4 Sep
National Customer Day
That's today. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today.
I could go shopping to see if there's a major difference to the service I usually get, but unfortunately I only plan to go to one of my local mini-marts and I've got no complaints about them. If I were a grouch, I could ask their respective managements to not employ young school leavers who continually seek help in operating the scanner thingy, but, hey, if that's the only work they can get, then good luck kids, and do remember that according to British folklore, the customer is always right.
Actually, it's the customers who usually piss me off here; they queue jump, don't have their money ready and spend ages grubbing around in their wallets, or in the middle of the cashier running items through the scanner they suddenly remember an item they've forgotten to grab off the shelves and spend five minutes away from the till tracking it down.
According to the snippet in the business section of the Post which alerted me to this important day, Indonesian companies have been acknowledged since 2003 for upholding outstanding customer service standards on National Customer Day.
I didn't start Jakartass until 2004, and I've chronicled quite a few examples of 'customer service'. For example, there's this post (9th Feb.''07), this post (18th June '07), this post*, and this post (1st April '09). (The latter was thought to be an April Fool's Day post because I actually gave some praise.)
Presumably "outstanding customer service standards" only apply on the one day a year.
The principle problem I see is that customers are not aware of their rights even though they are enshrined in Indonesia's legal framework.
First, there's Law No. 8 1999 Concerning Consumer Protection which is the principal (sic) law generally governing consumer protection in Indonesia. Among its objectives, the law aims to improve the awareness of consumers about their rights and give them legal security, information transparency and access to information. The act establishes certain consumer rights, including the right to obtain “correct, clear and honest information”, to have their complaints heard, to have their disputes settled, to obtain compensation or redress, and to be educated and treated in a nondiscriminatory way. The law prohibits unfair and deceptive acts and advertising, and also regulates the use of standard clauses in consumer agreements.
This law mandated the establishment of the National Consumer Protection Agency (NCPA) which falls under the Directorate of Consumer Protection. However, it did not commence operations until 2004.The NCPA functions include: helping the government to formulate consumer protection policy; encouraging the development of consumer protection NGOs; disseminating consumer protection information; and accepting consumer complaints.
The Consumer Dispute Settlement Board, with offices throughout Indonesia, was established to provide a forum for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes and has quasi-judicial powers of investigation and enforcement, including the ability to impose administrative sanctions. The Board also has the ability to control the inclusion of standard clauses in consumer contracts. Consumer protection NGOs and the Directorate of Consumer Protection also offer dispute settlement services.
There are over 200 consumer protection NGOs in Indonesia, and they work to improve consumer awareness of their rights and obligations, as well as accepting consumer complaints and assisting in their resolution, bringing class action suits in the courts, and helping the government and communities in implementing consumer protection.
Further details can be found here.
This has been a public service announcement.
Have a nice day y'all.
………………………………………
*How strange. Just as I was about to go online to post this, my phone rang. As I still only have a dial up connection, this stopped me in my tracks. It was Telkom trying to sell me Speedy. Read the asterisked post to see what tribulations they've caused me over the years. Apparently someone is coming to Jakartass Towers later today and if I have photocopies of ID docs in triplicate then I might have about 10kbs extra speed to add to my current 2kbs, if I'm lucky, this evening.
Whoopie.
Or, as is more likely, not.
Three days in Singapore and no personal customer problems – except those due to my own ignorance (having been here too long). Give it a try – you can get there 1.2j with Lion. Worth a refreshment – you mayoral "friend" should spend more time there…. unlike here where we have an "enter at your own risk" policy.
Re. my Telkom post script.
As expected, no-one came. I have also 'analysed' the conversation and now realise that it was an attempted scam, for two reasons.
1. They knew my name, which had apparently been given by Our Kid the day before. I'm not registered on our Telkom account.
2. They insisted on knowing my handphone number. I don't have one.
There have been reports of scammers seeking phone credits as a pre-condition for getting 'prizes' and other 'services'.