Africa Time is a terminology those of us living in Africa have to come to terms with as let us say scheduling or planning can be more of an estimation. I would say the planning of a day revolves around what you can control otherwise forget that idea as it will highly likely not happen. Doing things that move you forward that you can control is what keeps you sane. The much anticipated samples that were due on Monday will now have to be collected tomorrow. The lost time and inconvenience of driving 45 minutes each way is more about trying to not waste another day.
If I was waiting for a delivery knowing that the samples are arriving tomorrow morning kind of has me thinking I will only get them in my hands on Friday. Friday is like Monday and not a recommended day for doing any business requiring a meeting as most people have already switched off. The urgency getting the samples in my hands tomorrow means at least I can see one client this week or maybe two.
The other samples are arriving next week otherwise it would have been an entire week lost. The samples in this first batch are for a client I have been trying to land for 12 months and this is very important as we are so close now. One cannot place a time frame on gaining a new client as some can take a few weeks and now this one taking an entire year. The end result is what counts and time is what it is and you have to go with the flow or you will go mad.
This week has been a proper shit show with electricity at the factory taking a whole three days to fix and what happens when you have a shared electricity box with your neighbor. Not ideal as it meant the one batch of samples was delayed by two days throwing in the weekend it becomes 4 days lost and only left Durban today.
The problem with services in Africa is finding any urgency is only going to frustrate you even more. If you find someone who delivers punctually you hold onto them as it is rather rare. The saying "just now" is local dialogue for literally just now and will happen shortly, but not right now. I am not sure where it came from, but it is a safety saying as it says you are committed to doing what is being asked without a fixed time. Just now could literally mean in 10 minutes or tomorrow morning and gives people flexibility.
Time wasting or lost time is hard to factor in when doing business and is something that happens more often than not as you are not in full control relying on others. The wooden window frames in our recent home renovation was a good example as those arrived more than two weeks late and still needed another four days of adjusting being the incorrect size. There is no urgency because they know you have no other choice, but to wait.
Being involved in the service industry as a supplier and manufacturer you do still rely on others when things go awry like when there is no electricity or a truck never arrives on schedule.