MILLIONS have been spent on service and quality standards improvement, yet consumer complaints have skyrocketed in the past decade - and mostly about the same old industries.
According to the Consumers Association of Singapore, complaints have steadily grown over the years, from 13,995 in 2000 to 21,782 last year - representing a jump of more than 50 per cent.
Six of the 10 industries that caused the most grief then are still aggravating consumers today.
A decade on, the timeshare industry still draws the most brickbats. Also still in the top 10 are the travel, motor vehicle, furniture, electronics and renovation industries. Most have seen significant increases in the number of complaints, with travel registering the biggest, twofold jump.
However, the general rise in complaints is also due to the increasing affluence in Singapore. There are simply many more transactions, which also means greater potential for grievances, said Mr Seah Seng Choon, executive director of Case.
Consumer savviness has also gone up as well, said service consultant Ron Kaufman. 'Singaporeans are becoming more sophisticated, more travelled, and society has changed such that it is now okay to speak out more. Consumers have gotten more outspoken,' said Mr Kaufman, founder of service training institute Up Your Service College.
-- ST