Return to Paradise: March 2015

Within the first few months of coming back we had to deal with several government departments - Customs, Immigration, Police, Labour department and Motor vehicle registration department.

First experience was when we went to clear the stuff we had shipped from England. Ceylon Shipping Lines (CSL) in Orugodawatta has a customs office situated within the warehouse. The office opens at 8am but when I went in at 8.30am everyone was taking a break for breakfast. Once the paperwork processing started we were sent back and forth several times to get photo copies of various documents and every time we got back to the counter the people at the counter were always busy chatting with each other or on a personal call or out for a tea break! Paperwork went on for a good 2-3 hours and then had to break again since it was lunch hour for the folks at CSL. So we waited, had a bit of lunch ourselves and then finally got the required signatures and got the papers released from CSL only to find out that the Customs office lunch time starts one hour later than CSL! So that was another 1 hour wait. Once the process started moving again we had to go through 8-10 different customs counters for declaring goods to clearing and paying taxes. Each counter had its own queue - Sri Lankan style (i.e. the most indisciplined and selfish get through first). And then again at each counter you find customs staff chatting away and on personal phone calls and watching TV with no sense of customer service or courtesy. Finally after a 7 hours of dealing with inefficiency managed to get the stuff cleared.

Next was with the Police when I had to get a police report due to the side mirror of my car being stolen (not just the mirror, the whole unit had been taken apart) while it was parked at a residential area in Colombo 05 (afternoon). They apparently steal the whole unit now for the value of the motor and not the mirror! Insurance folks said they need a police report to process the claim. The first visit to the Police station was to provide a 'statement'. Out came a large log book where the Police officer started writing everything I was dictating based on his questions. Remember what I had lost was a side mirror of my car - but the questions were: what is my age, my height, my weight, my religion, my marital status etc...the officer managed to rant through 3 pages! Then I was given a paper and a pen to write a letter to them in sinhalese requesting a report for the statement I just provided and was told to come the next day to collect it. Went the next day, the officer who took my statement hadn't passed on the job to anyone so no one knew what had to be done. I had to point to the log book that was used for the statement and I was told to come the next day again. Went the next day again, only to find out that it hadn't been done yet. After a making a bit of noise I was told to take a seat so they can type it out while I was there. The typist couldn't read the hand writing of the person who wrote the statement so I had to explain the situation again. Then enters a friend of the typist and they start chatting about someones baby for about 10 mins...then sees me waiting and starts typing again! Finally after about a 1.5 hour wait managed to get the report and head home after 3 visits to the police station.

Transferring ownership of the car I bought was another ordeal. Took all the documents that were requested on the forms along with photocopies and at the counter I was asked why I didn't bring some other documents that were not on the list! There is the option of getting the registration certificate via a one-day service but I was told that only for that process I need to present a letter from the previous owner providing consent to me taking over the vehicle (this is after he had signed all the transfer papers!). Funny enough, this letter is not required for the 'delayed service' (I call it that since it doesn't have a time period attached!). I then handover applications for the 'delayed service' and was told that the registration docs would be posted home when they were ready. So after two long months I went back to the department to check why there is a delay only to be told that they don't post it and that it is ready for collection. So I get into a queue and wait for people behind the counter to finish their chats... and after about 45 mins get hold of my registration doc with my name misspelt. Correcting that needs a signature from the commissioner so there I stand in another long queue! Anyway got all that done and then was told that I can come again the next day to collect my new number plates. Knowing that it won't be ready the next day I went back the following week only to be told that I need to return my old number plates in order to collect the new ones! So there I go again the next day (not able to drive without number plates on the car) and finally got the plates and closed the deal after 4 visits and about 7 hours of waiting time.

I won't go into details about the other departments as the bottom line is the same...incredible levels of inefficiency. There are slight improvements to be noticed over the last decade like issuing of numbers in some departments, air-conditioned waiting areas and a defined workflow for getting through the job. I know we can't compare the processes and facilities available here to that available in western or more developed countries. There is also the potential use of technology which can automate and make a big difference but would need a big investment so probably not feasible over here. But there are a couple of basics that can make a huge difference. The first is training people in customer service and courtesy. There is absolutely none at the moment. No respect for the customer's time at all and it is very common to see people chatting away with their colleagues at the expense of the customer. Some basic training and consequences for not showing that respect can make a big difference. The next is to have some basic processes like having queue lines so that people can't flock counters and get served only based on who comes first. Some places issue numbers which also works but again not consistent. The third improvement I can think of is to provide clear and detailed instructions of what documents are needed, what are the prerequisites, expected waiting times. These are all simple things that can make this a more pleasant experience and cut down on waiting times.

So in summary, dealing with government departments in Sri Lanka is an experience. One can manage to go through it once but not over and over. It has barely changed over the last decade. Luckily, as with all other things in Sri Lanka, connections matter for getting through these too. Investing a bit of time to get to know the 'right' people or people who know the 'right' people will help you cut down your waiting times and in some cases even provide you with a personalized service that only a statesman would get!

Return to Paradise

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Dealing with government departments

Dual citizenship is back!