Let us talk about fundis…
A Fundi can be described as a master craftsman of a trade. From furniture artisans to plumbers to electricians, the Jua kali industry provides employment to millions of Kenyans. There’s hardly a Kenyan who hasn’t called on the services of this one-man shop to construct or fix a thing or two in their household. Many of us have nevertheless marveled at their professionalism, or lack thereof.
- Valuing jobs according to (perceived) status
I’m sure you have heard of Mzungu prices. This is a scenario where informal service providers quote a normal/low price for the ‘kawaida mwananchi’ and double the same for white people, people with an accent, people who speak English, people living in a certain neighborhood…generally people they perceive to be rich and who would therefore not be overly conscious of a higher price. To some, this business practice is unethical, to others it is enterprising.
My expatriate friends always get charged triple the price for furniture by road-side vendors, to have dresses made of African fabric, for a plumbing job etc. It turns out they are aware of rip offs because many are the times I have had to pretend the job was mine so as to get the ‘mwananchi’ price.
Even though it is difficult to regulate the informal sector, rates for goods and services should be standard and not determined by the consumers’ perceived status. Do your research and find out the going rate for the service or good you seek. Don’t be afraid to call the fundi out on it. Experience shows that they will only fleece those who don’t know.
- Quality of service according to (perceived) status
I was at one of those plant nurseries by the road side. One of the attendants was putting together a flower arrangement for a client. He stopped and asked the man in charge whether he should add thus and such into the bouquet (I don’t remember what). They were speaking in mother-tongue; they assumed I couldn’t understand. The boss asked, “Does it belong to that white lady from Karen? If so, just add. Otherwise don’t do so with the rest.” He followed it up with a snide comment of how ‘we have to be careful because these people like things done a certain way’. Much of the insinuation is lost in translation.
We are not sure whether some people are rendered better services because (as pointed above) they pay or tip better. Whichever the case, fundis, and many informal sector service people, have the uncanny ability to classify the quality of service according to status. I have heard many of my mommy-friends say the same of house-helps, for example. Again, if the price everyone pays for a service is standard, so should the workmanship.
- They can ALWAYS do the job
You take your appliance in for repairs. Guy looks it over, promises you they can fix it. What they really mean is that they can tinker around the gadget for a while as they try to figure out what will stick. We see a lot of this with auto mechanics – which is the reason we laid out a whole article on them here to tell you how to deal with the type. You see a beautiful dinner set (or evening gown) on a glossy magazine, take a picture to your favorite fundi, and they promise you they can get it just right. It would have done just as fine to say they couldn’t rather than end up with the monstrosity that is the final product.
What happens in either scenarios is that you end up spending more time and money as they fix the problems they created in the first place or you end up paying for the job just to be done with the fundi or if you are like me, you refuse to pay and end up with a lengthy fight that could have been avoided had the fundi said they couldn’t do the job int the first place. Frankly, perhaps all this could have been avoided with a little more research and a willingness to part with a few more bucks for more masterful craftsmanship or a new appliance. Some fixes are more trouble than they are worth.
- Questionable professionalism
Plumber comes to fix my bathroom. He’s at the door. Neither of us can decide whether he should remove his shoes or keep them on. Either would be…bad. He fixes the bathroom. All the processes of number 3 above apply. At first he thinks I need to replace the tap, then it turns out I need to replace a valve. Anyway, I end up spending three times the initial quote. Minutes after he leaves, I have to light incense because his body odor lingers in the bathroom.
My dilemma is what to do in such a scenario. I don’t want to reject this man because he is not physically polished . It’s an honest days’ labor he is putting in after all. Besides, a plumbing company would cost me 10 times what he does and take twice as long to get to my place to get the job done. On top of that I don’t want to be the prissy lady with an upturned nose. I have no idea what this man’s situation is that warrants his less-than pleasant sanitary condition. But at the same time, I suppose there is a general rule of professionalism out there that demands certain kinds of etiquette, especially when one works with people on such a personal level. I find this is one of the problems we have with informal technicians; when it comes to management, communication and presentation, the lines of professional conduct can be blurred if not non-existent.
Of course, not all fundis fall under these categories. A multitude of them have taken the time to perfect their trade and customer relations – otherwise the industry would not flourish, and with it forming a base of self-taught contractors in Kenya . For the few who haven’t, the ball falls on the consumer’s court to decide whether the tussle of informality is worth the value of what they get in return.
Rachel is a prolific Kenyan writer, with over 15 years’ experience in the print media industry and has been part of editorial teams in major publications. Her specialties are health, community development, children and women’s affairs, global current affairs and lifestyle. She currently runs a content and creative consultancy outfit and holds an almost full-time gig at Kenya’s leading Newspaper, The Nation. When she is not creating content for her clients and has finally caught up with newspaper deadlines, she can be found at home reading or trying to (finally) work on her ‘Great African Novel’.