Hard to get good service now
I LIVE in Melaka, which I call home, but I have worked abroad for much of my life. I come home fairly often, however, and over the years, I have noticed a deterioration in the quality of the service industry in my hometown.
I work in the service industry and I know there is a standard which the customer expects all the time. On a bad day, service providers might not be able to give their best but people would see if they are at least putting in the effort.
Over the years, I have seen and experienced a deterioration in the level of service but it was never as bad as it is now. There are so many instances recently where I’ve encountered poor service in public transport, retail and food outlets.
While riding a bus that plies the tourist belt in Melaka, I saw the conductor talking to a European couple. When he passed by me, I smelt the stench of alcohol on him. As the bus passed by a cheap alcohol joint along Jalan Bendahara, he told the European couple to go there if they were looking for a good time.
On another occasion, I saw a bus driver of the same company screaming at an elderly passenger who had rung the bell before he reached the designated stop. When the elderly passenger did not get off, the bus driver shouted at him. Embarrassed, the man got off and had to walk about 700m to the other station.
Going to fast-food outlets is like playing Russian roulette when it comes to customer service. No one smiles at you before taking your order. It’s like a warden asking you what you want for your last meal before you head to the gallows.
Just the other day, I saw one of the workers at a popular fast-food outlet having his dinner in front of a queue of customers waiting to be served. When my turn came, I was told to wait for about 30 minutes because there was no more chicken and the “cook” was having his dinner. I walked away.
But the incident that made me so mad I decided to write this letter occurred in a major IT store. I wanted to have my earphones repaired after I accidentally stepped on the jack. Prior to visiting the store, I called a customer relations person who told me to bring the earphone to that particular outlet.
As I walked into the store, I saw an employee with her back to the entrance, fiddling with a device on display.
I had to catch her attention before I could proceed any further. To cut a long story short, I walked out of the shop angry and frustrat- ed after enduring her and her colleague’s dismal service.
They even intimated that the earphone I had was fake as I couldn’t produce the receipt when they asked for it. An hour later, the girl called to say they managed to track the receipt and that I had left behind the earphone box cover.
I told her to keep it and lodged a complaint with the company.
If they had told me they couldn’t help, it would have been okay with me. Instead, they made me feel really horrible.
The service industry in general is full of these characters. Either they are not trained well or just unwilling to help.
Common courtesy is missing, and it looks like no one cares anymore.
M. LOPEZ Melaka