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By Meron Tekleberhan
Addis Ababa, May 6, 2012 (Ezega.com) - According to several tourist guides and history books, hospitality is an important element of ‘Ethiopian culture’. The Ethiopian way is said to be one of hospitality and this is accepted as fact by all Ethiopians. In fact this is so widely accepted that suggesting otherwise is sure be be met with a maelstrom of protest. Even so, however, I think it may be helpful to assess if this culture is truly being reflected in the modern culture in urban Ethiopia.
I was forced to raise this question because of several innocent seeming remarks from different foreigners about their disappointment at not having experienced ‘Ethiopian hospitality’ yet. I queried the innocence of these remarks because some of those making them had been in the country as expatriates for several years.
The second or third time I heard this I asked the person making the comments what she meant and she explained that she had never been invited to a single Ethiopian home in the years that she had been here and that she had been disappointed by the level of customer service in most service providers in the city. She mentioned being gawked at and bothered on the streets, being overcharged on public transport and being rudely ignored as Ethiopian co-workers chatted in Amharic without considering to include her.
Following up on some of these complaints I tried to discover if they were isolated to the experience of a few expatriates or were representative of a general phenomenon.
“I have never invited my foreign co-workers over to my house for several reasons. The first and most important of these reasons is that I’m afraid that other Ethiopians at our organization will get the impression that I’m trying to take advantage of the foreigners for financial or career opportunities,” said W/zo Dagmawit.
“There is an unspoken but widely accepted assumption in our society, and some foreginers also share this prejudice, that Ethiopians who form close friendships with foreigners are trying to get something and it naturally inhibits any form of hospitality.” She explained.
An expatriate who preferred to remain anonymous agreed with W/zo Dagmawit and explained that when he first arrived in Ethiopia he was warned by other expatriates that ‘locals’ are prone to seek advantages from any overtures of friendship. He admitted that this prejudiced his relationship with Ethiopian co-workers and would have clouded any hospitable offers from them.
While it is difficult to deny that some unscrupulous people may seek out friendships with ulterior motives such people exist in all cultures and it’s a shame that well-meaning Ethiopians are inhibited from extending their cultural hospitality and foreigners are forced to look at such offers with suspicion just because of such fears opined Azeb who claims to enjoy friendships with several people from different nations.
It is important that Ethiopians take the initiative to disprove any such suspicions by extending true hospitality and thus reclaiming the proud tradition that has so long been a part of the cultural identity of the society she said.
Another and even more significant and more widely experienced problem that reflects negatively on the hospitality extended to foreigners in Ethiopia is the level of customer service extended by service providers. Several expatriates have approached me at several times with complaints on the rude and careless service they received.
“I don’t think that you need the opinion of foreigners to Ethiopia to notice the abysmal level of customer service that is offered by most service providers. Servers in restaurants and cafes, shop attendants, public servants offering civil service, even the attendants on public transport are prime examples of less than respectful treatment that customers can expect to receive” said Saba, who works in a travel agency.
“Many engaged in the service industry clearly feel that the job they are performing is ‘beneath them’ and this is reflected in their attitude. This attitude has been a particular problem even for those service providers that have attempted to train their servers in proper customer service. Even in places which enforce a certain quality of customer service the patina of respect and politeness is so manifestly unnatural that it only makes the customer uncomfortable,” she said.
She said that the significance of the problem was particularly brought to her attention when she had the chance to travel to other countries.
“I have visited several African countries where the people are naturally friendly and hospitality came naturally and I questioned whether the ‘culture of hospitality’ that we Ethiopians are so proud of was just a myth. I was even more surprised by the politeness and respectful treatment of service providers in the west where I was led to expect people to be unfriendly and unfair” said Saba.
The importance of customer service cannot be exaggerated as most foreigners deal mainly with service providers and ultimately form their impression of the hospitality of the culture from the treatment they receive in hotels, shops etc.
The habit of overcharging foreigners is also another negative element that fosters a bad image according to Saba.
“Most shops feel that it is only right to charge foreigners more than they would Ethiopians and many have been offended by me for insisting that the foreigners in my group be charged the regular prices. I’m happy to see that the larger hotels and transport services, including Ethiopian Airlines, are abandoning the habit of charging higher rates for foreigners.” She concluded.
While the traditional hospitality that came natural to past generations may be hard to replicate in the urbanized areas in our country it is nonetheless important that politeness and respect for foreigners still remain identifying markers of our social identity. This is particularly more important in the view of the national bid to become one of the top tourist destinations in Africa in the coming years.
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Meron Tekleberhan is Addis Ababa based reporter for Ezega.com. She can be reached by sending email through this form.
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