Do Kenyan companies train their male staff on how to interact with female clients?

Kenya has been an exciting space to be in over the last 5 years as the number of successful businesses grow. There has also been an influx of multinationals seeking to get in on the promise of a stable and ambitious business landscape in Kenya. However, there seems to be some training missing. I cannot count the number of times that I have been in a situation that has made me question what kind of training (if any) employees of Kenyan companies receive when it comes to customer service. This is especially true when it’s a male employee assisting a female client. There are some things I feel should never occur during a professional interaction. It is insulting, uncomfortable and sometimes even threatening.

One of the interactions that I truly cannot stand is a waiter who is actively hitting on me. I have experienced this several times. It’s always strange how I chalk it up to my imagination and try to ignore the obvious interest but the waiter(s) never seems to see my discomfort and actually becomes more forward. I remember once at a hotel in Mombasa, a waiter had the audacity to wink at me and even came over to my table to ask me personal questions. Another in Nairobi came over to my table to ask me why I was sitting alone as he couldn’t imagine that a woman as pretty as me could be alone and then offered to keep me company. To say the least, all these experiences have made me wary of eating out alone, which is a shame because I do enjoy eating out alone.

Other unprofessional conduct I have experienced has come from taxi drivers. As a young single woman, you must understand that I don’t use just any taxi service. I am very cautious when it comes to travelling alone in Nairobi especially at night. Surprisingly, even the taxi services that claim to train their drivers don’t seem to train them in being professional around female clients. I have more than once had a driver ask me inappropriate questions and even once had a driver call me a few days after the ride to ask me how I was doing!

Speaking of calls, there has also been an incident where a maintenance guy that came to fix the internet in my house called me a few days later to ask if he could come over to ‘visit’ and then when I blocked him, proceeded to harass me by using different numbers to call me to ask me why I was being ‘difficult’. Let me not even start on the guard of a building in town who called me to say hi. He got my number from the sign in book at the reception of the building! Let’s just say that I no longer leave my number at receptions anymore. There are even worse stories I have heard from my girlfriends.

In all these instances, I have been shocked by the forwardness of these men. I am not friendly in any of these interactions. Not that friendliness should invite such behaviour! In fact, it is sad that I even have to bring up friendliness. I am distant, and stick strictly to professional conversation. Somehow, they still think they can cross boundaries and behave in an unprofessional manner. Shockingly, they don’t seem worried about losing their jobs and so clearly are oblivious to how atrocious their behaviour is. Even worse, the ease and confidence with which they do it tells you that this is something they do regularly.

There is a prevailing entitlement to women by men especially when they seem to be unattached. It is therefore not a surprise that the same harassment will manifest itself in professional spaces. Women already have a lot to deal with when it comes to unwanted male attention. If you’re not being catcalled on the street, you’re being harassed by a colleague or even your boss at work. It is to say the least, terrifying. Women have to constantly be wary of strange men and even men that they know. Hyper-vigilance is an exhausting existence.

When I trust a company, be it a restaurant, bus company, taxi service, internet/cable provider, hotel, real estate agency etc, it’s because they have convinced me that they not only offer great services but also that my well being is important to them. This is especially true for companies that have access to my private information such as my telephone number or home address. It is terrifying to have a stranger use that information, which they only have access to because they are employees of a company you have entrusted with your details and hence your safety, to harass you.

Companies have a responsibility to their clients, especially female ones, to vet and train their employees. This training should also cover social media interactions as too many of these accounts are filled with appallingly sexist messages. Also, companies should have direct channels to report such behaviour. Every time I have reported, I have had to go round in circles and ended up seeking out a contact at the company to help me report. Outsourcing some aspects of their maintenance to other companies is still not an excuse. What I can say to businesses is, “I don’t know who you outsourced to, I know you. You’re the one I am paying for this service and you must make good on your promises. Do better.”