DTI-Caraga bares benefits of establishing a
Consumer Welfare Desk
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Nov. 1 (PIA) -- The Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) Caraga briefed cellphone vendors on the benefits of
establishing a Consumer Welfare Desk (CWD) inside their stores.
The orientation held Wednesday at the Barangay
Imadejas Function Hall, this city was held in time with the conduct of
ConsumerNet and Cellphone Sellers’ Dialogue cum Workshop, as part of the
culmination activity of the Consumer Welfare Month celebration.
Mr. Elmer Natad of DTI-Caraga said that
reputable firms attest that consumers who complained about their problem and
received satisfactory results exhibited the highest degree of continued
patronage.
“Consumer complaints serve as early warning
signs that your business may be, just maybe, violating some Fair Trade Laws and
provide you an excellent opportunity to correct the problem as soon as it crops
up,” Natad said.
Natad also said that with the information
gathered through the CWDs, it can help the store owners evaluate the quality of
their products as well as the kind of service and public relations of their
personnel.
“You will find that a well-managed CWD will
improve and enhance your relationship with government agencies that have
jurisdiction over business. In fact, your efficient handling of consumer complaints
is a big load off the shoulders of government agencies,” Natad added.
Natad further emphasized that the CWD ensures
that consumers are not referred from one person to another. The buck should
stop at the CWD. It also provides standardized complaints form to ensure that
all necessary information are elicited from the complainant, whether complaints
are by mail, telephone or walk-in.
Also, data and information gathered from CWD
records can be helpful to the business in a number of ways. A systematic analysis
of complaints can help the store owners identify specific problems regarding
their products, suppliers or employees help them avoid the same problem in the
future.
Follow-up and record-keeping can identify
bottlenecks and show consumers that their feedbacks are important.
(JPG/PIA-Caraga)
