Dear Editor,
I had an office at Rose Hall, Corentyne, and had to close it after a short period. Now this office was equipped with a phone and electricity. All the services were properly discontinued by the relevant authorities. The problem is that was over two years ago and GPL has not refunded my $33,000 deposit which was lodged before they would even consider giving me a meter.
I have made several enquiries and spoken to several persons, the latest of whom was a lady in the New Amsterdam office, and all I get is the royal runaround. I want my $33,000 plus interest. The incompetence that these people exhibit is amazing, although their competence is clear when it comes to disconnection. My power was disconnected because I missed my payment due date, and of course there was a reconnection charge.
This now brings me to the Guyana Water Inc (GWI). I had the pleasure of experiencing the efficient management of GWI when on October 12, my water was disconnected. On October 13, I went to the office at Chesney Front, Corentyne, where I spoke to the Revenue Manager. She simply told me that there was a due date on the bill and if payment was not made by that time then the disconnection followed. When I asked why a notice was not sent to the customer indicating that disconnection was pending, her response was that the due date was on the bill. I told her that I had not seen a bill since I moved to 58 Canefield Settlement, but all I got from her was, “Well, a bill was sent.” To get my line hooked up back I had to pay the outstanding $10,000 plus the reconnection fee of $6000. I did so because GWI holds a monopoly.
My concern here is that firstly the people who manage these service entities are forgetting that they provide a service and that the customer is their ‘bread and butter.’ Instead of sending a disconnection unit could they not have a customer service unit to look into individual concerns and offer some solutions to issues that the customer may have. Very little concern is given to the customer and all the focus is on collecting revenue. It is obvious that little or no training is given to the persons who deal with the public.
I am looking to find a way to get back my re-connection fee. There has to be one, and when I do I will advise the public on what to do.
Incidently, I saw a busted line along the Goed Bananen Land public road, which resulted in a lot of water being wasted, and advised one of my colleagues to inform the office at Chesney, which she did. The very efficient people did nothing even after a reminder call, and so when I went to discuss my own issue I told them about it and asked why the same workers who disconnected my line could not go and fix the broken main at Goed Bananen Land. I got no explanation.
I gave the disconnectors directions on how to find this broken main and they did fix it later the same day –Wow! Customer service and efficiency!
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
