Customer Service in Jamaica is an utter disgrace. Today, I went to a Department Store in Half-Way Tree. On entering the store, I saw a female employee lazily gazing into the universe on her working time. I approached her and said, “Excuse, is this where I leave my bags?” To my surprise, she took her own time and turned around, looked at me with disgust in her eyes with her facial expression screaming, “Don’t disturb me”, and mumbled, “mhmm.”
I was marveled at her behavior and attitude toward me, and I made a remark to my mother, “She’s behaving as though I’m begging her to work.” The said female employee made a chirping sound from her mouth. Yes, she kissed her teeth at me. That was what caused me to get upset, and tweeted something outrageous; I likened her to her canine derivation, who works for minimum wage. Although, I’m wrong and have no right whatsoever to be calling her or anyone else a ‘minimum waged bitch’, she was disrespectful towards me. In cases like these, where disrespect is spewed at me, I react equally with disrespect also.
I, however, was reprimanded by friends for that crude tweet (and yes, on Twitter there are norms or unwritten guidelines on how to behave; since your tweets can convey your behavior apparently). But I guess no one gets my side of the story or the reason for my ‘behavior’. Mind you, this is not my first encounter with repulsive Customer Service in Jamaica or from Jamaicans. I had a similar encounter in New York at JFK International Airport with the ill-mannered Air Jamaica/ Caribbean Airlines employees. Trust me, I have a book load of stories I could write about. I am yet to see impeccable Customer Service in this God forsaken country.
What I have noticed though, is that 90% of these employees have no training in Customer Service Management, unless Customer Service is at the heart of the company, eg Digicel. Employers need to either train and educate their employees about proper Customer Service or start to make it mandatory for employers to have a Certificate in Customer Service Management (which is offered at MIND – Management Institute for National Development), because they can lose. What if I had opt to spend my money elsewhere? The money I spent today at that store is basically her week’s pay (and I’m not being cynical or anything, I’m being real).
My theory is that Minimum wage workers (no offense) display low-standard Customer Service because they are simply unhappy with their jobs, and frankly (without apology) that isn’t my business. I didn’t tell them to choose that job. If you aren’t a customer-friendly person, stay the hell away from customer related jobs then; work behind the scene.
And the sad part is that Customer Service is basic manners, it isn’t ‘A’ level material; any decorous person would know how to behave. Simple stuff like:
- Do not behave as though the CUSTOMER is bothering you/ Do not have an attitude with the CUSTOMER
- BBM or Tweet on your lunch break not when you’re suppose to be working
- Do not have random conversation between your co-workers while attending to the CUSTOMER- We do not care about your neighbor that’s cheating or the latest gossip
- DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT make rude or offensive comments at the CUSTOMER
- And remember that the CUSTOMER is always right, believe it or not
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart said, “There is only one boss…the customer! And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money elsewhere.”
Jamaica has a long way to go; Customer Service is in shambles, really.
