The Cost of Poor Service

Service is defined in the dictionary as "work, or doing work for another or for a community, etc".

According to Wordweb online Dictionary and Thesauras ( http://www.wordwebonline.com/ ), one meaning of a Service is "a Company or Agency that performs a public service ; subject to government regulation".


A number of companies and organisations are engaged in providing services and amenities such as education, water, electricity , communication facilities, sewerage removal and medical care to the public .

These companies and organisations are commonly referred to as service providers.

The quality of the service provided by a number of the service providers has been a source of concern .

One area where public has been given a raw deal is in the availability of a reliable electrical power supply. In recent years, there has been power cuts on a regular basis.

Supply of water by water utility companies in some areas has seen disruptions on a regular basis. The quality of the water supplied also leaves much to be desired.

It is common in some areas, to open a "domestic water" tap and see muddy water coming out of it for some time before clear water is seen.

The muddy water is metered and paid for. The users have no choice but to let it flow to the drain or keep it in containers to let it settle before use.

The availability of internet is erratic in some parts of the country. Even those customers subscribing to broadband internet, do not always get the specified speeds that they pay for.

The availability of medicine in a number of medical institutions is erratic. It is only those who can afford to pay private institutions who get a better service.

In the education sector, it is now "fashionable" for parents to pay for private tuition of school going children in order for them to get good marks in their examinations.

What has happened to the standard of teaching in some schools ? The answer is anybody's guess.

Let us consider an example, where a parent pays, say $250 per term, for a child who attends a boarding school. During school holidays, the parent pays $20 per subject for the child to get "extra tuition". The tuition would be from a member of staff from a similar school where the child attends! For four subjects, $80 tuition fee has to be paid. The total cost of education per child comes to $990 per year, instead of $750. This is 32% more than what should be paid.

There is nothing wrong with extra tuition for school children who are slow learners. What is worrying is where this tuition has become the norm rather than the exception. What happens to the children whose parents can not afford extra tuition if their schools can't provide quality tuition ?

Let us consider another example of a water utility company who supplies low quality domestic water. If a family pays $40 per month for it and, say $5 worth of that water is not suitable for use. This comes to $60 worth of water per year thrown into the drain.

These two examples given above, results in a total figure of $300 extra expenditure per annum. This money, which is paid unnecessarily reduces the quality of life of the family. It is also good breeding ground for corruption as people are forced to find other means to make ends meet .

If the total amount of money lost by the public, in terms of loss of business, or having to pay extra is calculated, it will be in millions of dollars for the whole country.

The question is, what has gone wrong for us to reach this state of affairs?

A number of service providers are dogged by various problems ranging from poor management styles , lack of capital input and lack of competition.

Authorities are urged to put measures, to ensure that the public does not subsidize non-performing companies and organisations, at the expense of national developement.