Indifference and poor customer service is crippling tourism

Much has been made of the various reasons for lack of UK tourists in this paper; ‘credit crunch’, reccession, high prices for services and consumer items etc. Let me shed some light on another reason at a more personal level.

When the tourist does arrive here, unless there is a transfer included, taxis to Paphos – let alone Polis – are overpriced. Indeed, the prices offer an immediate and good reason for avoiding Paphos altogether.

Having made it to Paphos/Polis, the tourist must undergo a cultural shock of finding surly and indifferent service at a higher than reasonable price for meals/goods of indifferent quality.
Should this unfortunate tourist then have the termerity to complain of these goods or services, in some outlets, they may well be met with indifference or downright rudeness.

My personal experience is that most retail outlets or restaurants have a reasonable working relationship with their customers but have come accross abusive behaviour on occasion relating to the refusal to comply with consumer rights of money back or exchange of shoddy goods.

The main thrust of the offending retailers argument being that they have never given a refund/exchange and are not about to start now despite being required by law to comply with the consumer rights legislation. Even a complaint to the local office to see if the consumer rights legislation can be upheld is met with indifference.

With this attitude at both higher levels and on the street, it is little wonder that the tourist sees less and less to recommend Cyprus as the destination of choice. When it comes to medical care, the same attitude exists – on occation you can get the expected level of service, at other times the indifference to patient care and their needs borders on the crass.

If the people of Cyprus want repeat tourists as well as new ones to keep on coming, they must ensure that the tourist is met with courtesy, fairness and integrity and not the indifference I have witnessed in some places.

Fred Heath,
Polis Chrysochous

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.