For better customer service

With reference to the editorial entitled Crowding The Air Waves, a letter entitled EU Roaming Rates by Silvana Borg, the article by Joseph Muscat (August 27) and various other letters that appear from time to time in The Times about customer service, they all beg to be taken in the perspective that customer service by some companies, government departments, NGOs and other service providers is at best a nightmare while other service providers take pride in their level of customer service to the point of client delight.

On the one side, regulators (NRAs) are faced with the dilemma that within the ambit of the law they cannot address instances whereby client annoyance is meted out by the entities offering the service. They leave it to the magic hand of the market to address the situation in most instances with the disgruntlement of the consumer. On the other side, we all know that how we are treated as consumers by service providers/retailers makes a difference between our continued custom or not. Sometimes we are at the provider's mercy, such as at concerts or when consuming products and services from quasi-monopolistic service providers.

Consumers need to be empowered by service providers to make sure that their feedback, verbal or otherwise, is addressed as a golden opportunity. It is only with this frame of mind that service providers and retailers can ensure their survival. If they do not address client needs, irrespective what they are, others will at their expense. We saw this happen in the telecoms market, airline industry, supermarkets and all other industries over the last 10 years. Investors cannot afford to push down products or services to their target audience - competition just and unjust is rife!

My company has for the last nine months been providing a private-generic standard in customer service which empowers clients of these companies to be able to give feedback and let the management of these companies read what customers really want so they can deliver it at the right price, place and quality.

I can assure readers that companies who decided to be self-regulated and empowered their clients to maximise their client focus in real terms have enjoyed evident results in lower customer complaints, higher staff morale and a healthier bottom line which may be directly or indirectly related to their customer focus attitude.

A sound piece of advice to readers is that when deciding with which service provider or retailer to spend their hard earned cash, they as customers need to make sure they are actually empowered and not given superficial lip service.