Warm beer, lousy food, bad service

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 20 August 2014)

The past week I have been fortunate to travel through some parts of Namibia as part of my job. We started in Otjiwarongo where training was taking place and I was really impressed by the level of service that was provided at hotels, lodges, restaurants and even the large retail chains. (Have you ever seen the cleanliness of Shoprite in Otjiwarongo? You must then wonder why this level of service and cleanliness does not exist in the Windhoek branch.) On Sunday I decided to travel to Swakopmund via Omaruru and Karibib. Upon entering Omaruru, I was impressed with the main street where every house and business seemed to have a fresh coat of paint. The business community of the town must be recommended for their strategic vision of making the town an oasis of artists, which has obviously increased the tourism numbers of the town.

While traveling on the roads I had to commend the Roads Authority in their efforts to upgrade and maintain our roads. Our road network throughout the country is the envy of many visitors, even those coming from some European countries.

Upon my arrival in Swakopmund I headed straight to the Municipaly bungalows where I am booked for the week. After checking in I was pleasantly surprised by the service assistant who automatically deducted 10% from the quoted price as they were busy renovating and the DSTV had not yet been installed (even though it was advertised). The bungalows were clean and one could sense the renovations were part of a regular routine to prepare for the coming December holiday season.

As I had just become a married man some two weeks ago, I had arranged for my wife to also join me in Swakopmund so we could at least spend some quality time in the evenings after work. (Yes, I am a bit of a workaholic and even go into the office while on holiday – like I did for an important meeting the day before my wedding.) Being a “difficult customer” which always expects the highest standards and gets deeply disappointed when these are not met, I was in for a surprise in this sleepy town of Swakopmund.

On Sunday evening I decided to get some seafood and thought it would be an easy thing as it was the weekend and very few customers would be around. Surprise, surprise. All the restaurants were already full by 06:15 and most of them had a waiting list of over 30 people. That’s right. There were busloads of tourists who were also not yet accommodated and they had actually booked.

As a last resort, I headed to Kuki’s Pub in the Central Business District. It was very busy with a waiting list of groups, but upon enquiry (and stating we were only two and on honeymoon ;-), the waiter arranged a small table close to the kitchen for us. Being a person of colour I was a little bit intimidated by the fact that every other person there was Caucasian and seemed to speak German. However, I did not for one minute feel that the service was secondary and had an attentive waitress who regularly checked up on us. The meal of oysters and seafood platter was probably the best I have ever had, and it had a great deal to do with the service I received. “Warm beer, lousy food bad service” is the motto of Kukis and while it is a great slogan, the slogan could not be further from the truth.

After Kuki’s – which is after all a “touristy place”, I was sure it could not get better. On Monday however I was once again surprised when I visited the Village Café in the main road for brunch. Upon entering, the waitress gave us a pleasant greeting and offered us various areas of seating. Every waitress that we passed smiled and greeted like we were old friends and even had my wife guessing that I was probably a regular that was well known. In fact just the opposite – I had not been to a Swakopmund eatery in over four years. The best part of the menu was for me being able to order a cup of coffee in a Village Mug, or “blikbeker” as we grew up calling it. The food was excellent, the freshly squeezed orange juice divine, and the service quality made me wish I could stay in this holiday town a lot longer. (The only pity is that the Village Café web page has a redirect loop and cannot be viewed on the Internet.)

As consumers we tend to only complain about the bad service, products etc. and hardly have a good word for the truly exceptional service industry which does sometimes exist in our Land of the Brave. This week I wish to thanks each and every customer service agent for the wonderful service that some provide.

As I am finishing this article I am sitting in Café Anton sharing a cheesecake and a cappuccino with Mrs Shaanika-Louw and the waiter politely asked if I need the password as they have free wifi. I must be in a little piece of service heaven.

Ignorantia Juris Non Excusat - Ignorance of the Law Excuses No One

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 13 August 2014)

Dear Consumer Court,

I was very upset today when I received an SMS message informing me that I had a debt with the City of Windhoek and that I should please make a plan to pay. They gave a reference number as well as a bank account number and requested I pay at least a minimum of N$ 100.00 as part of a payment plan. I do not know of any outstanding account with CoW so contacted the number given on the SMS. The debt collection company informed me that they have been given all the debtors of CoW and they have me with an outstanding account for ambulance services. Unfortunately they did not seem to have the date of the account but were very insistent that I should start paying at least a small amount to get the debt settled. After going through my own records, I found that I had gone to hospital over 8 years ago and this could be the only time that I could have used an ambulance of CoW. My question is, “Can the debt collection company still force me to pay as they say they will put my name on the blacklist if I do not?”

I have never received an account from CoW since the incident and had no idea that they were putting me on their blacklist. I am now also worried that CoW will not allow me to open a water and electricity account etc. until I pay the debt.

________________________________________________________

One of the readers of Consumer Court contacted me the past week complaining about a debt of over 8 years old that she was now being forced to pay. The debt collection company had informed her that she had the outstanding account for ambulance service from the City of Windhoek and if she did not pay, they would be blacklisting her name.

I contacted the debt collection company and was quite speedily assisted in getting in contact with their manager. After explaining the situation, the manager told me that the CoW had given them the debtors book, but had not provided them with the dates from which the debt originated. I immediately realised this was a tricky situation, whether on purpose or not, I do not know.

I have previously written about old debt and the fact that most debtors are not aware that a debt that is older than three years can be defined as prescribed debt.

According to the South African Prescription Act 68 of 1969 - which is also valid in Namibia, a debt is prescribed when the debtor is no longer liable for it. The “tricky” thing about this law is that the consumer must first know about this law to be able to raise the Prescription Act as a defence. A well-known quote states that “Ignorance of the law excuses no-one”.

I have previously researched this law and found very little assistance from regulatory authorities, and even less from the debt collectors that should be aware of this law. Even worse to me is that there is no debt counselling services of any note anywhere in Namibia that can assist the financially illiterate consumer.

So how does prescription work? If after three years, a consumer realises that a creditor wants to collect the debt, but they (the debtor) has not acknowledged the debt nor has a court of law summoned the debtor, the consumer can apply for prescription. (Please note that this is also valid if you have not paid any amount on the account for at least three years.)

As the consumer, you must inform the creditor (or debt collector) that the amount owed is prescribed and they are therefore not able to insist upon payment. For legal purposes, the consumer must also raise the case for prescription with the courts by sending a registered letter stating that they believe the debt has prescribed. It is very important to note that no-one can do this for you. Only the consumer can raise a case of prescription.

To put it in plain English: If you have an unpaid account that is older than three years since your last payment and the creditor has not tried to collect this debt, then your debt has become prescribed and you no longer are responsible for the account. Be aware, that the court may dismiss your case for prescription if you fail to prove that the statement was paid or that a summons was not provided.

Read that last sentence again! If you have made a payment (even after 3 years) the account becomes valid and you are liable to repay the creditor.

In our case this week, the consumer contacted me before making the payment of N$ 100 and can now insist that her debt has become prescribed and she is no longer responsible for the debt.

This week I must say shame on the City of Windhoek (and other unscrupulous debt collections) that know the debtor is no longer liable for the debt under prescription, but they trick them into making a small payment again which now keeps the debt alive.

In this case, ignorance of the consumer is blessedness for the creditors.

Good service is good business

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 6 August 2014)

Last week I was invited to address the Consumer Complaints Management Symposium held in Windhoek. The theme of the symposium was “Bridging the Gap between Industry Relations and Consumer Care” and the participants came from various industries including financial services, tourism, health care and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

What amazed me the most that was that all the participants were the designated “consumer champion” and were there to find better ways to engage with their clients as well as getting their organisations to embrace client feedback as an integral part of doing business. This was shocking to say the least. How many times do we not hear that Namibia does not have a culture of service? I myself have in fact gone on record a few times in this regard through my various writings.

Yet here were representatives from these various industries requesting me to assist them in dealing with consumer complaints in a better manner. I hope this is not the first or last of such corporate interventions and hope to see a positive result within the next few months.

So this week, I share with our corporate readers some tips on how they can deal with consumer complaints.

1.       Make sure you listen to the concerns expressed by the consumer. Most times concerns over an issue (such as shelf pricing, cleanliness of the premises, etc.) can be handled without it becoming a complaint.

2.       Make sure that you record the consumer’s name, address and contact number.

3.       Acknowledge that the consumer has a valid concern by getting further details on the issue.

4.       Do not take the complaint personally – this could result in you feeling attacked – which is not the case. A consumer has to take time out from their schedule to inform you about the issue, the least you should do is see it from their viewpoint.

5.       Allow the consumer to explain the problems without interruptions. This will show you are not trying to make excuses before they have stated their case.

6.       Ask questions to get a better understanding of the issue and its cause. In some cases the consumer will even give you a possible solution to the issue they have raised.

7.       Have an understanding of how the consumer wants the issue resolved. The resolution can be in the form of a replacement, refund, exchange or discount on the price.

8.       If the form of resolution is possible, explain the time it will take to process the complaint and what will be needed to make it happen.

9.       Explain to the consumer that your company values all feedback from its clients.

10.   Follow up with the consumer on to find it if the resolution was to their satisfaction.

The most important part about resolving a consumer complaint is that you will have turned a “bad mouthing advertiser” into a champion of your business and the satisfaction level you have instilled in the consumer.

Remember: “Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.”

Certain Dog brands can make your pet sick

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 30 July 2014)

Foodcorp (Pty) Ltd is the South African holding company for a group of businesses engaged primarily in the production, marketing and distribution of food. There are seven production units which fall within the Foodcorp (Pty) Ltd group, these are: Grocery, Milling, Baking, Pie, Fishing, Beverage and Speciality division. Foodcorp also supplies retailers in Namibia with brand name products such as Nola condiments, Ouma Rusks and Yum Yum peanut butter.

One of its subsidiaries, Foodcorp Pet Foods has recalled several batches of its dog food, following reports of it making people's pets ill. According to the company's Facebook page, (https://www.facebook.com/FoodcorpPetFoods) the brands affects are Bobtail, Dogmor and Bonzo dry dog foods with a manufacturing date from 4 June 2014 to 23 June 2014.

It must be noted that Pick ‘n Pay’s No Name Brand dry dog food, as well as Shopright's Housebrand and Ritebrand are affected in the recall.

The most common reaction is that your dog will refuse to eat the pellets, but if they do, they may show signs of nausea and even throw up the food. According to Megan Power, a Twitter reporter, the chemical responsible for making the dogs throw up is deoxynivalenol, also known as vomitoxin.

While the company has told pet owners that "Your pets are of utmost importance to us as well, that is why we are dealing with this issue in the most aggressive manner possible," according to Megan Power the company initially wouldn't  disclose the no-name brands affected in the dog food recall, citing contractual agreements.

For more information you can follow Megan Power on Twitter, check out Food Corp's Pet Foods Facebook page, phone the company on 011 411 5555 or email them on enquiries@foodcorp.co.za

(Information from Times Live, Facebook and Twitter)

Caveat emptor - "Let the buyer beware"

(First Published in New Era Newspaper - 23 July 2014)

Last week, Consumer Court received a complaint from a customer regarding a fridge she had purchased from a furniture store but it had started giving problems within a month of purchase. She found herself in a situation where the retailer disclaimed any responsibility on a product sold as “the manufacturer is responsible for defects in materials or workmanship”. The consumer (rightly) complained that she paid the retailer and not the manufacturer, but did not receive the help she hoped.

A follow-up was made with the furniture retailer as well as the manufacturer’s representative, but no reply was received by the time of this column. This week, I would like to explain what a warranty is, and when is a consumer able to find redress.

According to the dictionary, “a warranty is a guarantee given to the purchaser by a company stating that a product is reliable and free from known defects and that the seller will, without charge, repair or replace defective parts within a given time limit and under certain conditions.” In layman’s terms, a consumer expects to have a replacement of a product that is not working as expected.

However, we first have to look at the legal aspect of a warranty. Generally speaking, a warranty forms part of a contract between the buyer and the seller. In this specific case though, it is a product guarantee, meaning that the manufacturer makes the warranty to the consumer EVEN THOUGH the manufacturer and consumer have no direct contractual relationship.

And this is when the problems starts.

The furniture store (and most appliance retailers) state on their contract with the consumer that they only sell the goods and do not accept responsibility for any Defects in Materials and Workmanship. This simply promises that the manufacturer properly constructed the product, out of proper materials and further implies that the product will work as products of that type are expected to work.

Manufacturers have become very clever in their language and often provide a time limit warranty rather than a performance warranty. In other words, this manufacturer has a 2 year warranty from the date of purchase during which the consumer must prove that the fridge was defective when manufactured. If however, the fridge stops working in the 25 month after purchase (I have owned a fridge for over ten years), the consumer cannot claim on the warranty.

The problem for our complaining consumer though is that this is not helping her to get a fridge that works. The only way she could enforce the contract is if she hires a lawyer (at a very high cost) and makes a civil case against the manufacturer. Even then, the customer might still lose, or not be able to afford the lawyer after winning.

This is why there is need for a Consumer Protection Act, or at the very least, a Consumer Ombudsman that can assist consumers in having these type of problems addressed.

On the funny side, I visited the website of the manufacturer and tried to find out about their promised “for service on appliances still under the 2 year warranty” but could find no mention of it on the written pages of the website. Having a bit of IT background I was able to access the website code (which is what search engines do) and was able to find a hidden block of text claiming that customers can “Contact our After Sales Centres for service on appliances still under the 2 year warranty” and giving the times, centres and telephone numbers to contact. Just a pity that an ordinary consumer clicking on the site will never see this information.