Customer care in Vietnam

Perko54 wrote:

I have to agree Walter we had a new home completed in October last year. Getting the builder back to fix shonky workmanship was a pain in the arse & was never done properly. We purchased 6 Panasonic AC units 1 kept loosing gas we were charged $30 to re - gas it the fact that it was loosing gas didn't seem to be a problem to the service man (in & out as quick as possible).
We purchase all of our bathroom products from the 1 shop including our solar hot water system a good brand 2 of the evacuated tubes failed when we contacted the shop they didn't want any thing to do with it.
In both cases both issues were resolved by contacting the manufacturers who had good after sales service.
I think with the smaller companies it's a matter of making a quick buck & get out fast QA & QC are very poor.
How often when you go to a shop to ask for something you get that wave of the hand saying they don't stock it or don't understand. I have learnt to ask a second person & take pictures or download pictures of what I want on my phone especially in my specialty electrical & electronic items. I think a lot of the time they are just too bloody lazy.
Having said that it's not right across the board but the few who DGAF..K ruin it for the rest.
In respect of our house I have learnt a lesson from a friend who has built a few here in Nha Trang keep 10 to 20 percent of the final payment to be paid in  12 months of the completion date that way if you had the water & mold problems like we did you get them fixed.
On a final note if you want something done well over here do it yourself ---- no one to complain to

Ah Vietnam.  Where lasts weeks travel agent is this weeks electrician

Bazza139 wrote:

Thanks, Cabraman!

I thought it might have been me!    Same deal, (but a girl)
literally pushed me aside to get served first, so I too, walked out.

..leaving the ice cream melting on the counter...

But then, (I am a known regular) at the pharmacy, and (again, a girl)
ignored me while pushing money at the assistant (who ignored her)
(and made small talk after the transaction)   After our 'Au Revoir'
and hand wave, I noted the surly look as she was then attended to.

Still, I doubt it is a 'Westerner' or Tourist thing, seems more like
(some) are unable to connect the dots, or is it the high emotional
manner they feel (forced?) to react to..? 

  Might be a mindset matter.       

My wife tried to excuse the first time it happened by suggesting that maybe the person was in a hurry and that's why they got served ahead of me.  I said  " Well how about me? Maybe I'm in a hurry too. They don't know"     So 5 shops lost sales from me as well as  future custom as I won't be back to any of them.

Gharan wrote:

Customer care is still in its infancy stage in Vietnam. Many people are mistaken that just by being friendly and courteous, customers will be happy. They do not realise that it takes much more to ensure customer expectations are met or exceeded. The entire process of customer experience must be managed consistently in order to attain customer satisfaction. I have seen inconsistency in customer service at shops and restaurants. Due to staff not consistent in their service levels, not every customer experience is similar in a store, simply because there is lack of training in processes and customer service as the focus is on selling the goods or service or simply taking orders. Most staff are not aware and do not go the extra mile and are unable to think outside the box when it comes to issues that are not straight forward. Product knowledge is lacking in many restaurants and shops as most staff are employed to be order takers and not serve customers with additional information. I have seen many shops and restaurants losing potential customers due to this. It is a pity but the owners of these businesses are not there to see the actual realistic situation at their shops or restaurants. Even for some of them who are present, they so not realise it. English language barrier is not the issue because I have witnessed hundreds of incidents even among Vietnamese staff and Vietnamese customers that always end up in confusion or wrong orders. However, most Vietnamese customers tend not to pursue the matter as they accept it as normal and this leads to no improvements at those businesses. There is a long way to go in order to "fix it right the first time" to avoid customer dissatisfaction and improve business by avoiding lost customers due to bad or normal service. When there is nothing special in service levels, a competitor can gain the business advantage if they think out of the box and do the right thing to win customers hearts. These comments are based on my own experiences and observations in Vietnam. However, with adequate training and know how, they can improve but it must begin with business owners that have the positive mindset and are willing to change for the better for the benefit of attaining more customers for their businesses.

Well said, but I fear change will be a long time coming

khanh44 wrote:

lol customer service. Ever been to some of the Vietnamese businesses in the western world? How can people expect customer service in Vietnam when they can't even provide it in countries that have high expectation for customer services.

money talks in Vietnam. After having my ear checked at the local Vietnamese clinic close to my house for $80,000. They diagnose it as an ear rupture even though I experienced no pain. They gave me steroids and 2 other drugs. My questions were met with impatient. Next day I went down to Saigon's Family Medical Practice clinic. Great customer service, friendly staff that are patient and smiles Very helpful staff all around. The doctor diagnosis was cotton. He couldn't see a ruptured eardrum. Doctor was very patient answered all my concerns and explained everything well. Even had some side conversations. Prescribed me ear drops and my ear problems seems to have subsided so far.

Cost though was $1,000,000.  But well spent in my opinion.

I'm up in Dalat and my experiences with doctors diagnoses at the local hospital are not good and even my Vietnamese friends prefer to head to HCMC  for treatment rather than take a chance with a local doctor.  I had to do the mandatory health check prior to marriage and a problem was found when my heart was checked. Diagnosis?   Suspected aneurism in the aorta.  Went down to Tim Tam Duc heart hospital at district 7 in HCMC where I had multiple tests done and an aneurism was not found. It came down to a choice between coronary artery disease and hypertension. After 1 month on prescribed medication I returned for a heart stress test on a walking machine which eliminated coronary arterial disease.  I now take tablets for hypertension (blood pressure)   A friend of a friend here was involved in a motorbike ac
cident and had a leg badly damaged. Doctor told him nothing could be done and that it needed to be amputated.  He said no thanks and went down to HCMC where he had it operated on and the leg was saved.  As a consequence I only go to a local doctor for a minor complaint, and anything more than that   gets treated in HCMC  I agree with you about your doctors reaction to questions at your local clinic. It matches with my experiences with the local doctors, who do not like being questioned

colinoscapee wrote:

I think in relation to the doctors it's all about the level of education, it's just not available at the average medical university, that's why any doctor worth his salt heads overseas to gain better education.

Sort of.  Bác sĩ can refer to a Medical Doctor Bác sĩ tiến sĩ or a M.S. Nurse Practitioner Bác sĩ thạc sĩ. The other part is who paid for their training. If the Government paid, they must work for the Government until age 55. But, they can have their own Clinic, make house calls and practice Medicine in their own name, Bác sĩ tiến sĩ or Bác sĩ thạc sĩ. Those who pay for their own Education need to be employed by a hospital and can not practice medicine in their own name.

Note, this is way oversimplified.