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Courier services take flak for diminished service

Apr 25, 2009 News

In light of complaints against local courier companies, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, yesterday held a meeting to address the issues.
Minister Prashad said that there are complaints of poor services by the couriers.
But the couriers have said that this is due to flight delays, customs clearance and the fact that they are not being given the priority they enjoyed in the past.
The Minister, having listened to them, expressed concern that some of the courier services do not provide services promised in their own advertisements.
This newspaper understands that some couriers advertise a three-day delivery period when in fact deliveries sometimes take an entire week.
Minister Prashad said that this is unacceptable since the customers who used this service pay for their packages to be delivered on time.
He warned that while these are international companies with branches in Guyana, if the situation does not improve the standards and services then the Commerce Ministry may be forced to contact the head office overseas to find out why Guyana is getting “shabby treatment”.
He noted that he expects the service providers to re-look at what they are doing. This may require changing their staff or the way they conduct their operations.
Minister Prashad added that the couriers must not misrepresent themselves in their advertisements if they cannot meet that timeline.
Further, they must not charge people excess given the run-around when they cannot enjoy the service paid for.  “We want to make sure that businesses are very efficient and the courier services have been playing a significant role in assisting businesses to be more competitive. We want to make sure that we maintain that standard.”
The couriers agreed that they would work closely with the Ministry to improve standards.
Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Cargo, Bobby Vieira, said, “We try our best to do what we possibly can… We are working with the Ministry and we will continue to educate the public because it is important that people recognise those kinds of things and make certain they get their information correctly.”
Minister Prashad acknowledged this. However, he suggested that the service providers should “go the extra mile” and try to advise the consumers what they are required to do Customers must be informed of all relevant charges before they purchase the service, he said.
General Manager of Laparkan, Oscar Phillips, praised the quick action of the Ministry.
“The only way to fix something is to know what is going on…Your support will be critical as well, I do agree we have to be conscious of what we are advertising, there must be integrity in product that we advertise.”
The couriers who attended the meeting were Caribbean Cargo, DHL, UPS, LIAT, Laparkan and H&B International.

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