Low service standards in South Africa

One reason why service standards in South Africa is so bad is the bureaucratic nature of government departments where service is provided under duress. For example, if you arrive at the head of the queue after hours of waiting and the clerk happens to go on lunch, it's your bad luck, you'll just have to join another queue. Years of this sort of treatment have ultimately moulded the local market to become helpless, dependant accustomed to being told what to do. Furthermore, a strong history of racial intolerance resulting in the misunderstood concept of service as being a form of servitude. This could explain why frontline staff remains ignorant as employees may be taught skills but very little training is given on how to care for customers.