Richard A. Matrenza, Valletta
Poor customer service at the library
Very recently I was introducing a young person to our Biblioteca. Before leaving I wanted to buy some worthwhile literature as a remembrance gift of the visit.
Halfway on the main staircase, on your way out, there is a closed door marked "Administration" with a Victorian door knocker. I was told that I could get what I wanted from there. I had to knock twice, very loudly, before the door was opened. In the fourth room inside, a small group of employees was sitting around a table with a soft drink on the table. None of them was very eager, let alone alert, to attend to my needs and give me assistance. I did my utmost not to lose my patience in front of my young guest.
I am deliberately refraining from mentioning the day and time of this shoddy service. My message is not intended to bring employees to book but to make sure that when a service is being offered, the open door policy is a must and those who are responsible to give a service should be courteous and, above all, well trained to do what they are paid for.
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M. Micallef
Sep 10th 2009, 12:05
Whilst reading the above letter, one should ask themselves: did this gentleman actually get served by the lazy and nasty personnel? From my previous visits to the Biblioteca I know for a fact that the offices behind the door in question deal with internal matters concerning accounts and administration and therefore are not required to employ an open door policy. Perhaps the gentleman in question would care to give more objective facts about the incident rather than a spate of irrelevant details.
J. Darmanin
Sep 9th 2009, 09:40
another thing to point out is the attitude of some people offering a service or working in customer care departments. nothing puts me off more than a bored looking person who looks like whatever you're telling them is extremely unimportant. what happened to - "service with a smile"
Marcel Avellino
Sep 8th 2009, 18:28
Mr.TRW O'Neill you find rude and uncorteous people everywhere in the world....including the UK. I have met both corteous and uncorteous people in England, be it on the road or in a shop. But then I cant generalise and say that all Brits are rude because I have met wonderful people there. Yes, unfortunately, many govt employees are still arrogant but I have also had been seen to by helpful and well mannared govt employees. As a Maltese I get offended by people like you generalising us. I hope you dont meant to say that everywhere you go in England you are always given red carpet treatment!!
Peter Gatt
Sep 8th 2009, 12:38
I had a far worse experience when visiting the Biblioteca for the first time a few months ago.
The personnel at the reception were incredibly rude and seemed to enjoy making their point of being discourteous to customers. After this humiliating encounter, I walked upstairs only to find the library personnel equally unhelpful (but at least not rude) who directed me to the primitive document search facilites. Needless to say I left in disgust.
As a researcher I have used the services of national libraries of other countries where the service was efficient and personnel were very courteous and polite, as one would expect from a library. What difference from Malta!
diana cottis
Sep 8th 2009, 12:28
I worked in the library service in the UK. We were taught that "everything that you do is for the customer". They are the whole reason that you have a job and you are there to serve them. It is a public service which is funded by peoples taxes. Government workers, not just those in libraries, would do well to remember this.
TRW O'Neill
Sep 8th 2009, 12:23
Sadly the manners of workers in Malta , often ressemble what is done by the Govt officials. How often do you get a polite reply from officials ? Most often it is a shrug of the shoulders & SILENCE. Good manners are cheap, Bad manners are very expensive, In many shops ,the till ladies in Malta , often state the price without saying please, this is obviously how they are trained by the traders.that they represent.In the U.K. most supermarket staff are taught good manners, those not using them will lose the job ! But then it is mainly Brit's who thank the bus driver for a safe journey, many locals do not bother, no wonder drivers get annoyed. QED.
Ruby Jenner
Sep 8th 2009, 11:58
On a certain beach yesterday the young life guard was happily texting away on her mobile. The sea was quite choppy and she should have been on full alert. I realise it can be a bit boring just sitting scanning the swimmers in the sea but that is the job she was employed to do and really it could have had a very tragic outcome if a swimmer got into difficulties.
Mr B J Simmons
Sep 8th 2009, 11:16
Sadly this is typical of so many Maltese 'services'.
It is often that the customer is an interruption to the staff's activities or rather lack of them.
Even in hight quality shops, when holding one's hand out for change following a purchase, it is slapped down on the counter, rather than put in your open hand. This operation can also be carried out without ceasing the conversation between the assistant and a colleague.
There is little incentive to improve this image in Malta and no notice is taken when it is mentioned.
P. Montebello
Sep 8th 2009, 10:00
Dr Matrenza, Maybe they were disussing ways to improve custsomer service. But of course, on the agenda way above they had other moe important points: such as the football results, the latest fashion, what they have done/will be doing during the weeking, the latest electronic wizard etc...........