The Other Side of Customer Service

Have you ever walked into an office in a government institution and got treated like sh***t?

In privately owned businesses, employee performance is strictly taken into consideration. Good employees are commended and promoted while bad ones are demoted or even expelled. Employees are therefore very cautious and treat customers with maximum care. When you, a customer, walk into an office in a privately owned contact the customer service by phone or email, you feel at home. You feel very important and cared for. You feel someone wants you happy and they not only answer your questions but also encourage you to ask more. This may not be exactly the case with very large private companies but at least it is always far better than the case below.

Unlike the case of private companies, there is too much negligence in government institutions. Nobody actually cares about the public they serve. They strongly believe the institution is “No man’s business”. So, whether the institution is progressing or regressing, they still get their pay. In some institutions, even the boss does not have enough rights to tell an employee what to do. The best a boss could do is to write and forward a complaint for the worker to be transferred to another branch.

Waiting for a disorganised and endless queue without anyone offering you a seat or even asking why you are there is close to normal. At times, after waiting for such a queue and finally getting your turn, no one is there to carefully look into your case. A half angry and frowning attendant may just give you a common answer that applies to many questions, ask you to come by some other day and then shout “Next” as a way of telling you “Hey dude, I am done with you. Satisfying you is not my concern and I rally don’t care how you feel about me or the institution”. In such an atmosphere, you normally will not want to persist and instant on getting help because you may instead get rebuked and even insulted.

I can’t lay all the blame on the people behind the counters. Many customers usually call for maltreatment. They base their thoughts on the slogan “customer is king” and misinterpret it to mean “the attendant is therefore slave”. It is not a general rule that attendants of private businesses ate more helpful and politer than those government institutions. At times it has something to do with individuals and their mentality.

Don’t let the blame fall on you. Approach them in a civilised manner and watch whether or not you get reciprocated before you draw a conclusion.