Growing up in rural Masaka, I always saw posters in our local shops with the words: “Customer is the King”. However, that is more in theory than in actions.

I only had stable power supply for seven hours for the whole of December and have been given 23 reference numbers from Umeme customer care. The people who manage the customer care are coached to use similar words or phrases without thinking about their meanings or implications.

Phrases such as “our technical team is in the area” are common; and it takes them 72 hours to reach your premises or rectify the problem!

I live in a relatively affluent area whereby most of us are working and have gone through school. What is annoying is that majority of my neighbours have given up on asking Umeme to provide the services that we pay for.

Many people have had to buy a set of solar equipment or use diesel engines, claiming “this is Uganda and nothing works here”. I find this an insult to our parents who took us to school. I always tell my children that if someone is paid to do something for you and they fail, they should not have a job anymore.

If educated people cannot use their power to demand services, what will my mother in Kabula do?

Umeme is currently running a campaign dubbed Wuuyo, meant to help them curb power theft and vandalism of their equipment. I have always asked them how they hope to succeed without public support.

The same public that calls you and you spend three days or a week to respond to their concerns cannot be the same to report power theft and vandalism of your property. What does company like Umeme that collects billions of shillings from its customers as service fee lose to call up someone with a complaint and explain the delay in rectifying it?

National Water and Sewerage Corporation is always praised as the best public utility company in this country and I have failed to know the criteria used in the voting process. I live near Kampala and my neighborhood has water pipes that rarely have water.

It is only a few of us that bought plastic tanks and rely on rainwater-harvesting or purchasing from water tank merchants that provide water to those with fully-installed water pipes courtesy of NWSC.

If someone who lives less than 20 kilometers from Lake Victoria has to share water with animals, what will our brothers in semi-arid areas do? Is it not shameful for people in Kampala and Wakiso to drink contaminated water in 2017?

Imagine companies such as DSTV and StarTimes operate without toll-free lines? At one time, I called DSTV and spent Shs 10, 000 before my issue would be resolved.

The lady at the other end was speaking as if she was being forced to do so, and didn’t mind that I was using my own airtime. My issue was not handled but she never called back. These same people will call you if you spend two months without paying their subscription.

I visited their head office along Buganda road and someone who was supposed to assist me spent 30 minutes on a private phone call! In other words, they take us, their customers, to be money machines, but not people with feelings or emotions.

I stopped shopping from Shoprite or banking with Stanbic because their respective employees are very arrogant and aloof. What these people fail to appreciate is that by coming to your company, I am only doing you a favour since there are others that provide similar services. I hate it when someone I am going to give money treats me with contempt.

These companies can only do what they do to us because they are operating in Uganda where neither the government nor the public can put them to order.

Ugandans are not assertive and rarely know their rights, probably because many have grown up under the influence of kingdoms and dictators. These two make people very submissive and without insight! What else would explain our tolerance to rot, loot, mismanagement, arrogance and abuse?

The author is a lecturer at the International University of East Africa, Kampala.