COMMUNICATION RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GIJ STUDENTS AND CAFETERIA STAFF

This article is about the communication relationship between Ghana Institute of Journalism, (GIJ) cafeteria and the students. 

Over these few years, as a student of GIJ, I have come to realize that, putting aside the selling of banku with okro soup in the cafeteria recently, students have come to the realization that the types of food being served at the cafeteria have always followed and are still following the same trend in the forms of jollof rice, plain rice, kenkey and sometimes, beans and as a result is serving as a necessity for students’ ridicule.

Initially, with the existence of the GIJ Bush Canteen, which according to sources was ‘executed’ by the Ghana International Press Center as a result of issues here-and-there, students could balance their diets with the bush canteen’s varieties of banku with okro soup, beans with fried plantain and fried-rice with chicken.

At the SRC handing-over ceremony which was held last semester, the issue of same food at the cafeteria for students was raised and a few weeks ago, this issue came up again during the second session of General Assembly meeting and it looks as though until the issue is addressed, more complaints will pour into the school’s SRC office as students lose their patience day-in-and-out.

It amazes me, as to why this issue has not been addressed in anyway and it can therefore be concluded that effective communication between students of GIJ and the cafeteria staff is relevant and is not being applied here in the sense that, with regards to these numerous complaints, an with how information travels fast on such a communication institution, it is very 'norma'l to conclude that the cafeteria staff would have at these moments heard the students' complaints but are disregarding the importance of Organization/Consumer relationship, disregarding the fact that, business in the cafeteria is booming as a result of the food being purchased and consumed by students and lecturers.

More often than not, individuals and organizations tend to forget and ignore the relevance of maintaining a positive communication relationship with their consumers, here is a response to my specially framed-up questions by a co-staff in the cafeteria.

NB: Images of  food being sold at the cafeteria and their consumers; students.