Measuring and achieving quality customer service: a study on public sector in Malaysia

Excellent quality of customer service is so important for government agencies even though they are not-for-profit. Better service enhances productivity, and treating customer right the first time saves time and money. Creating satisfied customers reduces the likelihood irate citizens take their complaints to higher sources, or to a public forum where negative word-of-mouth can be damaging. A common criticism of the public in Malaysia has been the poor quality of customer service rendered by employees in government agencies. As the largest organization in Malaysia, the quality of service they provide has a tremendous influence on public perceptions of the quality of public service. A study was, therefore, performed to measure the quality of customer service provided by public agencies in Malaysia. Focus was given to the Road Transport Department as this study could not cater to all departments throughout the government agencies. One hundred respondents who experienced interactions with this department were chosen to participate in this study. They were required to answer online questionnaires and expressed their feedback regarding the quality of customer service this department provided. The result demonstrated that most of the respondents were unsatisfied with the quality of Customer Service Representatives, facilities, procedure/policies, and the atmosphere of the department itself. Recommendations that were discussed in the study are: sending employee for training, supervisor as a role model, to eliminate bureaucracy, improve facilities (counters, seats, telephone systems, and waiting area), and improve hiring processes