Reinaldo Cosano Alén
HAVANA, June – The Ministry of Internal Commerce carried out 556,000 inspections of retail establishments during the last year, finding 1.7 million irregularities and issuing fines of 2 million pesos and 65,700 (U.S.) dollars.
The major chains of hard-currency stores like Panamericanas and TRD Caribe now have a structured system of consumer protection. Notwithstanding, Cubalse, the managing institution, acknowledges that progress is this respect is slow.
The major problem areas are:
Clerks treat customers in desultory fashion and are impolite. They are also reluctant to wait on customers or answer their questions.
Clerks systematically "make" mistakes in tendering change, always in their favor.
Clerks alter prices in ways that consumers cannot easily detect. They also include charges in the bill for goods or services not consumed or charge excessively.
Warranty periods are irritatingly short, ranging from days to a month. Electric appliances are a particular area of concern here; due to poor quality and lack of instructions for their use, they malfunction frequently.
Consumers trying to return or have goods repaired under warranty go through a grueling process.
Clerks seem to have no interest in selling. Most see customers as interruptions on their routines or conversations.
Clerks are usually undertrained or not trained at all. As a result they cannot answer questions about the goods and services they presumably sell.
Plastic bags are not given with purchases unless demanded; store employees prefer to sell them illegally to independent resellers.
In a surprisingly common twist, clerks tell customers that the store has run out of change so they "owe" them the difference between their payment and the amount of purchase.
There are now instructions to the population in the official press to teach them to speak up for their rights. However, one journalist said: "It would be illusory to think that many years of irregularities will disappear with one stroke of a pen."
Versión original en español
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