that flipping RGD

[RichD]

Re: that flipping RGD

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Yuri_</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

And <span style="font-weight: bold">THEN</span> guess what happened …
</div></div>

i going to follow the rules and guess:


i guess you got 3 copies<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> of the wrong death certificate.</div></div></div>

[kia027]

Re: that flipping RGD

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Yuri_</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

And <span style="font-weight: bold">THEN</span> guess what happened …
</div></div>

i going to follow the rules and guess:


i guess you got 3 copies<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> of the wrong death certificate.</div></div></div> </div></div>

I would not be surprised

[Gen]

Re: that flipping RGD

BOAL

[ILP]

Re: that flipping RGD

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kia</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Yuri_</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
And <span style="font-weight: bold">THEN</span> guess what happened … </div></div>

i going to follow the rules and guess:

i guess you got 3 copies<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Click to reveal.. <input type="button" class="form-button" value="Show me!" onclick="toggle_spoiler(this, 'Yikes, my eyes!', 'Show me!')" /></div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div style="display: none;"> of the wrong death certificate.</div></div></div> </div></div>

I would not be surprised </div></div>

Neither would I...
I would laugh....but that place.....

[Nunya]

Re: that flipping RGD

This thread is hilarious!

[mangoskin]

Re: that flipping RGD

yeah
how someone hasn't shot up the place is a miracle!
their motto is on the marriage certificates something about good service!

[Yuriatin]

Re: that flipping RGD

Mi ketcheen lass nite annah tell hubby allah whappin wid di RGD ah ray, ray ray - ‘bout how mi did affi put dem pan blass tuh blertneet.

Im seh, <span style="font-style: italic">yes mi right fi race dem up, but mi wrong fia post post ‘bout it pan di board</span>.

Mi seh tuh miself, <span style="font-style: italic">‘ah wha wrang wid dah breddah yah massah god?’</span>

But im ax mi – how mi wouldain feel if di RGD poas my work email address and my business fi all di wurl fi read.

Well ... I’m a very private person so, I get his argument – to a point.

But I don’t see a problem with sharing this experience with people.
<span style="font-style: italic">
Mi wrong ar mi right?</span>

I did go back and delete out the email addresses for the RGD peeps however.<span style="color: #CC0000"> <span style="font-style: italic">(mi nevva get fi finish tho – maddarayta, how mi edit poas fram yessideh?)</span></span>

Mi not tekkin out the MOH contact, Ms Dixon. All that info is already out in the public domain and on jis website for all to see.

Right then – back to the story ...

[CeaBee]

Re: that flipping RGD

I fixed two that i saw. Hit report post, if u see one that i missed.

[Yuriatin]

Re: that flipping RGD

So after I get cc’d on that email from Ms Dixon yesterday morning, where she firmly directs the ceo of the rgd to GET ON IT, maybe about half hour later, I get a call from the CEO but I missed it – she left me a voicemail.

Maybe 1/2 hour later, she phones back, luckily I’m at my desk and get the call.
<span style="font-style: italic">
Talk about obsequious.</span>

She first profusely apologized for the delay and says that they have found all the needed records and are preparing the death certificate. She tells me that it will get sent out today and she’d call me back before noon with a tracking #.

Then I tell her how ticked off I am about how this whole thing was handled. Guys – I kid you not – the amount of money I’ve spent calling and faxing and trying to get help the past 6 months, has about totaled the same amount I paid for the application.

I explain to her my feeling on how they need to do better and that 3 people I’d been dealing with were all a sad embarrassment for the organization and that they really need to be properly trained. And this type of shoddy service is how they’ve been carrying on for <span style="font-weight: bold">YEARS</span>!!!!

Wont even bother getting into her response – suffice it to say, it was weak.

Before we end the call, I ask her a question ... and let me just say this ...

You know the scene in The Matrix where Morepheus takes Neo to meet the Oracle to see if Neo is “The One”?

Neo goes in the house, into the kitchen to see the her. He asks her if he’s is in fact The One. He’s desperate for a little confidence, some reassurance, some hope that it’s all going to be ok. He’s pretty sure the Oracle’s going to shed some light on his dilemma.

But what does he hear – <span style="font-style: italic">sorry kid, you’re not the one</span>.

What a let down.

I ask Ms Dixon a simple question -

<span style="font-style: italic">“Ms Dixon, I’m just curious – why is it that when one calls the RGD, nobody picks up the phone?”</span>

<span style="font-style: italic">“Well, I don’t know yuh nuh – I’m not quite sure – I’m going to have to investigate that because I just don’t understand it. Especially because we just spent $11million dollars on a new phone system ... “</span> ray, ray, ray.

<span style="font-weight: bold">PUH LEEZE</span>.

What a let down.

I’m glad progress was being made on my application but I sure felt like Neo at the end of the call. No hope for any light at the end of the tunnel. Not necessarily for me I’m talking – but for all those before and after me that’ll have to deal with the RGD. Dude – WHAT IS UP WITH THE RGD???? I just don’t get it.

Anyway – maybe half hour later, I get an email from her with a tracking # for the documents. She later calls me to make sure I got her email.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Look</span> – <span style="font-weight: bold">how</span> – <span style="font-weight: bold">fast </span>– <span style="font-weight: bold">they </span>– <span style="font-weight: bold">sent</span> – <span style="font-weight: bold">the</span> – <span style="font-weight: bold">certificates</span> ... !



Before NOON, they were able to complete the process and send them out. LOOK! BY 11:30am!!!!

WHAT!!

By 9pm last nite, the package reached MIAMI!

It cleared customs near midnight and is now in Fed Ex's hand and out for delivery - today!

<span style="font-weight: bold">TODAY!!!</span> tuh blertnaught!

So basically, it took less than 48 hours for them to complete a process, that I started 6 months ago.

So what’s been going on for the past 6 months?

Why did it take so long?

Why is it so hard for them to properly do their jobs?
<span style="font-weight: bold">
WHAT IS UP WITH THE RGD????</span> I just don’t get it.

If and when I do get the package, I’ll be writing a thank you note to Ms Dixon.

Here's what I've learned over the past 6 months but especially, over the past 48 hours when it come to the RGD ...

[twiney]

Re: that flipping RGD

What I noticed there was a lot of young ppl working there and the older ones looked like they were there from when you needed to throw stone to get a job. I heard ppl the 3 days I sat out by the tent a twickenham park say that is the boss lady church ppl them (the young ones) and they do look like faithful pentecostals well programmed to repeat a response even if they have no clue what it means so it may have some truth to it.

[mangoskin]

Re: that flipping RGD

..with all the back and forth, &amp; long distance phone calls etc, they must be losing alot of $$$

[RichD]

Re: that flipping RGD

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mangoskin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">..with all the back and forth, &amp; long distance phone calls etc, they must be losing alot of $$$ </div></div> dem put in magicjack

[kia027]

Re: that flipping RGD

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mangoskin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">..with all the back and forth, &amp; long distance phone calls etc, they must be losing alot of $$$ </div></div> dem put in magicjack </div></div>

$11Million worth of magic jack?

[Yuriatin]

Re: that flipping RGD

You know Twiney, I honestly do try &amp; think about it from their point of view – you know, like I said before – do they really have all the resources they need to perform their job properly? I mean – they really do have a lot on their plate. It’s not just birth, death, marriage certificates they deal with.

They do an astounding amount of genealogical research, for example.

I don’t know. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt.

But regardless, that agency needs deep change. Very much so.

You don’t need the latest technology in order to answer a telephone properly – to take a message – to answer an email – to return a call – to provide good customer service.

I did a LOT of research on the RGD and its structure this week. I found complaints going back donkey years making the same complaints people are making today. But – nothing changes.

THEY may say they’ve made improvements but I’ve not experienced them.

Look at this person’s 2008 complaint for example ... It’s clarity is 10 times better than anything I could’ve expressed:
<span style="color: #CC0000">
<span style="font-style: italic">[JAMAICA] The RGD and Patricia Holness's Responses
By: ***
Date: 8/4/2008, 9:25 pm

Ms Holness,

We do appreciate your effort to address everyone's concerns, however I find it very troubling that you fail to recognize the failures within your department. Your responses to our concerns read like a public relations coverup. I understand it is your sincere desire to ensure your customers are 100% satisfied and I do applaud you.

Based on the interaction that most of the folks on *** have experienced with your employees it appears your perception is tainted. The main issues plaguing your department and too many government offices in Jamaica are:

1. A lack of technologically savvy individuals

2. Poor Communication skills

3. A lack of respect for your customers and their time

We are all human beings and we deserve to be treated with respect when we contact a place of business. As a customer I should not feel as if my call to your office interrupted your personal conversation or that I simply called when you did not wish to answer the phone.

You indicated that you rarely have system outages. If that is a true statement, please inform your staff to stop using that excuse. You could have all the technology in the world however in order to run a successful operation you need employees who are technologically savy and able to work in a fast-paced environment. Jamaica has a very laid back culture and that is great when I am on vacation but when I am conducting business I need the pace to be picked up a tad bit.

There are 5 telephone numbers indicated on your website, today I dialed all 5 numbers without success from 10am to 3pm EST. No one picked up. I called again at 4:30pm and spoke to a very helpful young lady who was able to answer my questions.

I do regret to inform you that your statement that these situations are &quot;most unusual considering that we satisfy over 340,000 persons/applications each year&quot; is unfounding. My aunt has sat in your office for over 8 hours awaiting an expedited copy of my mom's birth certificate which was requested weeks prior. To top it off, the gentleman who finally completed the request, handed my aunt a copy without my mom's last name. He indicated her last name was not on the birth records. That statement was also unfounded, as you cannot apply for a passport without a last name on your birth certificate and my mom had a passport and resides in the USA. That is poor customer service.

To clarify your statement referencing the lack of last name on birth records, in the 1930's to approximately the late 1950's the last name of the father was not placed on the birth certificate of an infant if the parents were not legally married. The child however was either given the mother's last name or the last name of the man deemed the father. In the 1960's through the early 1970's, the mother had the option of not listed the father's name on the birth records.

I am not here to bash your department or yourself but I do want honesty. I am sure all on this board will agree that they would prefer to hear the truth than to be given the run around. It takes time and money to keep calling and writing your department. The least your staff can do is be courteous, concise and explicit with disseminating information and be cognizant that we are calling and emailing from another country. Please do not place us on hold to have a private conversation with someone in the office. Every minute we are placed on hold, is another $2.00 to $3.00 that is added to our phone bill.

I hope you understand that this has been a very frustrating event for all of us and as Jamaicans or descendants of Jamaicans we would like to prove to the world that we are efficient. Let's start doing that by changing the culture at the RGD offices.

Regards,
</span></span>
***


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Twiney</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What I noticed there was a lot of young ppl working there and the older ones looked like they were there from when you needed to throw stone to get a job. I heard ppl the 3 days I sat out by the tent a twickenham park say that is the boss lady church ppl them (the young ones) and they do look like faithful pentecostals well programmed to repeat a response even if they have no clue what it means so it may have some truth to it. </div></div>

[Yuriatin]

Re: that flipping RGD


Anyway – what I’ve learned is that when using their services, make sure you give them as much CORRECT documentation/info as possible. If your seeking info on “John D. Smith” then try your best to tell them your looking for “John David Smith”.

Give as much complete info as possible. If you don’t know a full date, then give them as closely approximate as you can.

In my digging, I do indeed find that a lot of problems are caused by customers themselves, misspelling names and places, etc, etc.

But, in a way – that’s not a fully good enough excuse.

For example, I found a case where a person’s application was held up for over a year, because of a misspelling of a name. I wont go into the detail of the matter but it went like this basically:

The person’s name was actually – MICHELLE SMITH.

Thru out the process of the application and across various documents, that’s how the person’s name was being spelled.

Until a typo was made – BY the rgd and was never corrected. They spelled her name MICHELLE MSITH.

Now if you have 10 documents in front of you – and 9 of them spell SMITH – and the last one is spelled MSITH, common sense must tell you, something is wrong. That’s it’s probably an error and that you should look into it. Don’t tell the CUSTOMER, that they need to look into it – the CUSTOMER gave you all their correct info.

Get up off your butt – go over to the department down the hall from you where that 10th document was created and check it out. Don’t stonewall the customer with the partial picture, telling her you can’t proceed because there’s a discrepancy with how her last name is spelled. An error made, by the way, by people IN your agency.

Anyway, none of this really applied in my case but, you get what I’m saying. More training, commonsense, and education would go a long way. To me, that’s half the battle right there.

Next – and I know this seems obvious but, <span style="color: #CC0000"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">ing on pan yuh receipt # and application # fi dear life. Duh nuh baddah guh lass ie</span></span></span>.
Again, didn’t apply in my case, but if you don’t have your proof of payment or application number – yuh done.

DO NOT APPLY FOR RUSH SERVICE – waissa money. You aint gone git no rush nothin ...

Tho in fairness, I do find that peeps applying from overseas are more successful at getting rush service than those applying from within JA.

If you’ve paid for a service and not received it, not received any help or status or follow up by calling or emailing them, in the alotted amount of time, contact the Ministry of Health.

Is di MOH fi check fiddi rgd. Let them know the problem that you have but you MUST be able to have proof that YOUR hands are clean and that the rgd is falling down on the job.

Lastly, no offense but imho, Dr Holness needs to be replaced.