Customer Service Practitioner, Yvonne Ohui McCarthy, wants government to expedite the implementation of the Public Sector Reform Strategy if public companies are to win the confidence of customers.
It follows the 2019 Customer Service Index which saw the public sector placing bottom for the second consecutive time, out of nine sectors surveyed.
Though the researchers admit to some restraints in the public sector, they believe they could perform better to give value for money.
Head Consultant for the Institute of Customer Service Professionals, Yvonne Ohui McCarthy, speaking to Citi Business News after presenting the findings of the survey, said: “The public sector reform policy is a beautiful document; it’s got everything we need that can transform the public sector, but it takes a lot of willpower; you need a lot of can-do spirit; you need people who can oversee these particular strategies we have spoken about.”
“Unfortunately, because of the lack of implementation, the public sector will always be at the bottom, and people would always have this perceived notion about they not caring, which is a word I keep using because that’s how people feel.”
“Consumers feel that because they [puublic sector] are enjoying this monopoly; whether you come or not, we will be here and you’ll come when you need us. This should never be the case for any organisation especially if the tax payer’s money is being used to pay you,” she added.
Customer Service Index
For the second consecutive time, the country’s public sector placed bottom in the Customer Service Index conducted on some selected entities in the country.
The survey, commissioned by the Institute of Customer Service Professionals, looked at the perception of customer satisfaction in a wide array of organizations providing various services such as finance, transport, utility as well as retail.
A total of 1,200 respondents were interviewed. These comprised 1,188 Ghanaians with the remainder being non-Ghanaians.
The survey showed that Ghana’s public sector, which had institutions like the Ghana Water Company Limited; the Electricity Company of Ghana as well as the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, would still have to do more to meet customer satisfaction.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, however, topped the list of public sector institutions surveyed with retail and shopping malls emerging the sector with maximum points in customer satisfaction.
Commenting on the scores, the President and Head Consultant for the Institute of Customer Service Professionals, Yvonne Ohui McCarthy, said she’s hopeful the outcome will propel a change in service delivery in the public sector to give value for money.