So what about the customer being king? Well, it appears that sometimes we get it wrong and then we get it right, and then we drop the ball and the customer gets irritated.
In this case the 80:20 law applies in that it would take just 20% effort to sort out a problem quickly, and not the 80% of time expended later by a senior manager.
Here is the story: Our reader suggests that FAnews has a direct line to someone in authority, or perhaps it's the potential negative publicity associated with the media running a story that galvanizes people?
This reader has spent the last nine months trying to get a profile addition to his existing licence. "...At the time of submitting my application for amendment (I personally took it to Pretoria on the 8th March 2006) I was informed it would take 8 to 12 weeks to finalize.
According to him this was the beginning of the stress. There were repeated voicemail messages, non-returned telephone, no status updates, and the litany of poor customer service continues.
This particular reader maintains that he has spent in excess of R1000 on phone calls, emails, reporting them for bad service etc. just to try and get an amendment to his licence.
Our reader rightly wanted to know whether he could take his business elsewhere, based on the poor customer service he has received.
Gerry Anderson at the FSB responds
The complaint received from you on 22 November 2006 has been attended to and would have received the necessary attention had your correspondent approached us directly in an amicable way. I have been informed that the new license certificate will be posted to the client.
Editor's thoughts:
* Customer service or the lack thereof appears to be a problem in South Africa, and one of the main reasons for this is that customers generally don't complain or if they want to there is nowhere that they can go to, to complain and get a reaction.
* The underlying problem is that businesses need to understand that whether they are a grudge purchase or not - customer service is needed, and the customer has the right to expect and receive service.
* Imagine what would happen if you treated your clients in this manner?
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