Local Business ‘Gets Away With Murder

I’D like to congratulate you for ‘telling it like it is’ for so long and introducing the new SMS forum, which has finally given all Namibians a medium in which to voice their opinions.

There is however a burning issue, aside from current internal politics and matters on the international stage, that has been ignored for a very long time now. If Namibia’s future is on everybody’s mind when we talk about corruption etc, how come so little is being said about our utterly lacking service industry? After all we are and will be largely dependent on it soon.After a long visit to SA I have noticed again how poor service in Namibia is.Not once did I receive bad service in any bank or other service orientated organisation in SA.It was only when I returned home that I was reminded of how poorly local firms attend to their customers.From restaurants to banks to insurance companies to post offices to even the cinema, a customer is being taken for granted.Many frontline staff seem to be under the impression that they are doing us a favour, forgetting that their very jobs are secured by us the customers.The service I have been receiving from Nedbank over the past two years is shocking.From the unprofessional implementation of their Globus System things have been going downhill.In a global village, this bank is not able to give you online support and answer queries quickly via e-mail.No, one wastes days, even weeks, and is forced to call the helpdesks again, because the personal banker cannot be found.Complaints to senior management yield no results, as the buck gets passed.Switching banks will simply expose you to a whole new nightmare, as one hears about similar stories from their customers.ATMs seem to be out of order perpetually, especially in the mornings when one urgently needs cash.When one faces a broken ATM later in the day, one has the wonderful option of lining up in an endless queue that has to pass through one manned teller.So why are we paying such high service fees, if there is no service? And I could list many more examples.Let’s not even mention Nampost.In short, are Namibian businesses getting away with murder? Flourishing with a ‘minimum effort, maximum gain’ modus operandi? If that is the case, it is only because we the consumers are letting them get away with it.Unfortunately the Consumer News is writing absolutely nothing about it.Will the newspaper that “tells it like it is” say something? Is it time for a Service Watchdog? Disgruntled Customer Via e-mail Note: Real name and address provided – EdIf Namibia’s future is on everybody’s mind when we talk about corruption etc, how come so little is being said about our utterly lacking service industry? After all we are and will be largely dependent on it soon.After a long visit to SA I have noticed again how poor service in Namibia is.Not once did I receive bad service in any bank or other service orientated organisation in SA.It was only when I returned home that I was reminded of how poorly local firms attend to their customers.From restaurants to banks to insurance companies to post offices to even the cinema, a customer is being taken for granted.Many frontline staff seem to be under the impression that they are doing us a favour, forgetting that their very jobs are secured by us the customers.The service I have been receiving from Nedbank over the past two years is shocking.From the unprofessional implementation of their Globus System things have been going downhill.In a global village, this bank is not able to give you online support and answer queries quickly via e-mail.No, one wastes days, even weeks, and is forced to call the helpdesks again, because the personal banker cannot be found.Complaints to senior management yield no results, as the buck gets passed.Switching banks will simply expose you to a whole new nightmare, as one hears about similar stories from their customers.ATMs seem to be out of order perpetually, especially in the mornings when one urgently needs cash.When one faces a broken ATM later in the day, one has the wonderful option of lining up in an endless queue that has to pass through one manned teller.So why are we paying such high service fees, if there is no service? And I could list many more examples.Let’s not even mention Nampost.In short, are Namibian businesses getting away with murder? Flourishing with a ‘minimum effort, maximum gain’ modus operandi? If that is the case, it is only because we the consumers are letting them get away with it.Unfortunately the Consumer News is writing absolutely nothing about it.Will the newspaper that “tells it like it is” say something? Is it time for a Service Watchdog? Disgruntled Customer Via e-mail Note: Real name and address provided – Ed