JEDDAH, 9 April 2004 — Local business owners vented their frustration at the lack of customer service and basic infrastructure support at a seminar on applied technology in business held in Jeddah.
Participating in the event at Dar Al-Hekma private college for girls were various institutions that focused on the role of information technology in business. Presentations were given by representatives from the US commercial service department at the US Consulate General in Jeddah, 2-The-Point computer-service solution company, SAMBA, and FedEx.
Rushdi Damanhouri, FedEx regional manager, faced the most critical questions on its services in Saudi Arabia after speaking about transporting goods safely and punctually.
“In the US there is door-to-door pick-up and delivery service, and delicate items are packaged and delivered within 24 hours, arriving fresh and in good condition. Why don’t we have that kind of service here?” asked Salwa Redwan, owner of Chocolate Corner.
She said that she had lost orders because her chocolate goods could not be delivered to other cities in the Kingdom as none of the express delivery companies have cooling packages and vans.
Redwan added that despite the modern 24-hour delivery, and on-line tracking and inquiry systems, poor customer service means small business owners suffer. To fulfill a chocolate order in Riyadh, she said one of her employees made the delivery, costing her more than necessary and forcing her to reject some orders.
Damanhouri explained that the lack of mechanisms such as home addresses, the need for certain permits, and certain rules and procedures hindered the process.
UPS has dry-ice boxes to deliver organs to hospitals but they are too small to deliver anything else, said Damanhouri. He explained that delivering business-to-business is easy but picking up and delivering from home-to-home is a problem.
UPS customer service personnel said that they do not have cooling packages or vans, and DHL said it was the customer’s responsibility, but helpfully suggested using ice.
Hatim Mohammed said that he almost missed attending a conference in Riyadh because although the conference organizers had sent him the airline tickets five days before the date of travel, the courier did not deliver them to his house until the day he left.
Another participant, Ibtisam, said that her daughter requires medication that is sometimes ordered from another city but usually does not arrive on time.
