The award for the Worst Customer Service, in terms of delivery of an end product to Guyanese over an extended period of time (dating back to August 1977, if anyone is asking for a reference point) has long since been permanently retired and mothballed in the name of GPL – no explanation required – and its predecessor, GEC (Guyana Electricity Corporation). This dubious achievement, no mean feat, was garnered despite stiff competition from the airline industry – by those entities doing business in Guyana – and the then sole telecommunication company, the Guyana Telecommunication Corporation (GTC), the government run entity, which was subsequently privatised in the early 1990s, to today’s GTT.
However, the wholesale abuse of the population via the channel of substandard delivery of a product – though GPL and the commercial banks would be among the front runners – is not the objective of this article. The focus, rather, is the accelerating decline of the delivery of quality customer service on an individual basis, the everyday one-on-one interactions which occur between customers and the employees of any organisation, whether be it small or large. Many of these exchanges take the form of an inquiry and should not occupy much of one’s limited time, but in the reality of the Guyana today, the simplest of activities can consume copious amounts of time. Nary a week goes by without a customer, after heaving his/her complaint on social media, resort to putting pen to paper to write a letter to the editor of this publication.
The common thread piercing all of these last resort cries for help is the cognizance of the writer of the apparent misinterpretation of the employees of their terms and conditions of their employment. Many of these employees are under the false illusion that they are doing you, the customer, a favour whilst attending to you. It has not dawned upon their thick skulls that without customers there would be no jobs for them, and hence, their adoption of a bewildering set of rules which only serves to drive customers to other competitors where they are often confronted with the same conundrum.
The number one priority of these customer representatives appears to be the quick riddance of all visitors to the place of their employ. The methods engaged for your instant disposal are resourceful and unique. The ‘Invisible Factor’ is a popular approach, where one is treated as non-existent. Standing at a counter or seated in a restaurant waiting to be served, one is ignored – especially if you are considered difficult or don’t appear to be a tipper – they will skirt you several times, often choosing to serve recent arrivals. Heaven forbid if a large party of regular visitors or expats stroll in whilst you are enjoying an appetizer; as the local adage goes ‘your cork duck’. Better to forget the main course, ask for your bill and depart, as all attention will be shifted to the newcomers.
Then there is ‘the pause’ where one becomes subjected to a sudden whim of the customer rep, as he/she answers their iPhone, replies to a text, or initiates a conversation with a likewise bored colleague, who has also temporarily shed his/her client, to discuss the vagaries of the previous evening’s frolicking. This stalling option seems designed specifically to frustrate you into taking your leave, or creating the opportunity for a confrontation. If one asks to speak to a supervisor or the manager, one will most likely be informed that they are either at lunch, out of the building or on a Zoom call with other managers. If one’s problem needs to be escalated be prepared to spend an inordinate amount of time during which you can observe this lackadaisical approach in full swing, including the antics of the current employee of the month whose face adorns one of the walls.
There is also the ‘Vanishing Act’ where the attendee goes in search of a supervisor to resolve one’s issue. If he/she retrieves their phone or lunch bag, take a seat, make yourself comfortable and delve into your book or catch up on your text messages. If you have settled your bill in cash at a restaurant and you are awaiting your change, be aware that you could be subject to the ‘Invisible Factor’, as the practice of self tipping appears to be on the rise.
Lessons in patience and frustration are conducted simultaneously whenever one attempts to extract information about products and services via the phone. If one is fortunate to have their call answered, and, secondly directed to a knowledgeable employee who can supply the answer(s) and confirm the availability and correct price of the product(s) and, or service(s) sought, one has scored the rare trifecta. If one is unlucky, as one of our letter writers were, one can become embroiled in a heated argument culminating in the slamming down of the phone in his/her ear. This ‘take it or leave it’ approach fortunately is not the norm but the fact that it exists is cause for concern.
As with everything in life, there are exceptions to the rule. One foreign fast food franchise has managed to maintain for several years an above average level of customer service despite drawing from the same limited pool of personnel resources as their competitors who can only eke out fluctuating standards of performance from their employees. At a local entity offering a wide range of products and services one can experience an exceptional level of customer service throughout the organisation, whether it be from the security guards at the gate, or the clerks or the supervisors. The company, which is quite rightly proud of their high quality customer care, has adopted a unique in-house employee rating system as part of their culture.
These cited examples aside, one can experience poor standards of customer service across the board whether it be in government offices, commercial banks, the private sector, in taxis – where the drivers often play their own choice of music and tend to get upset when the customer asks for it to be turned down or off – and on airlines, and is yet another sad reflection of how low we have sank as a society. Oxymorons, figures of speech in the English language which combine contradictory words with opposing meanings, such as honest politician, and organised chaos, will have a new addition shortly, albeit in Guyanese parlance, “customer service.”
