Responsibility and Responsiveness

Responsibility and Responsiveness

Thanks to WhatsApp, if you put two blue ticks on the message, it can be a mere acknowledgement that the reader has seen your message. It does not mean that he or she has read the message. Similarly, your mailers also get responses. Today, most institutions tagged their grievance redress system to technology. Its implications should be seen to be believed. This blog addresses a few common occurrences in that direction and the best that could be done, if the system has to improve.

My friend went to his bank branch to enquire about a transaction that he did not originate. At the counter he approached, he gets a response that he would verify the system and tell him. He confirms that the transaction reflected was correct and that the system says so. If he has any further clarification to seek, he may contact the Manager. The Manager directs him back to the Accounts Manager, who confirms the response of the first counter clerk. He is directed to lodge a complaint on the bank’s website. One is dismayed at the responsibility of the officials. Is this unique to a branch or a bank? This is universal.

When you lodge a complaint to a bank or a Company or a mobile operator or a NBFC, you will receive a message on either your email or mobile phone that ‘Your complaint has been received. It will be responded to within 24/48 hours as the case may be.

When you would like to complain on the website on the contact point, you will be directed to record your complaint on a series of options that the institution chooses to address that may not reflect the concern you may want to raise with that institution. When you click on ‘others’ option, it restricts your message not to cross 100 words in most cases. You should have learnt precis writing in your school days. You are asked to enter the captcha. After repeated attempts, you may succeed, if you are lucky. You wait for the declared time only to receive another message that the complaint has been referred to the concerned official from whom you will receive a response shortly.

In case you are disappointed and try to reach to the Chairman/Managing Director/CEO, you would not have received even a simple acknowledgement. Remember, this top executive at least  three or four personal secretaries of sufficient seniority in the organisation and that does not help the response system.

Government departments are a shade better if the grievance is addressed in person or manually. If you use technology, the templated response system gets activated and is no different from the financial or non-financial institutions.

We often hear of the remarkable success of the technology in improving access to the citizen. If you are tech-savvy, you may do all transactions using network you work with. The digitalized world has enabled smart phones to do all that anyone does manually. Your smart watch records your blood pressure, water or coffee intake, number of steps you walked, and you have any problem with either your mobile phone or the smart watch, there will be very few lucky who get their complaint redressed.

Technology has enabled many to benefit immensely that include myriad of fraudsters. The frauds in financial institutions today are in millions and are mostly unrecoverable. A recent post in Money Life blog mentioned that during the last ten years bank frauds touched Rs.5096crore of which only Rs.127cr could be recovered. There is no record of cyber frauds with the regulator!!

I recall Sadguru Jaggy Vasudev’s definition of responsibility: ‘Ability to respond.’ He adds: “Responsibility is not compulsive action; it offers you the choice of action.”  In several cases, such action is missing although choices are visible. Responsiveness is the willingness to respond coupled with ability. Willingness to respond exists sparsely and therefore, one notices the inaction on the part of institutions against several types of grievance. Many grievances as a result, reach the courts of justice. Several complaints may not have cognizable evidence and so, even genuine complaints have the chance of being treated as frivolous. Where does the remedy lie?

Entire grievance redress system in all departments with citizen interface, should be evaluated if the nation were to really commit to ‘ease of doing business’ and making our democracy work in the best interest of the welfare of the citizen.

 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/fincop/responsibility-and-responsiveness/