Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba
One afternoon at a local bank, two customers arrived within minutes of each other—one in crisp businesswear, the other in worn sandals and a faded shirt. The teller greeted the first with a warm smile and swift service.
The second received a glance, a nod, and silence. Both completed their transactions, but only one walked away feeling respected.
This moment, seemingly small, is the emotional blueprint of a brand.
In Zimbabwe’s service landscape—whether in banking, retail, healthcare, or public offices—customers are not just recipients of goods or services. They are carriers of memory. And those memories are shaped not by what they bought, but by how they were treated.
A recent conversation sparked by my article “What Customers Remember: The Emotional Blueprint of a Brand” brought this truth into sharp focus. Dumie, a reader, observed: “Service people are sometimes judgmental, and that controls their reaction towards customers. If a receptionist deems the customer to be less important—usually because of their looks—they’ll react indifferently. But another customer comes in and they’re all smiles.”
His words echo a reality many Zimbabweans know too well. Inconsistent service, rooted in appearance-based bias, doesn’t just affect individual customers—it fractures the integrity of the brand itself.
The Hidden Cost of Selective Courtesy
When frontline staff offer warmth to one customer and coldness to another, they’re not just expressing personal preference. They’re broadcasting the brand’s values—or lack thereof. Every smile withheld, every indifferent tone, becomes part of the customer’s emotional archive. And in today’s word-of-mouth economy, those archives are shared widely.
Customers remember how they were made to feel. They remember being ignored, rushed, or judged. And they remember the brands that made them feel small.
This is not just a moral issue—it’s a strategic one. Brands that allow bias to shape service lose trust, loyalty, and market relevance. In communities where dignity is already contested, every act of courtesy becomes a form of advocacy.
Designing for Dignity
True brand leadership begins with designing service that affirms every customer’s worth. That means training staff not just in procedures, but in empathy. It means creating service charters that prioritize consistency, respect, and emotional intelligence. And it means holding teams accountable—not just for what they do, but for how they make people feel.
In my work with Tisu Vatengi and as a consultant , I’ve seen how small shifts—like greeting every customer by name, or offering the same tone of voice regardless of attire—can transform brand perception. These aren’t just gestures. They’re emotional anchors.
In banking, queues are long and this makes tensions often run high, the difference between a transactional experience and a dignified one lies in tone, eye contact, and the willingness to treat every customer as worthy of time. A teller who greets a kombi driver with the same warmth as a corporate executive is not just doing their job—they’re building trust.
The Role of Leadership
Bias in service doesn’t start at the counter. It starts in boardrooms and training manuals. When leadership fails to model inclusive, respectful engagement, frontline staff mirror that failure. But when leaders prioritize dignity, staff follow suit.
This is why service design must be rooted in lived experience.For companies that operate in communities It is important to ensure that every touchpoint—from signage to staff interaction—reflects the community’s reality.
No one should feel out of place in a space meant to serve the needs of the locals. The same principle applies to banks, supermarkets, and government offices: if your customer base is diverse, your service must be too.
Memory as a Metric
Brands often measure success through sales, foot traffic, or social media engagement. But what if we measured memory? What if we asked customers not just “Were you served?” but “How did we make you feel?”
Emotional memory is the true currency of service. It determines whether a customer returns, recommends, or resists. And it’s shaped in moments—moments like Dumie described, where a smile is given to one and withheld from another.
Imagine a bank that tracks emotional feedback with the same rigor as financial performance. Imagine a retail chain that rewards staff not just for speed, but for kindness. These aren’t idealistic dreams—they’re strategic imperatives.
A Call to Action
To every service provider reading this: your reaction matters. Your tone matters. Your assumptions matter. You are not just representing a brand—you are shaping its emotional legacy.
To every leader: invest in empathy. Train for dignity. Audit your service not just for efficiency, but for equity.
And to every customer who’s ever felt invisible: your memory is valid. Your experience is data. Your dignity is non-negotiable.
Let’s build brands that remember every customer. Not just the ones who look the part.
*Cresencia Marjorie Chiremba is a Marketing, Sales & Customer Service Consultant. For suggestions and training, contact her at [email protected] or +263 712 979 461 / 0719 978 335 / 0772 978 335