Consumers’ Rights stay in focus

Mar 19, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Guyana joined the rest of the world and commemorated World Consumer Rights Day on Wednesday March 15, 2017 under the theme ‘Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust’.
Since 2015, the Consumer Affairs Department of the Ministry of Business, in partnership with the National Bureau of Standards, the Government Analyst, Food and Drugs Department, the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission, the Public Utilities Commission and NGOs like the Guyana Consumers Association, has been campaigning strongly on the “Know your Rights” platform.
The main premise is that business affairs on both sides of the counter are conducted more smoothly when everyone, both vendor and buyer, is aware of their rights, their responsibilities, the required courtesies, and the elements of Good Customer Service.
Of course, this approach is also hitched to the fact that retailers, wholesalers, service providers and manufacturers are consumers too. They have to purchase goods, services and primary products so their rights are just as deeply enshrined in the Consumer Charter.
Unfortunately, this fact is not always acknowledged. The business community sometimes assumes (as do many consumers) that the onus to perform excellent Customer Services falls on them alone. They often feel burdened by their responsibilities to their customers, and customers sometimes display an insufficient understanding of their own responsibilities (see below), focusing instead on their rights.
The fact that our commercial world (our social and religious world as well) has gone digital does not remove any of these responsibilities, not from consumers nor the business community. Because commerce in Guyana is still people-intensive requiring face-to-face interactions, business owners and their staff still have a responsibility to deliver good, courteous service and reliable goods, and to maintain consumer trust.
Consumers still have the responsibility to pay all of their bills when they are due, to ensure that his/her utilization or consumption of goods and services is in compliance with the manufacturers’ specifications, and since everyone carries some responsibility for the environment, consumers are also responsible for careful disposal of wrappers and packaging materials, kitchen and other household waste, especially those that are non-biodegradable such as coconut shells and plastics.
The AFC on International Consumer Rights Day 2017, joined Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin as he urged everyone to be very careful with and protective of their personal data online. The 2017 theme was: “Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust”
We live in a data-driven and technology focused environment. Consumers’ digital footprints are becoming increasingly larger, with a growing trail of personal data that’s more public than we could ever imagine. Data that is shared online may be derived from web surfing, telephone communication, social media, online shopping and information researched on the many search engines available, among them Google, Yahoo, Bing, Baidu, AOL, Ask.com and Excite. This is in addition to the data you create.
On the business front, retailers should be looking at various ways to offer our consumers customized shopping experiences. You also need to examine your consumer engagement strategies, especially because consumers have become more aware and protective of their personal data and the many issues related to data privacy and security. Many people now shop online, so now there is much that we all have to do to woo our consumers back to our counters.
When we look more closely, we find that digital shopping brings with it an increased need to protect personal information. You see, online exposure of personal and financial data opens up too many opportunities for security breaches. Identity theft, over-spamming and ignored customer complaints are common, and have negatively influenced consumer trust.
This makes it even more important for vendors to take consumer confidence into consideration as we move to digitize our businesses. We have to find ways to understand consumers better, to stay in tune with their changing habits, and connect with them more frequently. Proactive communication we believe will continue to influence the great customer experiences we are striving for.
Here are a few easy ways to accomplish this:
* Build trust online with positive, honest product descriptions, terms and policies
* Respond immediately and simply to consumers’ complaints, queries, etc.
* Utilize open platforms and consumer fora to resolve general issues
* Be transparent and really protect consumers’ personal information
* Maintain an online facility for consumer feedback, e.g. Facebook and your website, and make sure that your responses are fast and truthful. You know the consequences of posting inaccurate information.
* Offer better value than your competitors in the form of rewards, incentives, holiday and other special deals
* Initiate solid CSR programmes e.g. in education, sports, environmental management or social activities and post them on your site

These principles will help you to build and sustain consumer trust.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER EDUCATION
With International Consumer Rights Day having recently been observed, we take the opportunity to remind all consumers that you have to know your rights and demand that those rights are respected and protected.
It is widely recognized that consumer education is an essential complement to effective consumer services, to enforcement of the regulations and dispute resolution.
We referred earlier to the fact that online shopping is the new fad in Guyana. It is not difficult to surmise that this fad has grown so quickly because the products available in our local marketplace are often substandard counterfeits (knock-offs) of household items and appliances, shoes and clothing, food, furniture, cosmetics and even technological implements and instruments. This is the Third World, and not much has changed in two decades, with respect to product dumping by distributors in metropolitan countries.
We also live in a world of aggressive advertising. Guyana’s geographical location does not preclude our citizens from access to products advertised on the worldwide web and cable television. In fact, it proves that Guyana and the Caribbean are psychically affiliated to North America, where many of our families and friends reside. This must be one explanation for the fast growth of the online shopping industry.
But with that growth comes a lot of responsibility for the protection of people’s personal data. This is not to be taken lightly. The meteoric growth of technology has come along with the equally fast emergence of cyber theft, hacking, and a host of other digital challenges.
The government is living up to its promise to provide the platforms for the digitization of our economy. Along with it comes the need to educate our citizens not only about your rights, but about your own responsibilities in the dissemination and protection of your data.

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