to the right place. Well, we all notice such attitudes in many places and at times, we also do this! We tend to forget that when it comes to service, our body language, expressions and gestures determine our perception of others and therefore that of your service. I really believe that if we’re going win both personal and public affirmation, we need to dig deeper into our hearts and serve with enthusiasm regardless of our social or professional status. I’d like to urge everyone, beginning with you, to pay more attention to the way we receive customers whether big or small. We have to consider the way our services are delivered, more than the service we are delivering. Donald. A. Adams, a great thinker, once said, “To give real service, you must add something which cannot be measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” Another philosopher, Stanley Baldwin said, “Fires can’t be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men. Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns labor into pleasant tasks.” If these words were turned into action, it would become an easier path for every successful person, society, vision and country. The author is a Senior 5 student at Riviera High School hozatash@yahoo.com