Last Saturday, just before the tea break during the West Indies Test against Bangladesh, I scurried to my kitchen to prepare some herbs for the bhaji rice I was planning to cook on Sunday. It had been pouring heavily, thunder and lightning dropping a menacing feel to the afternoon. Suddenly, …
Read More »Vaneisa: The waiting game—the anxious mental strain of public sector visits
Not long ago, a couple of letters to the editor appeared where the writers complained about extremely long waits at public health institutions. I had immediately thought that this is why I walk with a book whenever I have to go to any institution, public or private. But then I …
Read More »Vaneisa: Customer service woes—and the beat goes on…
After last week’s complaint about the unreasonable wait at FCB, I received two phone calls from different managers, apologising and telling me about the plans in motion to address long waits and accounts falling asleep in absurdly short times. If the plans are to materialise as expected, it should go …
Read More »Vaneisa: Treating customers like second class citizens
Last Wednesday, I received a phone call from the CEO of the credit union I complained about in the previous column. Somehow, they’d recognised themselves and the CEO apologised, saying the treatment was unprofessional and went against the whole principle of the credit union movement’s basis. We discussed poor customer …
Read More »Vaneisa: No credit to this institution—the callous nature of local business
I relate this tale because I’ve discovered it is a common one and I hope that people will be encouraged to make public their experiences with credit unions and other financial institutions. It is a story about an organisation that is founded on a premise of helping others with compassion, …
Read More »Vaneisa: Tussling with TSTT and RMS—“what an example of indifference to customers”
In my mailbox last Wednesday was yet another bill from bmobile, the brand name of the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd—the company we know as TSTT and further back as Telco. The sight of the bill aroused the same kind of disgust I felt when I’d read about …
Read More »Vaneisa: Insurance for whom? The problem with our policies
When I turned 18, I did two things that signified for me my coming of age. I opened a bank account, and I took out a life insurance policy. An agent of Colonial Life had come to our home pursuing our business. Convinced by his booming presence, and his knowledgeable, …
Read More »Vaneisa: Not going with this Flow; a misadventure in customer service
After a time, poor service wears you down—lowers your expectations to the point where you feel special when you actually succeed in completing a transaction, or most of the processes get by smoothly. This is my lucky day, you murmur happily, just because it took only one hour to pay …
Read More »Dear Editor: Minister West should focus on better service at public offices, not dress code
“[…] In many cases, there are just one or two cashiers out of a possible nine or ten to service very long lines while other employees casually mingle and make small talk in full view of the public, who are already agitated by the poor service! “The government might as …
Read More »Dear Editor: Caribbean Airlines must provide accountability and efficiency, not mere platitudes
“[…] CA never does look into these issues but seems to be quite skilled in issuing platitudinous and well-rehearsed statements which never admit culpability or offer apologies for their shortcomings. “[…] CA’s response? We will bring your concerns to the attention of management for guidance. No apology or compensation for …
Read More »Dear editor: CAL customers need independent body to investigate service complaints
“If Caribbean Airlines truly wishes to pride itself on the service it offers, what can be the objection to ensuring transparency and accountability in its operations, so that there is a proper avenue afforded to a dissatisfied passenger to speak to an appropriate representative and have access to any prepared …
Read More »‘Caribbean people […] think they can say what they want to you’! Day in the life of a flight attendant
“[…] Caribbean people tend to be so ‘familiar’; they seem to think that they can say what they want to you, however they want. Also, I’ve noticed while travelling with other carriers that passengers aren’t as demanding and difficult to the North American or foreign crew members. “Something that I …
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