Yesterday December 30, 2013, I had a number of interactions with individuals from a variety of organizations whose responsibility is to provide service to the customer. These included the following: 1. Belize City Council – Traffic Department, 2. Post Office for payment of Post Office Box, 3. Sagicor Insurance, 4. Belize Social Security and 5. RFG Insurance. My conclusion at the end of these interactions was that the problem with poor Customer Service is not caused necessarily by the front line representative, but rather by the managers of the persons responsible for the delivery of an efficient service to the customer. The front line representatives are the ones who get the brunt of the anger of the customers for various reasons. Let me share a few of these experiences.
1. Belize City Council – Traffic Department 
I decided to license my vehicle and went to the traffic inspection section only to find an exceptionally long line and had to stand in the sun as the photo shows, with almost everybody in the line complaining about the heat, the lines, the slowness of the process, and the fact that at the licensing office, there were even longer lines. To be fair however the two individuals carrying out the inspection process were working in a very methodical, professional, and serious manner (meaning no smiles), however they were able to deliver the best service considering the circumstances. They are in no way responsible for the logistical problems or comfort of the public as they themselves were working in a tiny office without any ventilation except from the windows and the door. There was no complaint on their part, just doing their duty.
Once the inspection process was completed I proceeded to head over to the Licensing office and in that short stretch, my vehicle felt like a bucking bronco as it crossed the craters on Vernon Street.
At the Licensing office there were approximately 25 persons in line, all like sheep patiently waiting their turn for the slaughter. There were three cashiers working diligently to the best of their ability. Fortunately for me, I went directly to the “Senior Citizen” line where there were only two persons ahead of me, and the line moved very fast. The cashier provided the service I required in a serious manner, again methodically and professionally and I was out of there in no time.
As I concluded my visit to the Traffic Department, I was satisfied with the services but recognized that there is a great need for the management of the Customer Services Department of that branch to review the processes as well as some of the issues of Customer Care to provide an efficient and satisfactory experience. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest I will give them a 3.5.
2. Post Office for payment of post office box.
While the Post office was not packed and I was third in line, the processes were a bit slow and each individual took at least 15 – 20 minutes for their transactions. When it was my turn it was easy to determine that the clerk was working to the best of her ability with lots of smiles and again methodically handling every aspect of her job including doing her best to make the experience a satisfying one.
As I concluded my visit I once again recognized that the service was in reality excellent but the Management responsible for the delivery of an efficient service to the client needs to introduce the use of technology to facilitate the process. The first thing that the clerk did was to pull out an exceptionally large and very old book almost from the bottom of the pile to locate the post box information. She then took some time to go through a series of cards to update the information, and then she proceeded to write a receipt (the standard Government yellow receipt.). The process is so simple that a small network with the respective databases could easily provide all the information required just on entering the P.O. Box no, with the receipt for payment being printed out directly from the computer all taking less than 3 – 5 minutes.
In addition to the afore mentioned, the management could also share duties with cashiers as there was one other cashier whose window was for the most part empty, and thus would have moved the overall process faster to accommodate those that were lining up behind me. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest I would give them a 4.
3. Sagicor Insurance.
Another year end activity was the bringing up to date my health insurance claims and was attended by Ms Marina Young, who diligently attended to each and every one of my requests and questions with a promise to address all my concerns promptly and with efficiency. I was extremely pleased with the interaction with Ms. Young. Again as in the former cases mentioned some of the problems were neither with the agent nor the customer service rep, but rather with a step in the process that fell through crack in the black hole at the back office where all things disappear only to resurface when a complaint is made. Thanks once again to Ms. Young. On a scale of 1 – 5 with 5 being the highest I would give them a 4.
4. Belize Social Security,
I visited the Belize Social Security office in Belize City, obviously the most spacious and comfortable of all the offices and went to the clerk at the Customer Services section. I was the third in line, and the waiting time was a bit slow but reasonable considering the other places I was earlier in the morning. When my turn came and I advised her of the purpose of my visit she immediately handed me a form to fill out. She didn’t appear to be too pleased nor happy but did not display any negative attitudes.
I completely the form and handed it back in and my job was finished, On a rating of 1 – 5 with 5 being the highest I would give her a 3. However in terms of the service and considering the level of operations that the Belize Social Security has, I found no reason why the information which was already in the database could not be printed out, with a quick search of my name or Social Security Card,
Similarly as in the previous cases I do not expect the customer service rep to know these things, but I do believe that the Management of the department responsible for dealing with the delivery of service should recognize the value of providing an efficient service and improve the efficiency of the process. All it would take is the IT department to create a form or report with all the information already on the hard copy and print it out with the relevant information only requiring then the signature of the client.
5. RFG Insurance.
The WOW for the day and to the delight of the customer was the call to Mr. Marlon Kuylen who called Mr. Kevin Franklin regarding my request to obtain a copy of my insurance and in less than half an hour the copy of my insurance was delivered. I really appreciate the service provided and on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest I will give them a 7.
I close off this blog with my thanks to all those that provided me with the service I required and look forward to continue providing training in Customer Services Management, as well as Customer Services training for the front line in the new year.
RGConsultBz 
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