A Jamaican Myth: customer Service
Let’s talk about a few things that don’t exist; the perfect wax job, matching winged eye liner, a fun foundation course, an effective Jamaican parliamentary session, Jamaican customer service and a comfortable pair of 4 inch heels.
In my quest for contentment with the life I’ve been dealt, I’ve made the bold decision to be satisfied with the fact that some things in life are just not meant to be. With this new life philosophy, I no longer get irritated when the JUTC buses never show up on time, I’ve gotten accustomed to the idea that my 24 hour lipstick will never last 24 hours and sadly, that $50, owed by that reputable West Indian university, will never find its way back into my pocket. These things I can contend with.
However, one thing I refuse to resign myself to is bad customer service. Bad customer service, in the perfect world I envision for myself, would be as probable as a pink moon or a 7 legged dog. Simply put, I don’t believe bad customer service should exist.
Unfortunately, a large percentage of Jamaican providers of goods and services do not agree with me on this.
Bad customer service appears to be the tagline of most, if not all, Jamaican companies. In fact, the bigger or more popular the company, the worse the customer service. No type of service establishment is exempt from this blanket. This category includes all and sundry: fast food restaurants, internet service providers, phone companies, board shops on the side of the road, transportation services, ‘cash fi gol’ enterprises etcetera, etcetera.
Horror Stories
I recently walked into a fast food restaurant and stood waiting for over 25 minutes for my meal. At this point, I was ready to have a seat, spread my napkin across my lap and wait to be served, complimentary champagne included. Quite obviously I had walked into a restaurant that offered dining. Maybe I was being unreasonable. Maybe they were somewhere behind the restaurant catching the chickens, killing, plucking and preparing them for cooking. Silly, impatient me, did not know that I would have to wait for Kentucky Fried Chicken to ship the potatoes from Timbuktu before I got my meal. Having learnt my lesson, I will never be buying from that particular branch again.
The same slackness was meted out to me by a particular telephone, internet and mobile service provider. For months my internet service was down and each week this wonderful company would urge me to continue paying my bill, promising to be at my home on Friday at about 12 o’ clock. 3 months and a million phone calls later and after having switched to a different company, the company in question has yet to grace my home with their presence. Clearly, unknown to me, the money I was paying each month was being sent to a different account and my address was magically changed to 4 Polar Street, Antarctica. They are still in transit.
This lack of customer service is given by much smaller providers of goods and services as well. I made the mistake of buying a few items from a shop on the side of the road a few days ago. The woman, after making it very obvious that I was interrupting her by approaching her shop, miserably walked around her 10 by 10 shop and gathered my items. Shoving them towards me, she held her hand for my money. Then with the same attitude, pushed my goods towards me and returned to her seat. At this point, it was evident to me that she was busy creating the cure for cancer and my need for a few items was an inconvenience. To make her day irrevocably worse, I had the audacity to ask for a bag to carry my goods. I was curtly informed that a bag would cost me $10.
Nobody on the face of the earth was more shocked than I was in that moment. I had to pay for the bag. Should I be expected to carry my goods in my pocket? Truth be told, $10 would not have killed me. I was more than capable of spending $10 more. However, I thought it was ludicrous that I should be charged for a bag after having spent good money to buy not just one, but several items from her shop. After a few choice words, I left her establishment, vowing never to return there again.
The Power of the Consumer
I could list anecdotes until the 4th millennium, each bearing the stamp of bad customer service. Customers, especially paying customers, should be treated with respect and a certain level of deference. The truth is, regardless of how good the service is, there are easily 15 other places within a one mile radius, who offer the exact service. That being said, no customer HAS to support any particular business. We have the power and the choice to spend our money at any other company but for whatever reason we find ourselves in that specific restaurant or supermarket. This respect for customers is not optional.
Perhaps these businesses, informal or otherwise, are not the only ones at fault. Anyone who has ever been to a fast food restaurant or clothing store in the USA knows that customer service is on a level deserving merit. These workers do not hesitate to reheat your fries if you complain that they are cold. They would not dare show an ounce of irritability if they have made a mistake with an order and have to void and start over.
Is it that the customers in this country pay more money? Is it that they are Mafia lords and are therefore to be feared? I think not.
We’ve all walked into a building, desperately in need of attention, while the secretary or receptionist gossiped on the phone. Almost everyone has had the most pointless conversation with a very pleasant customer service representative only to find the problem unresolved. Maybe your bad customer service presented itself to you in the form of a rude shop attendant, a lazy cashier, an automated system that was incapable of attending to your very real and human demands or, or, or.
I think we as customers need to start demanding better value for our money. So the next time you receive bad service, refuse to pay, create a scene and ask for a refund. When you’ve successfully done that, go to social media and rant endlessly about your bad customer service experience. Let the world know. Your single rant might seem pointless, but sooner or later, each individual complaint will add to the detriment of this company. Your money is precious. At the very least it should be exchanged for good customer service. And if company x, y or z refuses to step up to the plate, fret not, there is always another company willing to pretend to care in exchange for your money.