Please read and abide by our terms and conditions
One of the many objectives of this column is to encourage consumers to stand up and fight for their rights when dealing with suppliers and traders who do not respect consumers’ rights. Over the years, this column has proved to be a very effective tool when dealing with such traders. Indeed, many consumers can take complete control of the situation and successfully obtain satisfaction.
Hence, as explained in the column terms and conditions, it is up to the respective complainant to chase the progress of his/her case with the supplier while, in the process, keeping me informed accordingly. All letters of complaint and complainants’ chasers are followed by request/s to the respective suppliers for their comments. In the process I remind them that all cases are subject to publication.
Fortunately, many consumers do read, respect, and abide by this column’s terms and conditions. However, despite having repeatedly asked consumers to abide by the column’s terms and conditions, there are still consumers who don’t bother to read these conditions. Please read our terms and conditions. I thank you for your co-operation.
Smoking ‘a filthy habit’
This is an important issue about which I have written at various times. It’s an issue in which we must take an interest. However, unfortunately, too many smokers don’t bother. Consequently such smokers pay a price. Without beating about the bush, cigarettes contain a very efficient drug. Each puff sends the nicotine to the brain within 10 seconds and before long the brain actually changes. It becomes hooked on wanting more and more nicotine to make effects last, which is what makes smoking so addictive.
Smoking can cause cancer of the lungs, mouth, pancreas, bladder, kidneys, as well as emphysema, heart disease, a higher incidence of bronchitis and in women cervical cancer as well. It greatly increases the risk of getting coronary artery disease and strokes and reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the heart. Therefore, get rid of all cigarettes. Put away your ashtrays. Change your morning routine. Keep yourself busy when you get the urge to smoke. Do something else instead.
Try to exercise and keep thinking of the positive side to quitting. When you stop smoking, you will feel good, very good. For starters, your breath smells better, your cough goes away and you can taste and smell food better. These benefits happen to men and women of all ages, even those who are older and have a disease or condition caused by smoking.
The consequences of smoking may seem very far off, but long-term health problems aren’t the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine and the other toxins in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can affect a person’s body quickly, which means that teen smokers experience many of these problems:
Bad skin. Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it can prevent oxygen and nutrients from getting to the skin – which is why smokers often look pale and unhealthy. Studies have also linked smoking to an increased risk of getting a type of skin rash called psoriasis.
Bad breath. Cigarettes can give smokers a condition called halitosis, or persistent bad breath.
Bad-smelling clothes and hair. The smell of stale smoke tends to linger – not just on people’s clothing, but also on their hair, furniture, and cars. And it’s often hard to get rid of the smell of smoke.
Reduced athletic performance. People who smoke usually can’t compete with non-smoking peers because the physical effects of smoking (like rapid heartbeat, decreased circulation, and shortness of breath) impair sports performance.
Greater risk of injury and slower healing time. Smoking affects the body’s ability to produce collagen, so common sports injuries, such as damage to tendons and ligaments will heal more slowly in smokers than non-smokers.
Increased risk of illness. Studies show that smokers suffer from more colds, flu, bronchitis and pneumonia than non-smokers. And people with certain health conditions, like asthma, become sicker if they smoke (and often if they’re just around people who smoke). Because teens who smoke, as a way to manage weight, often light up instead of eating, their bodies also lack the nutrients they need to grow, develop, and fight off illness properly.
A quick customer service course
As consumers’ expectations grow more demanding, on the other hand, dominant firms are realising a basic truth. The success of a business can only be achieved through customer satisfaction. Indeed, customer care is crucial. For the benefit of traders, the following is a quick “Customer Service Course”.
When you deal with a customer, smile, establish eye contact, give the customer your undivided attention and adopt a positive and receptive posture while at the same time assessing the customer’s posture and attention. Speak at the same pitch and speed; show that you respect and accept the customer; show that you respect your colleagues.
As time goes by we will see changes as enterprises learn to establish a meaningful dialogue with customers and develop proactive one-to-one relationships and partnerships. Consumers like to visit showrooms, see products, talk to dealers, but they don’t like dealers who crowd them. They feel more confident when they make the decision.
Employers in sectors like finance, retail, hospitality, and public utility services must ensure that their employees understand that on market success and this success is more and more customer-led. This means that the work force needs to be more adaptable and the survivors are those who exceed customer expectations and demands. Good customer service is therefore a strong guarantee for job preservation.
Too many businesses are wasting money on training and service consultants without getting it right. Customer loyalty fails when customers don’t feel comfortable and subsequently don’t come back. Without customer loyalty, a business cannot grow. The problem could easily be that customers feel that the service is not up to scratch and go elsewhere.
Here’s a message for traders:
When customers come back, that is a sign that they feel better about you and your products. The message we get from customer surveys is, “People want to be treated better”.
Ways to save money
This is definitely a consumer issue. A list of ways to save money compiled by Which? magazine is worth sharing with all consumers:-
Price-comparison websites: If you are planning to buy items like digital cameras or televisions, use price comparison websites to shop around. A bit of checking means you will pay less.
Energy labels: Make sure you read the energy labels on domestic appliances because the wrong product will cost you extra money in running costs. An A-rated washer drier uses less electricity and you would be helping the environment too.
How to use this column
Send your letters by ordinary mail to the Customer Service Column, The Malta Independent on Sunday, Standard House, Birkirkara Hill, St Julian’s, STJ 1149 or by e-mail to [email protected], giving your and the respective trader’s/supplier’s full name and address, outlining your grievance and copying in the respective trader/supplier. Complainants must be prepared to have their full personal details disclosed to traders/suppliers, their case published, and their name featured in full. It is up to the complainant to chase the progress of his/her case with the supplier by ordinary mail or email, while in the process copying me in. We follow up all letters of complaint by asking traders/suppliers for their comments. Since we have cases where traders/suppliers refuse to communicate, complainants are requested to inform us if their case has been positively resolved. It is regretted that advice on personal complaints cannot always be given. Unfortunately, we often have consumers who refer their case to this column and then, when their case is positively concluded, they ask us not to feature the case. Therefore we must stress that letters, once sent, cannot be withdrawn and all cases are subject to publication. Readers are requested not to
telephone the Malta Independent’s offices in connection with the column; they must put their queries in writing.