Success in business and in politics depends on how customers are handled.So said chief operating officer of Maritime Andrew Ferguson."Research indicates that, on the contrary, whether in business or politics customers who feel they have been alienated often disappear without the slightest warning to find a new partner to work with in order to achieve their goals and objectives," said Ferguson at the company's 50th Anniversary celebrations at the Hyatt on Friday evening.Ferguson said customer service was the edge Maritime had over other insurance companies.
This, he said, had ensured the company's continued longevity and success."Excellence in service delivery is an essential source of strength as companies emerge from recessionary periods. Brands that have deteriorated, the ease of access to information about companies, the reduction of switching costs between competitors have all created a more challenging environment for service delivery.
"Evidence shows that our clients are no longer tolerating the rushed and inconvenient service that has become all too common in this country and our industry. Instead, clients are looking for an experience that satisfies their needs beyond expectations and the companies that can provide this will win their loyalty," he said.He noted that it was on the eve of T&T's independence in April 1961, The Maritime Life Assurance Company opened its doors for business in Trinidad and Tobago.
"The decision to start operations here, although humble in its beginning carried with it the hopes and aspirations of the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago that this fledgling insurance company would grow and mature like our newly independent sovereign state and find its rightful place in society," he said of the company's history.Indeed, to tangibly support this policy position the Government of Trinidad and Tobago was one of the first shareholders of Maritime, he noted.Fifty years later the company now boasts of 400 trained employees and agents with over 1.6 billion in assets.Ferguson reiterated that "Maritime wants to continue working hand in hand with Government as we have always done."