AS many of you have probably noticed, customer service or guest relations is one of the things that has suffered during this pandemic.
I can’t count the many times I have been so infuriated by the lack of a proper response or accountability from people or companies selling goods and services. Often, it is the more established companies that have failed in this regard, while new and first-time entrepreneurs, I’ve observed, are the ones who have shown the initiative to reach out, explain and revert with appropriate responses to any questions, comments, or complaints. (Sure, they are nor perfect. But since the pandemic, I’ve really not had any discouraging encounters with these newbies, or online sellers.)
The more established companies or entrepreneurs, however, who can afford to hire marketing people, publicists and public relations strategists, need to re-learn basic GMRC (good manners and right conduct).
Consider this popular chef (PC), for instance, whose products and creations were much-written about by several media colleagues last year. Before Christmas, I was looking for a good purveyor for chicken galantina as I was no longer enamored with my usual supplier. Since the latter’s management had been taken over by another company, I found the taste of my supplier’s galantina had become unfortunately sub-par.
PC boasted to me that galantina was one of his “signature dishes,” and of course I jumped at the chance to order one. I even asked if he was subscribed to an online payment system so I could pay him immediately.
But he graciously said that I could pay him when I had already received the product. I actually even volunteered to pick up the dish at his restaurant, but he asked for my contact details and said he would just deliver the dish.
Understand that this was a week before Christmas Day, and I thanked my lucky stars PC even accepted my order. The day before our agreed-on delivery date, I reconfirmed my order; he, however, didn’t respond. Maybe he was just busy, I thought. The delivery day came and went—nada. The popular chef flaked out on me. To this day, I have not even heard a word of apology, or excuse why he wasn’t able to deliver the goods, literally. Very unprofessional.
And yet PC has the gall to invite me to “like” the Facebook page of his restaurant. As they used to say in my youth: “Nek-nek mo.”
As I write this column, I am also fuming because this Internet provider I had switched to late last year—let’s call the provider ICT—has just slapped me with a statement of account (SOA) of over P9,000.
Reader, I may not earn a humongous salary from my writing, but I certainly know how to pay the dues I owe. I am very conscious of the SOAs and billing statements from my credit-card companies, utility firms, and other services to which I subscribe.
I have been subscribed to ICT’s app since last year, so I would know how much I should pay for every month since I started receiving their service in August. Again, nada. I never received any billing since my initial downpayment of P1,500. In fact, as the app even shows, I had no billing history at all, because they never sent me SOAs.
This is not a newbie tech company, nor its owner a first-time entrepreneur. So it just sucks to have this kind of customer service from someone who should know better. It’s bad enough that the company’s Internet service is erratic and sometimes slow—I have taken to switching their box off and on when this happens—and then to receive a billing statement of this magnitude! Tinalo pa ang Meralco bill ko!
Another company with extremely poor customer service is this transport/courier/food delivery service I call ROD. Two years ago, it increased its food delivery fee, as if it thought we wouldn’t notice. Then last year, when there was no traffic in the Metro as everyone had been quarantined at home, the company started grouping food orders.
So instead of getting my food order in 15 minutes, because my residence is quite near the restaurants I usually order from, the waiting period has doubled because, well, someone else ordered food at the same time I did. Not only that, the restaurant these other people ordered from is in the same vicinity as the restaurant I also ordered from.
Thus, by the time I get my food, I have to reheat it because it’s gotten cold. Imagine that happening when you order a pizza. Yuck!
ROD says they group food deliveries to maximize the time and service of their riders. But what about my time, not to mention my hungry tummy? And it’s not like there has been traffic jams between my home and the restaurants I order from.
By the way, this same transport/courier/food delivery service has also the temerity to impose higher surcharges on rides, despite the lower demand for its service. They say that surcharges are higher because of the traffic and increased demand, but in the many conversations I’ve had with their drivers, they usually say customers have been wanting. Why? Because the company only accepts online payments now, and not cash unlike pre-pandemic times. So, liar na, mukhang pera pa.
It’s annoying that amid this pandemic, we have to deal with the hypocrisy, arrogance, insufferable service, poor communication skills and inadequate customer relations of these people and companies. New Year na. Magbago na sana kayo.