COVER STORY Is the customer
being served?
There is near unanimity that customer service standards in Oman
need drastic improvement. While the Public Authority for Consumer
Protection has stepped in to address grievances, major issues still persist.
Oommen John P reports
36
June 2015
C
ustomer expectations are
certainly rising in the
Sultanate and that is a good
thing – it drives the market
to innovate and improve.
But does Oman have a strong customer
service culture or are there gaps that
need to be addressed? Has the entry
of new brands across automotive,
retail, banking, food, travel and
hospitality sectors raised the stakes
for local brands and businesses?
How often has it been that you have
left a showroom impressed with the
service of the staff, come back home
and wondered, why on earth you
made a purchase? Such instances
are few and rare. From experiencing
poor customer service to the quality of
service, consumers are unanimous in
their view that the service standards
in the Sultanate need to improve by
a notch or two. Jose Chacko, general
manager and CEO, Al Osool Al
Arabia says, “I feel customer service
standards in Oman need a lot of
improvement. In many sectors, it is
not up to expectations. It’s basically
the attitude of people involved rather
than the company or department. ”
Education and training is necessary for
people in customer service. After the
introduction of consumer protection
initiative, things are improving, but
it is still a long way to go, he adds.
Tonny George Alexander, CEO, Oman
UAE Exchange, corroborates saying,
“Customer service has to improve
a lot in Oman with more focus on
service. In many cases, it boils down
to the person who is attending to
you – some of them are exceptionally
good and others are not. Irrespective
of the person, organisations should
set standards and monitor them
frequently to maintain these levels.
This can be achieved through constant
training of the frontline staff and
upgrading the standards. Customers
should have a contact point to report
on service related concerns which
Evolution of the most important consumer rights in recent years
Law of 2002
Law of 2014
The right to obtain correct information about
goods and services
(Maintained the same right)
The right to secure health and safety of a
consumer on purchase of any product or service
(Maintained the same right)
The right to receive compensation for any
damage which a consumer may sustain due to
purchase or use of any product or service
(Maintained the same right)
The right to freely choose a good or a service
(Maintained the same right)
The right to get warranty for the products
purchased
(Maintained the same right)
The right to replace an item or return the same
or retrieve the price within 10 days if it is
defective
This period has been extended to 15 days
(Not included in the Law)
The entitlement of moral right of respect
to religious values, customs and traditions
when the consumer is provided by any
commodity or receives any service
(Not included in the Law)
The right to represent consumer’s interests
when preparing the consumer protection
policies
(Not included in the Law)
The right to be protected from misleading
advertisements
Source: PACP
are to be prominently displayed at
customer reception areas. Customers
also have a role to play by demanding
superior service and should not
compromise on whatever they get. So
a paradigm shift should happen.”
Suliman Al Azri, commercial
consultant, Middle East, ATKINS OMAN,
who bought a top-end car recently
says, “Customer service in Oman needs
to improve drastically. Companies need
to communicate with the customer
to ensure loyalty to the brand. Mere
selling of a car to a customer should
not be end of it; companies should
have adequate after-sales support.”
Quality Matters
Customer service is as much an
art as it is a skill. Long-term client
satisfaction is often sacrificed in favour
of other business goals like sales
targets and profit margins. This can
be seen in every industry and across
every segment from healthcare to
hospitality, banking, retail, automobile,
whether large-scale or small. Says
Baby Sam Samuel, general manager,
Intertech, “In the digital age where
it takes just a click to vent out one’s
dissatisfaction over a product or
service, poor business service can leave
a permanent online mark. Innovation
and excellence in business is the need
of the hour, not only as parameters
of service quality but as benchmarks
of this nation’s progress. While social
media, reputation management and
customer relationship management
(CRM) do have a role to play in the way
businesses interact with and manage
COVER STORY of training and general apathy is
something that needs to be explored.”
However, in the recent past, some
international brands have made it
mandatory to get a feedback form
filled by customers. This has led to
marginal improvement and hopefully
more is on the way. She adds, “On the
other hand, there have been incidents
where I have been pleasantly surprised
by the enthusiasm and knowledge of
the sales person; but those are still
rare. With more avenues opening up
and still more on the anvil, hopefully
we will witness a reverse scenario.”
Multiple safeguards
Omar Faisal Al-Jahadmi, Deputy Chairman for Consumer
Services and Market Monitoring, PACP
their patrons, ultimately customer
service works best when it is an
attitude rather than a department.”
Has quality of service suffered?
Answering this question, P Pranadeesh,
manager, purchasing- logistics and
spares at Technique, narrates a
persoanl expereince, “We bought an
external hard drive from a reputed
electronic store in Oman, which had
a one-year warranty. All the vital
data was stored on the hard drive,
so that we could retrieve it any time.
But after a few months, the external
hard drive crashed and stopped
working. We approached the store
and handed over the hard drive to
carry out the necessary repairs. After
two weeks, when we approached the
store, they informed that they cannot
repair or retrieve the data stored in
it. Three weeks later, they replaced
the external hard drive but without
any data. At the end of the day, it’s
the customer, who has to suffer
38
June 2015
for buying a branded product,”
However, over a period of time,
customer service is showing signs of
improvement in Oman. Now customers
are aware of their rights, when they
buy products. Most of the reputed
companies have a separate division to
take care of customer complaints. Since
the Public Authority for Consumer
Protection (PACP) has been set up,
companies have become alert.
“Customer service comes into
prominence when there is competition.
While some staff would be friendly,
they are not really equipped with
answers that you may pose,” says
Kavita Pandit, PR and communications
director, Creative Communications
Advertising and Marketing. “Questions
related to when the stocks will be
replenished or the USP of the product
are either met with a shrug or a
generic ‘soon’. Whether this is due
to high turnover of employees, lack
Since the PACP has been set up, there
has been a number of complaints
registered about electronic goods,
commodities, food items and faults in
automobiles due to fake spare parts.
The laws introduced by the government
has enabled to bring awareness about
the rights of the customer on the one
hand and on the other hand, ensured
that the service provider deals with
the customer in a fair manner. One
of the significant achievements of
this authority is the speedy disposal
of complaints and the swift action in
passing strictures against the erring
parties. More often, the service
providers have borne the brunt of stern
directives whenever consumer rights
were violated or not reckoned properly.
Says Omar Faisal Al-Jahadmi, deputy
chairman for consumer services and
market monitoring, PACP, “A majority
of complaints that PACP receives
are related to price hike, difference
between the shelf price and the price
at the cash counter, expiry of certain
goods and after sale services such as
vehicles, mobile phones, electronic
and mechanical equipments. We
seek to resolve this issue at PACP
premises itself but if it does not, the
case is referred to public prosecution
for legal action against the violator.”
(See the full interview on page 44)
According to PACP annual report for
the year 2013, the total number of
complaints, reports and registered
violations in all directorates of
PACP reached 37408 during 2013.
Companies were reined in for their
non-conformance with consumer
protection laws and regulations.
Said Al Shahry, managing partner,
Said Al Shahry and Partners (SASLO),
a law firm providing legal services to
the local and international business
community in Oman since 1992
says, “With the issuance of the new
consumer protection law vide Royal
Decree No. 66/2014, the consumer
protection –oriented legislation
and policy entered into a new
phase which is characterised by
the development of more stringent
protective measures, granting
additional rights to the consumer,
increasing obligations of the suppliers
and expanding the powers of PACP.”
The Competition Protection and
Monopoly Prevention Law (Royal
Decree No. 67/2014), has realistic
direct implications on consumer
rights. The important development
in the protection of consumer
rights also lies in the administrative
sanctions which have fallen under the
prerogatives of PACP in addition to
the most stringent criminal penalties
for violating the provisions of the new
law. Developments in the consumer
protection legislation over the recent
years, which are not only confined to
the rights, but also include other legal
aspects such as the expansion of the
concept of commodity and service
to include free services, significantly
and directly affects the quality, he
avers. Additionally, it has directly
affected the practices of suppliers
and dealers due to the strict deterrent
measures introduced by the law.
While the regulatory body has ensured
that customers’ rights are protected, a
number of companies have improved
customer service standards on
their own. Says Greg Young, CEO of
Said Al Shahry, Managing Partner, SASLO
Ooredoo Oman, “Customer Experience
Management (CEM) is central to
the working culture of Ooredoo.
We believe that while people may
come to us for our market leading
and competitively priced products
and services, they also come and
remain loyal to us, because we offer
an unparalleled customer experience
that cannot be found elsewhere.”
For Ooredoo, customers are not
simply a business prospect, they
are a part of the growing Ooredoo
family. Consequently, CEM comprises
a priority for the company as the
medium of our customer engagement.
“We extend our engagement beyond
the normal channels to truly
understand how our customers feel,
and more importantly why they
feel the way they do. Our focus is
on getting to the very root of what
it is that our customers want. We
have adopted best practices from
our globally aligned network, and
introduced a customer experience
transformation programme,
complemented by an improved
customer service platform. We set a
new benchmark last year as the first in
the region to implement ResponseTek’s
CEM software into our customer
service infrastructure,” he says.
The mode of mass feedback through
world-class software gave Ooredoo
invaluable insights into market
trends, and in real time, allowing it
to measure its level of consistency
in service, and the evaluation of
product impact in order to enrich
the customer experience, a key
enabler of understanding
COVER STORY the needs and desires of customers.
Banks too have taken earnest steps
to improve customer service. “Bank
Muscat is at the forefront of customer
service excellence and strives to
continually deliver high quality service.
The bank deems service excellence,
aligning customer expectations of both
product and service as a vital means
of achieving and surpassing customer
satisfaction. All Bank Muscat products
and services have evolved over the
years in line with specific customer
requirements, fulfilling their financial
dreams and aspirations,” says Said Al
Badai, DGM – branches, Bank Muscat.
Bank Muscat has adopted a new line of
customer care programme to ensure
that the banking partner in Oman is
always available to listen and more
importantly respond to customer
suggestions and needs in a more
proactive way, rather than respond
only to service-related
incidents. Bank Muscat
helps customers
understand its systems
in order to facilitate
smooth transactions.
This is done by
constant follow-up
and regular feedback
on how services can
be improved. The
bank recognises that
the essence of good
customer service is
forming a relationship
that individual
customers are happy to
pursue. The bank has a
feedback management
system (FMS) for
customers to register
complaints, feedback
or compliments on the
bank’s products and
services. The FMS is
Said Al Badai, DGM – Branches, Bank Muscat
linked to the bank’s website, branches
and call centre wherein customers can
get in touch with the customer service
department. Focus group meetings
involving customers and branch
staff are organised by the customer
service department in all regions to
obtain feedback and suggestions from
customers for improving services.
To benchmark customer service,
Bank Muscat has appointed a Cyprusbased consultancy firm to do ‘mystery
shopper’ exercise. As part of this,
mystery shoppers visit all Bank
Muscat branches at least three times
in a quarter and also competitor
banks. Without the knowledge of
customer care employees, mystery
shoppers evaluate the customer care
processes followed in the bank and
staff response to customers. Aimed
at encouraging service excellence,
the top three branches are awarded
every quarter, says Badai.
Greg Young, CEO, Ooredoo
40
June 2015
David Swain, general manager –
passenger cars, automotive - Zawawi
Trading Company, the authorised
general distributor of Mercedes-Benz
in the Sultanate says, “Customers who
buy a Mercedes-Benz expect MercedesBenz Class service throughout
their relationship with us – that is
something we feel strongly about
and is at the heart of everything
we do. Our exceptional service is
central to the Mercedes-Benz 2020
Vision of Best Customer Service - a
rigorous philosophy of excellence in
customer care that is part of our DNA.
Our vision of best customer service
applies throughout our brand – from
passenger cars and trucks to buses, the
showroom and product innovation to
finance options and communication.
We want to be competitive for the long
term and prioritising the customer is
key to this. While we have achieved a
great deal as far as customer service
is concerned, we are aiming for more.
We are determined to react even more
effectively, quickly, and flexibly to
the evolving needs of our customers
– at all points of contact and across
all channels, from the showroom
and service center to online.”
Connecting with customers is the
new mantra for some companies.
Says Rajive Ahuja, head, corporate
communications, Khimji Ramdas,
“With a clear focus on enhancing
customer care, KR Group took a major
step towards connecting better with
its customers. Improving customer
experience has always been at the
heart of all the services we offer. The
group started its Call Centre operations
In June 2010. Five years on, the Tollfree helpline number today serves
the people of Oman with accurate
information on KR, its brands, its
products and services, its personnel
and promotions. Professionally adept
customer care officers are trained
to appraise customers with the
latest at KR, helping them get what
they need in that first contact.”
Engaging the customers is Jawad Sultan
Group’s forte. P Chandrasekr, group
David Swain, General Manager – Passenger Cars, Automotive - Zawawi Trading Company
general manager of the company says,
“Our group has been in the forefront of
customer service with stellar presence
in retailing of luxury brands, mass
entertainment and lately in food
services. In all these businesses, we
engage with the customers directly
and hence, are able to decipher their
needs and expectations. Mechanisms
are already in place to redress any
complaint and address emerging ones.
Towards this end, we have introduced
a constant customer engagement
initiative so that we are no longer
caught in the cobweb of a pure
transactional relationship alone.”
Consumer Rights
Have the consumer protection laws
of Public Authority for Consumer
Protection helped in improving
customer service? “Buying a vehicle is
a big financial commitment and one of
the biggest purchases anyone will ever
make, and while customers do their
research and carefully consider their
options, an extra level of protection
is unquestionably welcome. As a
time-honoured and trusted brand, for
Mercedes-Benz it is business as usual.
“We have long conformed to the most
stringent international standards –
our pursuit of excellence in customer
service and our customer-centric
philosophy is on-going,” says Swain.
Chandrasekr adds, “As the laws
have been promulgated by way
of Royal Decree only in 2011, it is
quite early to judge the efficacy
of the consumer protection laws
that are in place and its regulatory
effectiveness. However, there is
complete unanimity with regard to its
COVER STORY investment in social media, we keep
in-touch with our customers’ thoughts
and feelings and identify trends.”
Says Badai, “Social media has provided
another channel to communicate with
customers, receive customer suggestions
and feedback which eventually leads to
better customer engagement. The active
presence on social media channels has
made Bank Muscat more approachable,
personal, accountable and more closely
engaged with the community. Social
media has provided an engagement
channel for the bank to interact with
customers, receive their feedback and
suggestions and provide information
about the bank. In short, the reputation
of the bank has been further enhanced
with its accessibility on social media.”
P Chandrasekr, Group General Manager, Jawad Sultan Group
continued existence and successful
performance. Adoption of a more
balanced approach while addressing
customer grievances, will go a long
way and this according to me will
usher in a more cooperative climate.”
Social media usage
Companies are increasing turning to
the social media to improve customer
service. Says Young, “A common and
widely known paradigm in customer
service suggests that a customer will
share a positive brand experience
with one person on average, whereas
a negative experience will likely be
communicated to around 10 people, if
not more. In today’s globalised world
this no longer applies, especially
given the presence and reach of
social media platforms, blogs and
apps in everyday life; customers
now share their experiences with an
42
June 2015
extraordinary number of people from
around the world instantaneously.”
Social media is a valuable means of
direct contact with our customers and
we continually look to advance our
existing lines of communication in
this regard, so that our customers can
connect with us at their convenience,
using mediums that they are familiar
with and prefer to use. He adds, “One
good example of our passion towards
enhancing our relationship with
customers is Ooredoo’s social media
platforms, which have collectively
enabled us to deliver our vibrant and
impactful brand to new and existing
customers. On Twitter, we now have
over 170,000 followers, and across our
Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
accounts, Ooredoo now ranks amongst
the top five social media brands in
the Sultanate. Thanks largely to our
The bank’s social media centre and
customer service department monitor
every customer post on all channels
and responds to queries when
required. This has helped in creating
a fine net through which no customer
post will be lost, ignored or forgotten.
The social media customer engagement
service has helped Bank Muscat to
reinforce its leadership position in the
banking sector. Presently, Bank Muscat
is active across all the big five social
media channels in Oman (Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+),
and it is the only bank to actively
use Snapchat to highlight the bank’s
special events and activities, he adds.
“Best Customer Experience is
everything to Mercedes-Benz - and this
absolutely includes social media. For
us, it is opportunity to connect with
our customers and fans as it’s a chance
for them to experience our brand - and
we do everything we possibly can to
make sure our interactions reflect our
culture of optimum customer care,”
says Swain. Social media isn’t just
about posting pictures and showcasing
offers – it is an ecosystem that offers
an incredible chance to engage and
build direct relationships with current
and future Mercedes-Benz drivers,
to share with them, listen to them,
respond to them and learn from them.
Mercedes-Benz takes pride in being
an innovator and having embraced
social media early on. In fact, globally,
Mercedes-Benz is the most popular and
successful automobile brand on social
media - not just in terms of size but
also growth and engagement metrics.
For example, the brand receives over
two million likes, shares and comments
every month on its international
Facebook page. In Oman, we have been
growing our fan and followers base
in line with our corporate identity,
working towards becoming one of
the most popular social media brands
in the Sultanate as well. Undeniably,
social media has been key for us in
reaching out to the younger market
- the digital natives to whom online
experiences are as important as
in-person experiences – and this is
strongly reflected in our increasing
volume of sales in this segment, he says.
“Being a socially responsible
multinational business house in
Oman, the idea of reaching out to the
community at large and listening to
customers is imperative to our business
goals. Our endeavour to connect
with customers in the Sultanate and
people outside Oman took shape in
2007, with the setting up of KR Bright
Sparks – Khimji Blog, a first of its kind
social media initiative in the GCC
region. Khimji Blog became the first
corporate blog in Oman to connect the
external world with KR. We constantly
engage with our blog patrons to
resolve their queries, generating leads
for KR divisions and also connecting
people with each other,” Rajive says.
Social media has a far reaching
impact, says Chandrasekr. Extensive
and smart usage of the social media
throws better insight into customer
behaviour, enables better quality new
hires, improved office productivity with
internal networks thus, it will bring
about a ROI that can be measurable.
Rajive Ahuja, Head, Corporate Communications, Khimji Ramdas
Has the region achieved all that?
It’s too early to say since, in recent
times, this has emerged as one of the
most dynamic medium. As a group,
we are quite satisfied in using social
media for marketing and analysing
customer behavioral pattern and
thereafter devising suitable strategies
for better deliverables for greater
customer acceptance. In Oman, we have
introduced a robust loyalty programme
in our cinema operations and are
constantly measuring its effectiveness
and delivery. In Capital Store, we are
analysing the introduction of extensive
customer engagement. More such
measures are planned in our Hospitality
segment too. Social media is here to stay
and in fact, the rules of engagement is
completely rewritten in today’s times.
A robust and comprehensive legal
framework for consumers has un-
doubtedly helped improve customer
service and also increased consumer
confidence and made the market more
buoyant. Organisations in Oman have
been facing a vigilant customer, who is
not only well informed but also quite
aware of the rights. HE Eng Ali bin
Masoud bin Ali al Sunaidy, Minister
of Commerce and Industry put it in
the right perspective at the customer service celebrations in Oman,
where he said, “Customer service
will play an integral role in developing Oman’s economy.” Roy Hollister
Williams, the best-selling author and
marketing consultant known for
his Wizard of Oz Trilogy says thus:
“The first step in exceeding customer
expectations is to know those expectations.” For every organisation,
the simple mantra is “if you do not
engage with your customers then,
you are sure to be disengaged.”
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COVER STORY – INTERVIEW The Public Authority for
Consumer Protection is
implementing laws and
regulations to protect
the rights of customers
and ensure that the
market is free of fraud
and improper business
practices, says Omar
Faisal Al-Jahadmi, its
Deputy Chairman for
Consumer Services and
Market Monitoring
in an interview with
Oommen John P
CUSTOMER
FOCUSSED
44
June 2015
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Why was the Public Authority for
Consumer Protection (PACP) set up?
The PACP was established to ensure
social justice for consumers and
protect their rights to have high quality
products that meet specifications at
reasonable and affordable prices.
The PACP also strives to ensure that
consumers are not manipulated
by arbitrary terms and conditions.
Further, PACP resolves disputes among
service providers and consumers
and deals with all types of fraud.
How has PACP helped in improving the
quality of products and services?
Since its inception, PACP has sought
to increase public awareness of
consumers by initiating a number of
awareness programmes through radio,
TV and social media platforms. A study
has been conducted to analyse the
decisions that regularise the activities
of PACP and ensure enforcement
of the Consumer Protection Law
promulgated by the Royal Decree
No 81/2002. Based on the outcome
of the study, several decisions were
made to regularise the market
practices. The new law for consumer
protection issued by the Royal
Decree No 66/2014 has a significant
effect on improving the quality of
services rendered to consumers.
The PACP has also been involved
in developing the standards and
specifications for many commodities.
This has played a significant role in
improving the quality of products
available in the Omani market.
PACP also monitors the quality of
services rendered to customers at
various retail outlets to ensure that
such services are compatible with
the requirements of the laws and
regulations. The latest addition, which
has made all the sale invoices in Arabic
language, is one of the main tools
that informs customers regarding the
services rendered. Field inspectors
and law enforcement officers too
play an important role in identifying
violations in the Omani market.
We will not remain silent
if someone is trying
to dump the market
with inferior products
or manipulate prices or
cheat customers
How has PACP addressed consumers’
concerns and complaints?
PACP has established a dedicated
unit for receiving complaints from
customers through a call centre that is
operating 24/7. The staff will receive
complaints and will forward them to
the respective officer to take necessary
action. PACP has also established units
and departments that investigates
customers’ complaints and takes the
required action to address them.
What are the types of complaints
received by PACP from customers?
How many cases has PACP handled
since inception?
Major complaints that PACP receives
are related to price hike, difference
between the shelf price and the price
at the cash counter, expiry of certain
goods and after sale services such as
vehicles, mobile phones, electronic
and mechanical equipments as well.
In the initial stage, we seek to resolve
this issue at PACP premises itself but
if it does not get sorted out, the case
is referred to public prosecution for
legal action against the violator.
What legal action does the PACP take
against traders indulging in unfair
practices?
We first conduct a meeting at our
premises during which we explain
the rights and obligations of each
party. If the service provider is unable
to sort out the issue, we will refer
the case to the Public Prosecution.
Does PACP have the power to detain
traders/owners of establishments and
seize products which are of inferior
quality?
We maintain cooperation with
the various judicial authorities to
ensure protection of the rights of
the public and consumers as well.
As per the provisions of the Consumer
Protection Law, PACP has the right to
arrest the violator if the investigation
procedure requires so. In such case,
the officer should listen to the defence
of the arrested person immediately.
If the accused person fails to justify
the charges against him, he will be
referred to the competent investigation
authorities within 15 days of the crime
and within 48 hours for other crimes.
This period may be renewed only
for 48 hours only subject to approval
of the Public Prosecution. This also
applies to fake or spoiled goods. The
violating products shall be seized and
the violating traders referred to the
Court for an appropriate decision.
Owners of certain SMEs feel that
frequent PACP inspections are
impacting their businesses. Your
comment?
The PACP is implementing laws and
regulations and therefore if the
trader is compliant with the laws and
regulations he will not be affected.
But if he is not compliant, he will be
affected party because we seek to
protect the rights of customers and
ensure that the market is free of fraud
and improper business practices.
We will not remain silent if someone
is trying to dump the market with
inferior products or manipulate prices
or cheat customers. In other words,
everyone should comply with the
laws and regulations, otherwise he/
she will be subject to the penalties and
punishments specified by the law.
Follow @pacp_oman
Complaint Redressal
PACP Hotline: 80079009/80077997