MILLIONS have been spent on service and quality standards
improvement, yet consumer complaints have skyrocketed in the past
decade - and mostly about the same old industries.
According to the Consumers Association of Singapore, complaints
have steadily grown over the years, from 13,995 in 2000 to 21,782
last year - representing a jump of more than 50 per cent.
Six of the 10 industries that caused the most grief then are
still aggravating consumers today.
A decade on, the timeshare industry still draws the most
brickbats. Also still in the top 10 are the travel, motor vehicle,
furniture, electronics and renovation industries. Most have seen
significant increases in the number of complaints, with travel
registering the biggest, twofold jump.
However, the general rise in complaints is also due to the
increasing affluence in Singapore. There are simply many more
transactions, which also means greater potential for grievances,
said Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case.
Consumer savviness has also gone up as well, said service
consultant Ron Kaufman. 'Singaporeans are becoming more
sophisticated, more travelled, and society has changed such that it
is now okay to speak out more. Consumers have gotten more
outspoken,' said Mr Kaufman, founder of service training institute
Up Your Service College.
-- ST