I LIVE at 47 Area Q, Turkeyen. It is next to the CARICOM Secretariat and directly across the road from MovieTowne. I moved out of Wortmanville 20 years ago. Since I took up residence at Turkeyen, I have been a customer of Massy Gas Company.
Last Tuesday, I called Massy for a gas replacement. I was asked my name. I gave it with my address. Massy Gas rejected my status as a customer because there is nothing in their database on me. Just suddenly I did not exist for Massy. The first thing that came to mind is the Freddie Kissoon syndrome.
I have written unpleasant things about Massy Supermarket. It has horrible dimensions. What I am about to write now you should not accept at face value. Just pick up the phone and call. Massy Supermarket at Turkeyen is one of the most patronised outlets in the Republic of Guyana.
Now for the word, “never.” You can never get through to the Massy number at Turkeyen. I mean never. Please take just a second and call Massy supermarket and see if anyone will answer.
That is so terrible because people call supermarkets each day around the world to get information about the availability of products. My wife makes sweet meat to share out at Ramadan. She wanted to know if Massy had heavy cream. I had to go down myself. Now I don’t know how my name could just vanish from Massy’s database.
I once wrote an article two years ago titled: “The ghost that follows me.” I relate how at the wedding of the Chronicle’s Editor-In-Chief, the serving lady deliberately bypassed me, and others had to protest her attitude. In that article, I described how I was looking in the yard of the UG Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Paloma Mohamed, for a lost cat.
Dr. Mohamed was with her husband in her car, saw me but didn’t address me. Hours after, Dr. Mohamed demanded on the email string that the residents have that she wants to know why I was looking into her yard. Maybe her yard has a gold mine, and the gold is scattered all over the yard for people to pick up. I never had a bad word to say about this lady for the 20 years I knew her.
Last Sunday, my wife’s phone was not working. We called my friend, Leonard Craig to fix it but he couldn’t because he said the sim was damaged. All three of us went to one of the Digicel outlets to get a sim replacement. My wife speaks to our daughter abroad three times a day so her phone is vital.
Digicel said they cannot replace the sim because there is no Janet Kissoon at 47 Area Q, Turkeyen in their database. We bought the phone four years ago at Pegasus corporate head office and were attended to by a Cuban supervisor.
My wife has a Digicel phone and is a Digicel customer but she does not exist for Digicel. It gets you livid when you think of the salary of the Massy CEO and the Digicel CEO in Guyana. I would think both of them earn about $25,000 American dollars a month, which is about five million Guyanese dollars.
This country picks on the government and public servants all the time. Any mistake, no matter how frivolous that is made within the public sector, the government and the public servants are crucified. All over this country the public sector and the government are lambasted for the most minor error. But the private sector has no higher standard.
Do not take my word for it. Call any number at Thirst Park, Banks DIH and see if anyone will answer and that is one of the most prominent and experienced companies in Guyana.
Commercial banks are the worst examples of non-service in Guyana. If any section of the private sector is a despicable example of non-service, it is the commercial banks. Those people mistreat Guyanese in a way that modern society should not tolerate.
We live a surreal life in Guyana. Do you know each commercial bank has increased the profits for 2025?
The reason is that they cater for multibillion-dollar foreign companies, and they treat small depositors with contempt. And no one from civil society, the media, opposition parties and government have dealt with this issue, and it is a pressing issue. I close with an example of extreme sadness in this country.
Each commercial bank says your account will become dormant after a period if you do not put something into it. That is wrong because each account is permanently active because interest goes into it every six months. What a country!
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
