Are YouHappy With Service Quality?

Utility Of Customer Help Centre or Public Grievance Redressal mechanism or Public Grievance online portal or call centre.

Though there is provision of 

“Customer Grievance Redressal Cell” or 

‘Customer Help Center’ or 

Toll free Number for help or 

Online Public Grievance Redressal portals associated with each departments and ministries, but hey are hardly of any  use to consumers in real sense   

‘ Submit Feedback’ or boards displaying the attractive quotations on customers services and on satisfaction of customers are found everywhere , in every nook and corner of all offices .Such banners or boards containing attractive slogans are invariably found in all offices of not only in LIC but also in other departments and Ministry associated with all services.

But the bitter truth is that these so called help centres in general are either ineffective or non-functional or useless. They exist only for existence, to complete the formalities required under government guidelines issued from time to time. In brief, it will not an exaggeration to say that they are in some cases cheating people of India.

Hundreds and thousands of young staff work at such call centres. Still consumer has to press from 1 to 9 time and again without any real gain. Concerned staff do not even lift the phone. They keep it busy by putting off wire or by applying some other mechanism. They inject and impose so many ads before customer can talk of officer. Even if they lift the phone their response is totally casual and ineffective.

A good number of staff are posted in all offices who are supposed to look after customer grievances and are meant for quick resolution of problems. They exist even in Public Grievance Cell under PMO or CMO or IRDAo rMember of Parliament  or MLAs. But the persons who are posted there are more often than  incompetent, inefficient, failure in other departments , unwilled  & unskilled, poor in knowledge , sometimes dishonest  too and ineffective and they enjoy their job without taking any care of customer grievance.  

Most of employees or officers who man Help centres and who are supposed to look into customer’s problems blame consumers or speak some rotten stereo type words. They advise to refer other persons or offices. or they express some lame excuses . Or else they will write a few formal line so that number of complaints attended by him rise and pending remains zero.

In most of the offices, complaints are attended a casual and formal manner , just to complete the formality of response. Unfortunately higher officers in many cases are also birds of same feather and they also sleep on issues for days and months. 

There are only a few centres where if a complaint is not resolved in specified time or repeated complaints are booked by same client, the matter escalates to higher offices for quicker resolution of the issue and their efforts results in real customer satisfaction.

Sometimes, problems are solved easily in some offices if one is ready to pay costly gifts and tips in cash or in kind. I do not need to explain it , every Indian knows it very well.

In USA, all complaints are attended  as if customers are jewel for the organisation. They twist the rule to suit the comfort of consumers. Even goods sold by a merchant can be returned in a span of 30 days and seller will not raise his eyebrows , not put any question and refund the money forthwith. 

In India there is no return policy till date. It is at the mercy of sellers. Hardly one in thousand sellers readily accept return of goods sold and refund the price without any discomfort feeling.

In India, Employees in government sector enjoy such post ( customer help ) comfortably whereas in private sectors , complaints are attended  sincerely and seriously , keeping mind in flexible position .People make complain after complain and finally leave the attachment with government services and prefer getting services from private service providers like Airtel or Reliance.

If you talk of bank , same culture persists in majority of banks and this is why people are seeking services from private banks even if their service charges are more in some cases. Bad debts are on rise in government banks but not in private banks. Public sector companies like BSNL, Indian Airlines or PSBs are incurring loss or facing capital erosion quarter after quarter whereas Bharti Airtel or Reliance Telecom or ICICI and HDFC banks are earning profit in thousands of crores of rupees under similar circumstances. 

Because Private sector promoters treat Customers as Real God whereas public sector staff treat customers as headache and wish to shine their image by attractive quotes, banners, hoardings, slogans on customer service and satisfaction.

Even if a customer writes to higher offices, to CEOs or to Prime Minister’s office or to President of India, there is none to listen customer’s problems, there is none to solve the problems faced by common men and there is none to award real justice to them who are using and who have to depend on services of government departments.

Most of higher offices act as “Forwarding Agents”. This is why ,Wherever alternatives are available, people discard government departments.

Culture of bribery and flattery is at root of such disservice . People expect change in this system when government changes. But fact is that, as long as people do not change, there is no chance of  change in the system . Habits die hard, culture do not change overnight .

Politicians at the time of election considers voters as God , but as soon as they win it , they in general start treating the same common men worse than beggars. Common men in general are facing problems from offices run by government directly or indirectly and there is none to listen their voice. 

Under UPA rule, there was no hope for change or improvement. Inactive PM MMS damaged the work culture and added fuel to fire existing in all government offices. Culture of flattery and bribery flourished for years together under the leadership of MMS.

And this is why number of court cases are rising continuously . Unfortunately position of judiciary is also not different from civil departments. Crores of cases are pending in various courts for years and decades. And the most painful is that majority of cases are filed against government offices or government controlled offices. As such there is no scope of justice even from courts of laws. One will spend all money and die in contesting a court case but  will not get justice.

Last but not the least, 

It is very much painful that in our country important posts and important departments like that of inspection, audit , public grievance redressal , anti-corruption bureau and vigilance like offices are filled with either with staff of the same office or who have soft corner with the culprits or who are incompetent, corrupt and inefficient . 

And to add fuel to fire, such departments are provided minimum number of manpower and worst type of infrastructure. They have to handle more work with less staff of inferior quality and integrity.

I have great hope that some improvement will take place under Modi Sarkar. 

I would like to reproduce  here the famous quote of famous writer Muni Prem Chand   

“ Jab Raksha kHi Bhakshak Ban Jaye to Vinas  Nishit hai” It means to say that when protectors become destructors, then ruin is certain.  

IN present context, staff sitting on post  handling customers grievances and who are supposed to resolve  problems of aggrieved customers  are in the role of protectors. And if these protectors are bad in any form, then damage is unavoidable , not only to consumers but also to the organisation.

God bless all.

Example: 

A client of LIC  has deposited money in LIC for 20 to 30  years and now for getting maturity payment , same client have to depend on mercy of LIC staff who they dictate age old rules from the top of the tower. At the time of getting a business, customers are called God but at the time of return, they are considered as beggar. This culture has to be changed. 

When LIC has to get business, their highly paid agents complete all formalities and take signature of the client on dotted lines . But when the time of payment comes, agent vanishes form picture and reluctant staff will dictate so may rules, require so many forms to be filled up and complete several formalities. 

There is no one at Head Office of LIC or Zonal office to respond to public complaint and for resolving it. They sit in AC rooms and their junior staff dispose all complaints without solving them in real sense.

I put before you some quotes on customer service 

Famous Quote on Customer Service" 

Customer is God

Customer makes organisation prosper or see downfall.

Quality of Service is key to Success etc.

----Customer service is the experience we deliver to our customer. It's the promise we keep to the customer. It's how we follow through for the customer. It's how we make them feel when they do business with us.

----Customer service is an opportunity to exceed your customer's expectations.

---Customer Service is everything and anything that touches a customer – directly or indirectly. Customer service means servicing customers and it's so much more than just solving problems or addressing complaints. Customer service is part of a holistic customer experience that is capable of providing a critical competitive advantage in today's increasingly cluttered and commoditized marketplace.