July 4, 2012Dear Sir,I am writing to share my complete frustration and exasperation over the level of “customer service” in Bermuda. As some might commiserate, moving to a new apartment can be stressful. There are many things to consider. Moving furniture, purchasing new items, setting up cable and internet service and so on. I have just moved back to the Island after living in New York City for six years, so my standards are quite high, but in this hyper-competitive market, where businesses are folding by the day, Bermuda’s customer service needs to step up. I’ve had one company call me a “lying b*tch” because I complained that their “delivery” service was completely inadequate. Instead of leaving the items on my front porch as agreed, they delivered it to the tenth step, of 21 steps, to my apartment citing that they only “delivered kerbside” and that this was explained to me when I ordered and paid for the delivery service. I responded that I had never been told of this “policy”, and if so I wouldn’t have ordered, and once again paid for delivery, since I had to complete the delivery myself, I was then instructed to “never use them again” and called a “lying b***h”. I have never, ever, ever, been treated in such a hateful and distasteful manner by anyone, let alone someone I paid a service for.This was just the icing on the cake on a long laundry list of disappointments when it came to Bermuda’s service. I waited over an hour and a half for a cable provider to show up, being told I was “first” on their list for 1pm, and they eventually showed up at 2.30pm. Surprise, surprise, the cable and internet did not work properly, and another visit was scheduled for them to fix it. I called on Saturday, they scheduled the technician to come on the Wednesday, so I endured five days without cable and internet. I was told they would show up from 9am-1pm. At 12.30pm I called asking where they were and was told “I don’t know who you spoke to, but you’re scheduled from 1pm-5pm”. Once again, it was suggested that I, the customer, must have screwed up the time. The movers showed up two hours late, and even though I praised their efficiency for moving my meagre belongings, my day was ruined having to wait for them two hours past their scheduled delivery.I get it. Stuff happens. You can’t control some jobs, and how that spills over into the technician, or movers, other appointments for the day. But in each case, it was my responsibility to find out where they were, what was going on, or told that I just made up the information. This is unacceptable. I get that Bermuda is “another world” and things “move differently” down here. But right now there is no sense of urgency to fight for a customer’s business, let alone understand that the “customer is king”. It’s the attitude of “if you don’t like it, then don’t use us” that kills me. I listen to expats complain about Bermudian service, and before I used to come to my countrymen’s defence. Now I just share story after story of the worst service I’ve ever experienced, anywhere, and it shames me that it has to be from my own country. Bermuda, step it up. You are losing your reputation for being an efficient, easy, and hospitable place to do business, and fast. No wonder expats are leaving by the hundreds to go home. If I had a choice, I’d seriously consider it.FRUSTRATED “CUSTOMER”Paget