LESSONS WE MUST LEARN FROM MATATU INDUSTRY
WORKERS E.G. TOUTS.
In our modern society
there is this category of people who we mostly view from a negative angle yet
they have very important lessons for us in our modern career world, dating and
relationship games as well as tolerance and endurance in the modern world tough
social-economic conditions. We normally blame them for road carnage, rude
behavior towards customers (travelers/passengers), road overlapping and causing
traffic jams, over charging and hiking fares without notice, and at times
roughing travelers to an extent of beating them. But in all these, these guys
have very important lessons that we can learn if we are willing to learn from
them and apply in real life situations. Read on.
Colorful Matatus. |
UNITY AND HARMONY
These people among the
so many members of the modern society are among the most united and harmonious
people amongst themselves. There is a lot of team work in them. Imagine this
scenario: there is a crackdown on
matatus and drivers who are “breaking the law”. Word goes round like wild fire
amongst them and within no time all the matatu operators within that route know
that there is an operation against them. It is not a wonder most will never be
caught in the so called “msako”. Also when an opportunity to hike fare arises
as in when there is traffic jam, “msako”, downpour, etc word will go round very
fast and all drivers and conductors plying a certain route will harmonize the
amount of fare to hike such that literally none is left out on the opportunity
to knock some more cash from unsuspecting passengers.
Also in case of a
breakdown of one of their vehicles, another one is always available to ferry
the passengers to their destination and one of them will come to the aid of the
driver in distress by e.g. supplying a spare tire, tools etc. These people will
unite against any force working against them in the society or for a cause
favoring them. Do you ever inform your colleague of an opportunity to enhance
their work and income?
COURAGEOUS, OUTRAGEOUS, BRAVE
The matatu drivers are
normally very courageous, outrageous
and brave with their work. They will
do anything as long as it favors them in their work. They will ensure that they
arrive to their destinations as fast as possible by all means and will stop at
nothing to ferry you quickly. Many of us owe to these people so many things in
life e.g. getting to our work early, meeting important appointments like a
date, delivering goods and services in time, etc. The way they maneuver in our
roads at times irks us but truth be told, aren’t there times you thanked God
you boarded a matatu that was overlapping and driving so fast (albeit
dangerously) to an extent you made it right on time to where you are going? (And
probably missed getting dumped by your girlfriend or boyfriend due to being a
poor timer, or you earned an appraisal from your employer or customer for
delivering in time). So let us learn to thank these guys for their acrobatic
skills in our roads. Without them, some of us would literally be reduced to
abject poverty. (Imagine a day when they are on strike, don’t we fail to go to
work, to attend important appointments, to deliver products and/or services
etc)?
HARDWORK AND DILIGENCE
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These guys wake up so
early to catch with the earliest passengers. They brave the cold chilling
morning weather conditions of upcountry(sometimes rain) and at times the
insecurity characterized by darkness in some areas just to ensure your daily
operations runs smoothly. Few Kenyans wake up that early, and I am sure am not
lying. Do we ever appreciate their effort?
SMARTNESS AND ALERTNESS
I do not mean they dress
well but the mental quality of being clever
and mentally alert. Consider this; a
car is involved in a grisly accident.
Yet the driver and conductor mostly escapes unhurt or with minor injuries. At times they are nowhere to be seen. How do
they ever get out of the speeding vehicle and leave the rest to be slaughtered
in the carnage remains a mystery to many Kenyans. But the truth is this, unless
you are very smart and alert, you can never pull on such a feat. When they are maneuvering in traffic jam, they all
along manage to avoid being hit head-on by incoming vehicles. You will hear
passengers screaming due to “dangerous driving”, but all along the driver is so
composed, it is business as usual.
Also imagine at how they
dodge the traffic policemen, how they avoid traffic jams, how they learn
non-existent routes and follow them to their destination, etc. This is all
being smart and alert at their hard work. Are you smart enough with what you
do? If you keep on messing with your work, then matatu drivers and touts are
smarter than you many times.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATIVE SKILLS
Every matatu that attracts many passengers has a lot of creativity applied to it e.g. nice and
sophisticated music system, nice seats, etc. Most of the times the drivers and
conductors are the ones who know where to get the technicians to style-up their
vehicles to the desired taste of the customers. They know the most innovative
garages in town, the most innovative mechanics and where to get the right spare
parts. They also know the “right” stickers to display in their vehicles. (At
times the stickers are outright annoying).
They make the matatu to be as attractive as possible and they try to
move with the latest technology trends to ensure that they stay in the market.
Most passengers being the generation-Y,
they have in mind the type of customers they have and what to do to keep the
customers coming for more and to maintain them. What efforts do you do to
ensure regular satisfied customers?
ASSERTIVE AND CONFIDENT
These guys act so confidently
and have a strong belief in their own abilities and what they are saying. When
they claim a position they do not swerve from it no matter what. Those who have
tried to argue with a conductor know what I mean.
Also the confidence they exude
in their driving skills is awesome. They have learned how to have an aura of
perfect drivers to an extent other experienced drivers in their personal cars
gets intimidated by these masters of the
road. They climb and remain at the top of their game. Most vehicle owners know
how futile it is to compete with them on the road. They will cut across a road
so confidently you are tempted to think probably you are wrong and he is right.
When you try to show your annoyance, you are met with a confident glare that
seems to signal to you that your “correction” is not welcome. Courtesy to them
applies only when a situation is in their favor.
But truth be told, with this so competitive
world, aren’t there some situations that warrant such a behavior in order
to get what we want and how we want it? So, appreciate these guys’ “courtesy” for
once and learn from them.
ADVENTUROUS AND DAREDEVILS
Their disregard of
danger and ability to be so carefree
on the road is nothing new to passengers, road users and pedestrians. These
guys can even drive at the edge of a cliff at a speed of 100KM/H daring fate in broad day light. They will go
ahead and make a U-turn in a highway given an opportunity. They will cut across
or in between two 26 wheeler-lorry-cum-containers
without giving it a second thought. They have to earn something at the end of
the day and they know this; the more daring you are the more you will get at
the end of the day. They are risk takers
who will stop at nothing to see that their desired action goes on successfully.
Trust me; there are so
many real life situations in our society that warrant this type of a trait in
order to succeed. Business world is one of them especially at times of national
economic hardships. What about dating and relationships? What about climbing
the corporate ladder in the modern competitive career world? Who is the most
popular political acrobat in Kenya now? Find out.
OPPORTUNISTIC
Their ability to exploit a situation and take maximum advantage of it is nothing new to us.
Just imagine how they hike fares during traffic-jams, during times of “msako”,
during heavy-downpour and when schools are opening in total disregard of
anything.
Now that the holidays
are approaching, it is their perfect opportunity
to make as much money as possible. Many people have to travel regardless of
anything and it’s a boom for the matatu industry. I once heard a conductor say, “I wish everyday was a holiday, and every
month was December”. Unfortunately, it is not courtesy of the rising and
setting sun daily.
So, generally, with so
many other lessons to learn from our matatu fellows, how successful can we
become if we took an opportunity to learn and apply some lesson or two from
them? Apart from cursing the conductor for overcharging you when you need to
travel most, do you see that as an opportunity
to learn and apply in your life or business? For the shy in the dating and
relationship game, why don’t you learn and master the courage of a matatu conductor or driver and apply the skills in the
game? For managers, don’t you think it is worth to learn assertive skills and confidence
from these guys? What about business men with opportunism in their operations towards maximizing profit when the
season is most favorable? For the lazy bones, hard work and diligence.
How about surviving the modern work place work related politics? Survival for
the fittest.
Next time you interact
with them (and I think this is a daily affair to most of us), just be more observant and keen and you will learn a
very important lesson or two from the driver and conductor of the matatu that
is ferrying you to your destination. Appreciate them and count yourself lucky
to meet and learn from them.
Have a good day.
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