Dear Editor,

I am writing to draw attention to a customer service breakdown at Jamaica Public Service (JPS) that should alarm every consumer — especially those who lack the time, confidence, or capacity to repeatedly pursue a basic service request. When a company holds a monopoly over an essential service, customer care is not a nice-to-have. It is part of the public duty that comes with that privilege.

On December 12, 2025, I submitted a ‘stop service’ request to terminate electricity service on my JPS account. I received a confirmation indicating disconnection would be completed on December 16, 2025. Yet days after that promised date the service remained active. No revised completion date was provided. No clear explanation was offered. Just delay paired with uncertainty.

What made this experience more troubling was not only the failure to meet a stated timeline but the manner in which customer service handled repeated follow-ups. Each call produced the same vague, non-committal phrase: “It has been escalated.” In my case, the matter was escalated four times. But escalation without action is not service; it is a procedural mask worn to reassure customers without resolving the problem.

Even more concerning was the tone and professionalism displayed by some representatives. With each call, I sensed growing annoyance, as though a customer seeking accountability for a confirmed request was an inconvenience. On one occasion, a representative became dismissive and aggressive, forcing me to remind them that I am a paying customer and she is speaking on behalf of the company. In the background, I could hear chatter and remarks that were plainly unprofessional — an atmosphere that felt more like a casual schoolyard setting than a customer-care operation for a national utility.

Now, as Jamaicans, we should be honest about a cultural reality that sometimes affects public communication: Our directness can, in certain contexts, come across as aggressive, particularly over the phone, where tone does more work than words. But this is precisely why training and monitoring matter. Not all customer experiences in Jamaica are negative, and many Jamaican professionals deliver excellent service daily. However, when supervisors fail to actively monitor calls, coach representatives, and enforce standards, a combative tone can take root and become normalised. Customers end up managing emotions instead of receiving solutions.

This is when the absence of proper customer service training becomes obvious — not just in attitude, but in technique. Effective customer service is built on core communication practices: clear timelines, specific next steps, and language that reassures without evading responsibility. Instead of vague terms like “escalated”, customers need concrete statements such as: What action was taken, who owns the request, when it will be completed, and how the customer will be updated. Words matter. The right language builds confidence; the wrong language inflames frustration.

The inconsistency in responsiveness is also striking. When I reported sparks on a wire — a legitimate safety hazard — JPS acted swiftly, which is commendable. But when the request was routine and administrative, the system stalled: delayed processing, unclear information, and no apparent accountability. This suggests that while emergencies prompt immediate action, everyday customer requests can drift into an administrative void.

Ultimately, I was forced to contact the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) for intervention because JPS exceeded its stated timeline and still could not provide a reliable disconnection date. Consumers should not have to involve a regulator to obtain what the utility already confirmed in writing.

This raises a larger and more unsettling issue: If I — someone with the means and persistence to keep calling — struggle to get a straightforward request completed, what happens to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and citizens who cannot repeatedly wait on hold, call back, and argue just to be treated with basic respect?

That is the danger of monopoly conditions. When there is no alternative provider, the customer has nowhere else to go. The power imbalance grows, and without strong internal accountability, service standards can deteriorate because the market offers no penalty for poor performance. In a monopoly, customer care is not driven by competition; it must be driven by discipline.

JPS provides an essential service. With that comes a higher responsibility to operate with professionalism, clarity, and respect. At minimum, customers deserve: (1) accurate timelines, (2) consistent updates, (3) professional, courteous engagement, and (4) consequences when service standards are not met. These are not special demands. They are the basic expectations of public service in any modern society — especially when consumers have no choice.

St Aubyn Richards

clever2g@yahoo.com