Raphael John-Lall
Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte yesterday told officials of the T&T Postal Corporation (TTPost) the company has to keep evolving to meet the demands of the contemporary business world.
“If you do not change and you are not constantly revolutionizing yourself, you will die. That is business,” he said.
In an address at the launch of TTPost’s retail corporate office in Chaguanas, the Minster that as an organisation with 1,084 employees that deliver mail weekly to 250,000 households throughout the country at least twice a week, TTPost must do more to become totally financially independent.
“We have to move organizations like TTPost 100 per cent out of their dependency on the state. When we are able to do that, if the state does not have to subsidize for TTPost, by extension the state is able to take that subsidy and apply it to other areas like old age pension, schools and books,” he said.
Le Hunte said the saying the customer is always right is a private sector law that applies to almost all businesses “because at the end of the day it is your customer that keeps you in business.”
He explained: “You are not operating a business for yourself, you are operating a business to satisfy a need and as long as that need is there you need provide that need. One of the differentiating factors is customer service.”
The minister said even for those private businesses that operate in a monopolistic segment of the market, there is the need to maintain excellent customer service.
“As a matter of fact, because you are the only provider of that service, the onus is upon you to raise your game and ensure what the customer wants he gets,” he said.
According to LeHunte, while TTPost has undergone many changes in the last 20 years, innovation will keep the organization alive, so it is important to seek out opportunities “to get involved in using technology.”
He also noted that TTPost operates in an industry where the core business is declining, so it is important to remain relevant.
“We do not live on an island onto ourselves and what happens in the world impacts on us. If you are operating in an industry that is changing rapidly, if you decide to stay still, then you will end up being a dinosaur,” he said.