Years ago, the joke in Israel was that the initials of the national airline, El Al, stood for ‘Every Landing Always Late’. While things have improved significantly since then, it was a phrase that encapsulated the country’s poor record in customer service.

On the down side, it would seem that in 2015, not a lot has changed. In the public sector, the number of official complaints seems to rise annually, as does the percentage of investigations which justify the original angst.

I want to vent out four specific examples that have happened to me in the past two years alone.

Pelephone: Skipping all the details, I felt strongly that I had been misled into signing up for a service I did not actually need, and for which I am still paying a monthly fee. I complained twice, but was told that I was talking nonsense. So, I went to the Ministry of Economics, that told me that I was one of many with a similar problem. I gave evidence. A multiple case will go to court in a few weeks.

El Al: Flying back from Bangkok recently was a horrendous experience. Faulty seat. Faulty seat in front. Could not eat my meal properly. Media controls did not work. etc. It took the airline a month to respond to my email. Eventually, I was told – after I phoned yet again – that I had been awarded a few miserly points. No letter of explanation or empathy. And the points are effectively worthless.

My oven: After 8 visits, the technician from the house insurance still could not fix my oven. We paid for an alternative service and claimed the money back. The insurance people refused to pay up. We took them to court. Can you believe it that their opening argument was that 8 visits was reasonable?!? We won some small damages.

My car: As per the agreement with my leasing company, they were due to pick up the car this Sunday, take it for the annual road test and return it. After much phoning and verbal aggravation, it turned out that somebody had written down the wrong day. The car has yet to be tested. I told them that this was costing me money, as I could not visit clients. The response? “Sir, what you must understand is……………”

I could go on. Maybe the problem lies in central government. The Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, thought he could hold on to four other ministries and still serve the public in the correct manner. This week, the High Court let him know that this was unacceptable. The arrogance of it all.

It is amazing how company after company just does not get the most basic of sales’ principles: “Leave your customers with a feel good factor and they will come back”. Last night, I did my weekly shop around at a branch of the Rami Levy chain of supermarkets. They may not have the best quality and they cut the extras. They have a minimal advertising budget. And they are consistently the cheapest! Simple, no?