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Dear Managers of DEWA

One of the things I love about Dubai is that, in many way, it's a marvellously progressive city. You can pretty much find wi-fi anywhere you'd reasonably expect to. We have a driverless Metro system that (odd timetabling aside) serves those who use it well.

One of the things I hate most about Dubai, is DEWA.

It is indicative of all those things that make life in this city so much more stressful than it need be. Water and electricty are (with the exception of sewerage and roads) the two most vital things required by a civilised society to thrive. Their availabilty (subject to cost) should be immediate to all those who need it. No 'if's, 'and's or 'but's.

So then why, everytime I am required to call upon your 'services', am I left feeling like the only reasonable response to my experience is to acquire a gas-cooled assault rifle and come stalk the halls of your head office Columbine-style? That's not how your customer service experience should leave me. Or is it?
Are you guys trying to lay a few people off the old fashioned way?!

But ultimately, in my dealings with DEWA I have been fobbed off, insulted and flat out lied to. On BOTH occasions that I've needed a service (at 2 year intervals).

Nice going. Seriously.

To be incompetent is easy. Virtually all companies are at some point. But to be systematically structured to fail your customers at each request has to be applauded. If there were awards for sucking, DEWA would win the lion's share (and DU would probably pick up a few too). You guys would be the Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian of sucking. So how do you do it? How do you manage to consistently disappoint and flat-out infuriate.

Well, for starters, you tell people their electricity will be connected "within 2 hours" but then actually, despite 12 phonecalls and over 3 hours on the phone over a 48 hour period, you don't do it at all.

But that's not all. Not even nearly.

You need to hire a "Customer Service" department that on the surface has a vague idea of what a customer is, but no real experience dealing with them or desire to help them. Then you train your "Customer Service" team to be obnoxious, wilfully dumb and so mind-numbingly arrogant that they say things like, "well, that's YOUR problem."

That's. Your. Problem.

My "problem" is that in a city of 1 and a half million people, I have to deal with a company that in any other country, would have been removed from service years ago.

My "problem" is that when someone tells me that my electricity is going to be switched on "within 2 hours", nearly 48 hours later, it still hadn't.

Now I know what you're going to say, and you're right. I should just use candles until you're less busy and can send someone over. I shouldn't be so girly and precious about wanting to use a washing machine or a fridge. And you're right, because 50 years ago, Dubai didn't even have a washing machine or a fridge in the entire city. You guys managed, right?

So in closing, I would like to thank you DEWA managers. Thank you for managing a company that actively adds to the already abundent strain of living in this city, by being so hopelessly clueless, I had to get the security guy in my building to switch on my electric.

Thanks for employing staff who are so openly contempuous of customers, that their phone manner basically says "go forth and multiply".

Thanks for sucking 110%*.

And thanks for ensuring that wherever I travel in the world, I will always refer to Dubai as a third world country**, because (justice issues aside) basic services are provided so consistently poorly.

Yours, in awe of your suckiness.

Doctor Strangeglove


* Yes, I know. There's no such thing as 110%. I understand the contradiction.

** I'm aware that Dubai is not a country, but abroad, most people think that it is.

Good points Dr. S., I must say that I have had many such experiences with DEWA.

Though this article is about customer care services in Sharjah but i guess, in the light of the above letter, its the same or probably worse in Dubai




Sharjah government aims to improve telephone manner

Yasin Kakande

* Last Updated: January 15. 2010 1:12AM UAE / January 14. 2010 9:12PM GMT

SHARJAH // It is an all too familiar experience: what should be a simple call to a local authority to enquire about public transport or report a blocked drain turns into a nightmare of being passed from pillar to post, put on hold and spoken to like a second-class citizen by a less-than-sympathetic operator.

Now, following repeated public complaints about sloppy customer service, the Government of Sharjah has announced it will train staff who answer their phones to deal with inquiries more efficiently and politely.

Sharjah Human Resource Department said it had organised a training course to improve the skills of staff in government departments, when it comes to fielding calls from the public.

Residents and workers in the emirate have complained in the past that their telephone inquiries have been met with long periods on hold, an unhelpful attitude sometimes verging on rudeness and awkward language barriers.

The course starts this week with 27 trainees drawn from key government departments like Sharjah Police, Civil Defence and Civil Aviation, and will past for three months.

Hanan al Jarwan, the director of SHRD, said every telephone operator should play an important role in demonstrating the efficiency of a department or organisation and the ability to deal with clients correctly should be an integral part of this.

She said the training program, which is being undertaken in co-operation with the telecommunications provider Etisalat, would teach the government staff the basic principles of customer service, English language skills and methods for coping with difficult calls.

Several residents yesterday welcomed news of the training scheme, reporting unpleasant experiences.

Aisha Hammad, 30, a Palestinian housewife in the Al Majaz area, said she had found dealing with phone operators in government schools problematic.

She said: “One day I called the operator and told them that my daughter would not be going to school the next day and that there is no need for the school bus to come. The phone operator did not pass on the information and the next day the bus driver turned up. When I tried to blame her for not passing on this information she simply shouted at me.”

Musa al Qaadh, an Egyptian resident, said he once received a hostile reception from the operator who demanded that he speak “correct Arabic”.

“She told me that this is not Egypt, you have to speak correct Arabic or I will hang up on you,” said Mr al Qaadh.

Another resident, Mohammed Yousef said he was once kept waiting on a telephone line for more than ten minutes before giving up.

“It was not a matter of the operator being busy, she just received another call on her mobile and asked me to excuse her for a minute,” he said.

The National telephoned Sharjah government departments to gauge the service they provided and found in many cases they did not have an English-speaking phone operator. In some departments there was no answer at all.

A call to the Postal Authority to ask about the location of postboxes was answered by a female with an apparently impatient manner.

Asked whether letters could be posted in public areas such as shopping malls, she responded: “By municipality”. When clarification was sought on the exact location she declined to provide an address or directions and repeated “by municipality” at an increased volume.

A request for further information was declined and when asked whether she could send an e-mail, she shouted “No” and put down the phone.

*The National

Great letter Dr. Strangeluv.

Had a good laugh here.

i totally agree with you Dr

i had bad experience with DEWA costumer service Dept. they are exteremly rude .

anyway DEWA is the only provider of Water and Elec. in the city ..there is no alternative .

naruto wrote:
i had bad experience with DEWA costumer service Dept. they are exteremly rude .

This is what their website says about Dubai Electricity & Water Authority:

Today DEWA employees a workforce of about 7696 employees who constantly endeavour to see that both the quantity and quality of services provided are of the highest standards in consistency and reliability. Thus the expansion continues in order to meet the ever growing demand for electricity and water, and keeping this in mind DEWA continues to maintain its corporate structure and functioning in the most professional and advanced ways to ensure its continued success in the years to come.

There was a survey of the DEWA labour force recently about childcare services at DEWA headquarters. The survey was conducted on a sample of DEWA employees – 79% of whom were female and 21% male. The majority of respondents were married (84%) and Emirati (84%).

see full article here.

So what does this say about the workforce and 'the highest standards in consistency and reliability' of its employee base. Even with all the excellent benefits that are eventually charged to its customers, YOU, the letter of Dr. Strangluv indicates that 'professionalism' isn't anywhere to be found. High salaries don't increase the employee efforts either, since the Emirati workers think its a 'state obligation' to care for them as other interviews have shown accross the Gulf region, not just Dubai.

Plus, as DEWA is the only company who has the Electricity and Water monopoly in the UAE, the incentives for efficiency improvements and competitive mindsets is absent and will never be incentivized without a competitor company who breaks the monopoly situation. In the end, the customer has to pay for all the demands of nearly 8000 employees and their government salaries and benefits...

Expect higher prices in the future with the same poor quality professionalism.

RobbyG wrote:

naruto wrote:
i had bad experience with DEWA costumer service Dept. they are exteremly rude .

This is what their website says about Dubai Electricity & Water Authority:

Today DEWA employees a workforce of about 7696 employees who constantly endeavour to see that both the quantity and quality of services provided are of the highest standards in consistency and reliability. Thus the expansion continues in order to meet the ever growing demand for electricity and water, and keeping this in mind DEWA continues to maintain its corporate structure and functioning in the most professional and advanced ways to ensure its continued success in the years to come.

There was a survey of the DEWA labour force recently about childcare services at DEWA headquarters. The survey was conducted on a sample of DEWA employees – 79% of whom were female and 21% male. The majority of respondents were married (84%) and Emirati (84%).

see full article here.

So what does this say about the workforce and 'the highest standards in consistency and reliability' of its employee base. Even with all the excellent benefits that are eventually charged to its customers, YOU, the letter of Dr. Strangluv indicates that 'professionalism' isn't anywhere to be found. High salaries don't increase the employee efforts either, since the Emirati workers think its a 'state obligation' to care for them as other interviews have shown accross the Gulf region, not just Dubai.

Plus, as DEWA is the only company who has the Electricity and Water monopoly in the UAE, the incentives for efficiency improvements and competitive mindsets is absent and will never be incentivized without a competitor company who breaks the monopoly situation. In the end, the customer has to pay for all the demands of nearly 8000 employees and their government salaries and benefits...

Expect higher prices in the future with the same poor quality professionalism.

i have to agree with you Robby G

Most of the CC staff at DEWA are local who lack the basic knowledge of costumer services.. As DR mentioned in his letter that some 1 told him that its your problem..this indicate that this employee doesn’t know anything about how to handle costumer center calls..in other hand his management didn’t train him or educate them on how to interact with costumers.

Im blaming the management cuz they play the monopoly game since they are no competitors in the market they will not care on their service quality..

we cant blame the little boy who is setting on the call center if he didn't receive any training ..

Management should be blamed to this kind of employee response and behavior..
im myself faced the same problem with the our CC staff in my company although they are a hard working employees the way they interact with costumers were very hostile and aggressive ..But with good training we were able to provide good service and received fantastic feedbacks from customers and we are now receiving thanks emails from big company's clients.

Yes locals needs to be enrolled in CC Courses plus they should be trained on how to answer costumers inquiries with proper language and manners to ensure good service quality

Whilst I agree that at times the customer service at DEWA is not the best, it is still the Power and Utility Company in Dubai, the fact that it is the only one in Dubai is not really unusual, after all how many places in the world does one have a choice?
Now we have Robby G commenting on the situation, what I find really amusing is the fact that he has never been here?????????????????

sage & onion wrote:Whilst I agree that at times the customer service at DEWA is not the best, it is still the Power and Utility Company in Dubai, the fact that it is the only one in Dubai is not really unusual, after all how many places in the world does one have a choice?
Now we have Robby G commenting on the situation, what I find really amusing is the fact that he has never been here?????????????????

Thats because I analyze things while you merely say the same thing... 'never been here'... for over a year now!

Over the past year I've shown to be more informed about Dubai's markets than you my friend. And I've shown DF multiple times that you don't have your facts in order. So who's credibility is actually on the line here???

You charlatan !

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:Whilst I agree that at times the customer service at DEWA is not the best, it is still the Power and Utility Company in Dubai, the fact that it is the only one in Dubai is not really unusual, after all how many places in the world does one have a choice?
Now we have Robby G commenting on the situation, what I find really amusing is the fact that he has never been here?????????????????

Thats because I analyze things while you merely say the same thing... 'never been here'... for over a year now!

Over the past year I've shown to be more informed about Dubai's markets than you my friend. And I've shown DF multiple times that you don't have your facts in order. So who's credibility is actually on the line here???

You charlatan !

Now this is really funny, instead of simply keeping to the subject you start bleating on about Dubai Markets, this is about DEWA (Dubai Electricity & Water Authority) and the mere fact that you do not know anything about the Company because you do not live here and indeed have never been here!

What annoys me about DEWA is the oiks that constantly push in and they've done away with the ladies counters - boooooo!

sage & onion wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:Whilst I agree that at times the customer service at DEWA is not the best, it is still the Power and Utility Company in Dubai, the fact that it is the only one in Dubai is not really unusual, after all how many places in the world does one have a choice?
Now we have Robby G commenting on the situation, what I find really amusing is the fact that he has never been here?????????????????

Thats because I analyze things while you merely say the same thing... 'never been here'... for over a year now!

Over the past year I've shown to be more informed about Dubai's markets than you my friend. And I've shown DF multiple times that you don't have your facts in order. So who's credibility is actually on the line here???

You charlatan !

Now this is really funny, instead of simply keeping to the subject you start bleating on about Dubai Markets, this is about DEWA (Dubai Electricity & Water Authority) and the mere fact that you do not know anything about the Company because you do not live here and indeed have never been here!

What is even more funny is Sage defending a country that is not even his, never will and that is not worth to be defended.

gertrude wrote:
What is even more funny is Sage defending a country that is not even his, never will and that is not worth to be defended.

Then again, sycophants throughout history have often gained, even if a little, in the short term.

Ghalib wrote:
Musa al Qaadh, an Egyptian resident, said he once received a hostile reception from the operator who demanded that he speak “correct Arabic”.

“She told me that this is not Egypt, you have to speak correct Arabic or I will hang up on you,” said Mr al Qaadh.

Sharjah is home to a lot of people with Arab Nationalistic feelings, so its not surprising....

Then again, I too have a hard time understanding Egyptian Arabic !

gertrude wrote

What is even more funny is Sage defending a country that is not even his, never will and that is not worth to be defended.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion, however I will continue to support Dubai and the UAE because it has been my home for many years, has provided me with a good income and God willing will continue to do so for many a year to come.

Nice letter Doc.

Too bad it won’t be read by DEWA officials. Judging from the quality of their customer service, perhaps they are not likely to have a PR team to follow what is said about them in the media and in the internet!

However, based on my experience only, I must say they still comparatively have a better customer service than some other government agencies,… and some private ones too, for that matter, like DU!!

sage & onion wrote:

gertrude wrote

What is even more funny is Sage defending a country that is not even his, never will and that is not worth to be defended.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion, however I will continue to support Dubai and the UAE because it has been my home for many years, has provided me with a good income and God willing will continue to do so for many a year to come.

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

BlackburnRovers wrote:

Ghalib wrote:
Musa al Qaadh, an Egyptian resident, said he once received a hostile reception from the operator who demanded that he speak “correct Arabic”.

“She told me that this is not Egypt, you have to speak correct Arabic or I will hang up on you,” said Mr al Qaadh.

Sharjah is home to a lot of people with Arab Nationalistic feelings, so its not surprising....

Then again, I too have a hard time understanding Egyptian Arabic !

Ditto! And Egyptian English too!!!!

Tom Jones wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

gertrude wrote

What is even more funny is Sage defending a country that is not even his, never will and that is not worth to be defended.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion, however I will continue to support Dubai and the UAE because it has been my home for many years, has provided me with a good income and God willing will continue to do so for many a year to come.

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

Thanks Tom

sage & onion wrote:

Tom Jones wrote:

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

Thanks Tom

Exactly Tom, respect Sage's opinion for what its really worth.

sage & onion wrote:

Tom Jones wrote:

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

[/quote]

Thanks Tom

You sure don't feel indebted with your own country, always bashing on every others, which is the one that has not been good to you Sage? Keep in mind that eventually the people you support will cancel your residency and you ll have 30 days to pack and go back like everybody else.

gertrude wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

Tom Jones wrote:

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

Thanks Tom

You sure don't feel indebted with your own country, always bashing on every others, which is the one that has not been good to you Sage? Keep in mind that eventually the people you support will cancel your residency and you ll have 30 days to pack and go back like everybody else.[/quote]

And whose country am I bashing on???. If you have no idea of the local laws and regulations you shouldn't comment.

But you do know that eventually they will cancel your residency.

gertrude wrote:But you do know that eventually they will cancel your residency.

You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

sage & onion wrote:

gertrude wrote:But you do know that eventually they will cancel your residency.

You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

Because I know local laws and regulations, because you are not an Emirati, because you support a country that is not yours and that is in essence always questionable. I have met a lot of Muslims with UK Passports from Yemen, Pakistan who applied for UAE citizenship so they could get free DEWA and other benefits, but in the end, after all their efforts, their inconditional and biased support for the UAE, they still get booted out. I just hope you are aware of that.

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

Tom Jones wrote:

Sages is content in Dubai and feels indebted to the place that has been good to him. He is certainly not interested to hop on the bashers’ wagon!!

What’s wrong with that???

Let him be, and respect his opinions!!

I do!!!

Thanks Tom

Exactly Tom, respect Sage's opinion for what its really worth.

Sure, no harm in that either!!!

To “respect” does not mean to “accept”!!

We can differ whilst still being respectful of each other!

gertrude wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

gertrude wrote:But you do know that eventually they will cancel your residency.

You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

Because I know local laws and regulations, because you are not an Emirati, because you support a country that is not yours and that is in essence always questionable. I have met a lot of Muslims with UK Passports from Yemen, Pakistan who applied for UAE citizenship so they could get free DEWA and other benefits, but in the end, after all their efforts, their inconditional and biased support for the UAE, they still get booted out. I just hope you are aware of that.

Once again you have absolutely no idea of my personal circumstances, so why are you commenting. I am not looking for a free ride with free DEWA bills, did I say that or infur such a thing? Gertrude you preume to know a lot, but you know nothing about me, when you do you are more than welcome to voice your opinion.

sage & onion wrote:

sage & onion wrote:
You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

Once again you have absolutely no idea of my personal circumstances, so why are you commenting. I am not looking for a free ride with free DEWA bills, did I say that or infur such a thing? Gertrude you preume to know a lot, but you know nothing about me, when you do you are more than welcome to voice your opinion.

gertrude wrote:So you think you are different from all the expats?

Sage, when you reach the age of 60, its nearly all over for you in Dubai. Gertrude is right. You are no different than any other expat.

First of all, the life expectancy in the UAE is only about 65-70 because of the continuous heat and resulting heartstrokes.
Second, expats aren't allowed to work in Dubai when they are older than 60 so you won't qualify for visa any longer. After that, you might have your residency visa due to a villa investment, but that will have to be renewed every six months, depending on the ever changing laws and more importantly, the mood of a dictator...

In the end, if the ruler decides that he had enough of property ownership by foreigners, he might aswell cancel your visa and leave you with a hastly sell-order (if your lucky) on your villa in a sudden glutted market of property offerings.

So, you have no rights mate. Everybody who is foreigner knows what your situation might look like in Dubai. Its all an illusion, an experience at best.

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

sage & onion wrote:
You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

Once again you have absolutely no idea of my personal circumstances, so why are you commenting. I am not looking for a free ride with free DEWA bills, did I say that or infur such a thing? Gertrude you preume to know a lot, but you know nothing about me, when you do you are more than welcome to voice your opinion.

gertrude wrote:So you think you are different from all the expats?

Sage, when you reach the age of 60, its nearly all over for you in Dubai. Gertrude is right. You are no different than any other expat.

First of all, the life expectancy in the UAE is only about 65-70 because of the continuous heat and resulting heartstrokes.
Second, expats aren't allowed to work in Dubai when they are older than 60 so you won't qualify for visa any longer. After that, you might have your residency visa due to a villa investment, but that will have to be renewed every six months, depending on the ever changing laws and more importantly, the mood of a dictator...

In the end, if the ruler decides that he had enough of property ownership by foreigners, he might aswell cancel your visa and leave you with a hastly sell-order (if your lucky) on your villa in a sudden glutted market of property offerings.

So, you have no rights mate. Everybody who is foreigner knows what your situation might look like in Dubai. Its all an illusion, an experience at best.

Once again Robby G you think you know everything about this Country that you have never visited, I will leave it to other people who live and work here, if they see fit, to put you straight, as for me I will state for the last time; you know nothing about me, when you do you are more than welcome to voice your opinion

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

sage & onion wrote:
You have no idea of my circumstances so why are you commenting???????????

Once again you have absolutely no idea of my personal circumstances, so why are you commenting. I am not looking for a free ride with free DEWA bills, did I say that or infur such a thing? Gertrude you preume to know a lot, but you know nothing about me, when you do you are more than welcome to voice your opinion.

gertrude wrote:So you think you are different from all the expats?

Sage, when you reach the age of 60, its nearly all over for you in Dubai. Gertrude is right. You are no different than any other expat.

First of all, the life expectancy in the UAE is only about 65-70 because of the continuous heat and resulting heartstrokes.
Second, expats aren't allowed to work in Dubai when they are older than 60 so you won't qualify for visa any longer. After that, you might have your residency visa due to a villa investment, but that will have to be renewed every six months, depending on the ever changing laws and more importantly, the mood of a dictator...

In the end, if the ruler decides that he had enough of property ownership by foreigners, he might aswell cancel your visa and leave you with a hastly sell-order (if your lucky) on your villa in a sudden glutted market of property offerings.

So, you have no rights mate. Everybody who is foreigner knows what your situation might look like in Dubai. Its all an illusion, an experience at best.

Robby, Sage has no credibility here, his posts are most like gastric reflexes than anything else, and his efforts to hide who he is make him even less credible, however , reading the latest posts, if Gertrude had called you (or any other westerner) a Muslim Pakistani holding a UK passport, you would have jumped the gun and called her with a long list of colorfull names. Not only it is an admission for him not denying it, but he goes even further saying that he is not looking for free DEWA bills when she mentioned citizenship application, so to me it all interprets that he is, and now it is all clear that no matter what, Sage will never, ever, speak against the UAE, regardless a sheikh is caught torturing a poor guy, or a ruler is above the law having children with women he is not married to, so he can hang on the hope to get a UAE passport someday.
But by the time he is 60, not only he will have been kicked out already, like any other expats, but by then, with depleted oil and nothing else to sell, Dubai will be populated by beduins wandering between empty buildings and living of UN subsidies.