MUSCAT: Everyone is a consumer and every marketing head knows that it is the consumer who sets the market demand. But how aware is the consumer of the rights provided through laws and acts?

Personally, how often do YOU return a product that does not match with the one advertised?

Have you ever complained about a product with the local Consumer Protection Authority?

Did you ever raise an issue for bad customer service? Provide any feedback on bad service by a hotel, restaurant, travel agency or airline?

Like everything else in life, there are different kinds and types of consumers: the aggressive ones demand immediate refund/action, the pragmatic consumer may approach the concerned authority, the cheapskate might be using the complain ruse to get free gifts, the chronic complainer may just be prone to rake up issues, while the meek and the detached might simply chuck the bad product in the bin.

Most consumers think twice before going on a complaint route for spoiled milk or an expired chocolate or some such item picked from the supermarket or the local grocery shop. 

Why make a fuss about such a small purchase? 

The issue here is about the inconvenience and the trouble involved in complaining – not only in returning the product, but also in proving that the damage did not transpire after the purchase.

A compilation of some of the common consumer complaints, presented on various online sources, show that, generally, people go out of their way to raise their grievance with the concerned authorities when they feel cheated with inferior products or bad customer service. The complaints could range from unavailability of advertised products and inferior products/services, to delivery issues and indifferent customer service. 

Interestingly, the E-portal of Consumer Protection Authority, in its list of noteworthy complaints, has the following: discrepancy in the number of loaves of bread in a pack, chewing tobacco sold illegally through books, obscene kids toys, fake olive oil, ‘mystery meats’ wrapped in camel fat for flavour, unlabelled products without validity dates, sale of expired products, low quality of vehicle tyres, and failure to deliver goods on time, among others.

The Authority urges consumers to identify and complain about their freedom of choice when selecting commodities or services or when they do not have access to information pertaining to items being purchased or services being used. Its key objectives, as mentioned on its website, ‘are to protect the market from price fluctuations, guarantee fair treatment, honesty and credibility, develop consumer general awareness, find prompt solutions to consumer complaints, and fight counterfeiting, swindling and monopoly.​’

Recently, the Authority took a swipe at misleading advertisements, with an alert for consumers to complain if and when they find advertisements in which the product features are exaggerated or the product/service does not reflect what is stated.

Telecommunications

On March 15, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority also issued a notice informing consumers that they have the right to submit their grievance to the Authority. It listed the steps to contact the service provider to register complaints and informed about the option of contacting the Authority if the legal period has passed and the service provider has not resolved the complaint or made a decision on it.

The alert said, ‘Do not worry… Contact the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority through one of the following channels – call directly, submit the complaint through the authority’s website www.tra.gov.om or through consumer@tra.gov.om mentioning the complaint number with the service provider, your requests from the service provider to resolve your complaint, a copy of the identity card and a phone number to contact you.’

Why consumer is king

Whether the consumer makes a formal complaint or not, retailers ought to understand that reviews shared by word of mouth are effective even today. Many do opt to vent out their frustrations on the social media, which might get immediate response, but that doesn’t rule out the negative outcome from people sharing their experiences to friends and acquaintances over a chat. A study found that customers tend to tell double the number of people about their bad experiences than about their positive customer service experience.

Another market research put the percentage of actual consumer complaints at four; however, it was quick to note that the figure does not directly reflect on the sales. For, dissatisfied customers can directly, and even indirectly, affect a business.