I am polishing my own shoes again

During my formative years, there were shoe shiners in the local shopping centres but they were few and far between. They would have two makeshift stools: one small lower one for himself and a bigger, more elevated one for the customer. Their tools of trade were old brushes and most even had retrofitted paint brushes to do the job (they were actually more effective if you asked me). But they were pretty much using the same polish you would have at home and nothing more. Did I mention that they were the local cobbler too?

In the late 2000s, especially in Nairobi, dedicated shoe shine stands cropped up everywhere. These guys were the real deal. They had comfortable elevated seats and they would give you a newspaper to read as they worked on your shoes. They had different types of polish, creams and lastly they wiped the shoe shiny with a piece of cloth. It was an intricate process that started with cleaning out the dirt, dust or mud from your shoes and transforming them into confidence boosters. These guys were the game changer in shoe care.

I initially turned to them when I was going for interviews; the shoes gave you an extra bounce after leaving a shoe shiner. Then it got more frequent and eventually I scrapped shoe polish from my budget altogether. It was a combination of things that led to this. First of all, they did a far superior job than I was ever able to do; the shoes gave you extra confidence with how they looked. The experience of seeing your shoes being transformed as you sat comfortably with a newspaper in hand was amazing. The best part was that I never actually read the newspaper because most of the shoe shiners would be great conversationists. We would be talking about all manner of things during the five minutes or so. Some were very serious and talk about topical issues like how the government was doing or the economy while there were the hilarious types who would leave you in stitches. It was a holistic experience that kept me coming back for over a decade, but now, I'm about to bid it farewell.

My relocation to the outskirts of town, devoid of any shopping centers with shoe shiners, has forced me to return to the art of self-preservation for my shoes. This month, my budget includes a shoe brush and shoe polish, and perhaps some shoe cream and wax as well.

In reflecting on this experience, I've come to believe that a successful business should strive to emulate the model of the shoe shiners. They transformed a simple chore into a memorable experience that left customers with a sense of satisfaction and pride in their shiny shoes. The combination of a comfortable seat, quality service, and intangibles such as friendliness and engaging conversations resulted in a consistent stream of revenue from delighted customers.

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I grew up with a Dad who was clean and tidy; a man who looked almost perfect… no, almost doesn’t cut it. He looked perfect every time he stepped out of the house to go to work or any other thing he left the house to do. The thing is, I don’t remember seeing my dad looking even a little shabby at all, ever. I think it had a lot to do with his time with the Kenyan disciplined forces. One of the things you could be sure of was that all his shoes (they were quite a number) would be all polished and shiny at all times.

Starting early in Primary school, (for those in other regions of the world, this would be school for ages 6 to 14) at our house, you would be in charge of brushing your own shoes daily aside from washing your school shirt and socks. So having a shoe brush and buying shoe polish regularly was a mainstay for me going to high school and eventually University. I didn’t wear much of leather shoes during University though but when I did, I would have done the needful.