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Efficiency of services sector KARACHI: Certainly an unusual story! Reflecting the tiny attitudinal change that is taking place in the world of our consumers and their needed protection. This is what Dawn reported on June 7. “Mobilink fined Rs60 million for poor service... customers to get compensation.” Encouraging. It is truly so unconventional to hear that an organization here can get fined for poor service and that the interests of the customers are upheld like this. Not just banners and slogans, but actual solid action. Justice? Now visualize this context also. A Mobilink customer in town looked content as he grinned naughtily at the details that the story carried. He said that it was high time that such action was taken and consumers’ causes were protected. Consumer interest: that is the point he stressed as our dialogue proceeded on a Saturday afternoon, in the heat of June, with power failures having made our lives uncertain, miserable. I am not yet hinting at other places where the poor citizen is suffering, and where compensation is due. We agreed that the Pakistani consumer has been overlooked, taken for granted for too long. One hears this comment more so at a time like the budget season where the standard reaction from a cross section is that the budget never takes into consideration the aspirations of the people. What are those real aspirations are always misunderstood. But what a concerned citizen asked me was why was this kind of action taken so promptly in the case of a cell phone company, when there were so many other areas of interest where this action was long due. I asked him what was he referring to, and he cited the example of the Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) where there is much that is calling for attention, as a result of which subscribers are suffering. A simple case is that of monthly bills that are still received late by hundreds and hundreds of subscribers, who have to go to various complaint centres to get their duplicate bills, which never have the details that are required vis-a-vis the calls made for the billing period. One particular customer said that he had not received his monthly phone bill (PTCL) for the last six months or so, and he had to go all the way to the Awami Markaz complaint centre to get a duplicate bill to avoid paying the penalty. Look at the transport cost that I have incurred, he argued. The story of undelivered PTCL phone bills is not so simple as it appears and one hears the most disturbing reasons for this happening. That the ‘nefarious’ ways of the staff in the PTCL have not really changed, and there are vested interests that are working behind these phone bills being delivered late, or not at all, and compelling subscribers to go out to the complaint centres for duplicates. Last month the ‘system’ (whatever that really means) was ‘down’ at the Awami Markaz and people were being redirected to the Telephone Office (Accounts) near the Old Plaza Cinema. So what has changed? There is a complaint number (Islamabad hotline) which most people don’t really know, and the PTCL doesn’t advertise it as it should. Clever. Some customers who have tried that number responded with the reply that eventually it doesn’t work here too. One PTCL subscriber wonders whether these delayed or undelivered bills are really the tip of the iceberg, that symbolize the ‘rot within’ the PTCL, which consequently is one of the reasons why PTCL privatization plans are not moving forward. They have not been able to give us dependable phone directories, not to each subscriber. The story of unavailable phone directories in Karachi is a very intriguing one, and it seems that even subscribers have come to just about overlook the very concept of a phone directory. And ‘17’ or complaint numbers? Not much cheer yet, so resign to low standards. But let us return to the Mobilink story whereby customers are to get compensation of something like Rs50 or Rs60 each according to various news reports. Of course this is no real compensation to those who have suffered for more than what money can indicate or compensate. The worst-hit, some Mobilink customers say, are those who bought prepaid cards and found that they are having regular connectivity problems, and/or were having lines dropped during a call. And while the call discontinued, the cards kept on getting consumed. This problem, and others for those who had post-paid connections were so serious, recurring and annoying that the best of cell phone set holders realized that Mobilink had become ‘Maybe link’. In fact, that was the term used and even now one hears it during casual conversations. This action against Mobilink has been taken by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) which has asked the leading cellular company “to ensure that over a three month period commencing from the date of this enforcement order and ending with September 6, it will within seven days after September 6 conduct a nationwide technical survey jointly with the PTA to determine all aspects of quality of service provided by the Licensee”. And it is further underlined that the Mobilink is required to submit within three days of such surveys the results to the authority in unedited, original, electronic and print versions.” Good. There is not the slightest doubt that details of this story, which reflect the firm decisions taken by the PTA to protect consumer interest have been well received. But they also point to the fact that other cell phone companies like the Ufone, Instaphone, and Paktel have been given show cause notices, for ‘unsatisfactory service’ asking them to satisfy the PTA within 30 days.” This is truly good healthy encouraging resolve. But this needs to be spread out to other fields as well, where consumers are unheard of and so neglected. There are scores of places where citizens do not get their money’s worth, or time’s worth and where there is need for a redressal or compensation. Take the case of the Nadra which lost CNIC applications; look at the way the Pakistan Railways functions, or the inconvenience PIA’s flights can cause, or the KESC and Wapda’s power systems can fail to deliver, or the slow-paced post office, or the other public utilities or take the case of food adulteration. And if one looks at the whole thing in a deeper perspective, that is what so many of our private and public sector organizations have done with the citizen for almost five decades now. This is a good start on a long road, that lies ahead. The road is bumpy and ill-maintained. And there is another place where the consumer has been cheated. Bad Roads! Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
