According to a US-based website, self-service is rapidly being demanded by different areas of society. Some of the reasons for that include facts such as the average processing cost of a ticket transaction is Dh13.50 by an employee versus 50 fils through a kiosk. Thirty nine per cent of consumers studied showed that they are willing to use self-service alternatives to help save time. Do you prefer having a self-service option being offered to you? What do you think of companies that utilise self-service? Should such services be mandatory or optional to consumers?
Self-service across sectors helps reduce costs and improve efficiency.
It would reduce the cost of labour for a company because there would be fewer people employed. Some international companies already have that system. It's a good way to increase efficiency. But for self-service to work, the customers have to be willing. I don't think that people in the region would be open to the idea of self-service.
– Sahman Qurashi
Abu Dhabi
To create a product is expensive. It might decrease the costs for the company but not for the consumer. Also, it would reduce efficiency because in places such as fast-food restaurants, people would be annoyed at having to wait in long lines, especially in the UAE. Companies may want to reduce their costs by having self-service but it would have an effect on the companies themselves.
– Khaladoun Al Bzreh
Abu Dhabi
Many people aren't aware of what they can do to help reduce the costs of their companies. If they know what they should do, then they would use those techniques that would greatly help them, such as self-service. It would make companies more efficient, which would make the customers satisfied. There are many places that work on the notion of self-service. – Suraj Vaswani
Dubai
If companies use self-service then it would reduce their overall costs and they can use that information in other more useful methods such as diversifying or investing in other things. Customers may find it difficult to adjust to the idea at first, but once they understand and get used to it there shouldn't be any problems.
– Mohammad Tahir
Sharjah
It will just lead to chaos, as customers will have differing capabilities.
If people were doing something as self-service for the first time, they wouldn't know what to do. That would cause confusion and frustration because not everyone would help someone who doesn't know what to do. If companies want to implement self-service, then they should have a person who can explain and show customers what to do until they learn how to do it properly.
– Hana Rabih
Abu Dhabi
There are a lot of people who can't use self-service. Elderly people and women would have trouble at places such as petrol stations so there should still be attendants there to help them out. Not only would those people have difficulty in doing such things on their own, but it would also cause problems for the economy because it would reduce employment in the country.
– Mohammad Hamoud
Abu Dhabi
It would cause chaos because no one really knows how to do things such as filling petrol on by themselves. They still need people to help or guide them on how to do it properly. The downside to self-service is that people might not do it right so they would waste a lot of time before they get it right.
– Kunj Ramaiyu
Dubai
I don't think that there would be a lot of problems. Once companies post guidelines or have representatives help customers understand what they should do, then it would reduce confusion and mistakes. Once that happens, people would be more open to doing things on their own instead of waiting for someone to serve them. I wouldn't mind using self-service in places such as petrol stations.
– Ahmad Farooq
Abu Dhabi
Self-service at petrol pumps is impractical in the summer.
I don't think that it's a big problem. If a person fills up their car in about five minutes then it wouldn't be inconvenient for others waiting in line. I wouldn't mind getting out of my car and filling petrol myself — even if it's summer. In many countries, such as the US, petrol stations have self-service and many people use those pumps.
– Aiman Khattab
Abu Dhabi
It's not a good idea for customers to fill their petrol in the summer here because of the high temperatures and humidity. It would be better if there were employees who could help them. Self-service is a good idea but I don't think that it should be done at petrol stations because it would take a lot of time for people to fill their cars.
– Hassan Dorgham
Abu Dhabi
It's very hot here in the summer. Because people are not sure how to fill their own petrol, they might end up wasting time trying to fill their cars and that would make others upset because everyone is very busy. Also, I don't think that it is a very practical idea for women to get out of their cars at petrol stations.
– Zara Mohammad
Dubai
Dubai is a very busy city and so not everyone has the time to do everything on their own because it might cause them to waste their time. People here are used to being served so it would be hard for them to change and do things through self-service. Also, it would reduce employment at petrol stations if self-service was introduced.
– Ashlesha Rao
Dubai
It reduces employment opportunities, thereby impacting the economy.
While it would decrease the number of opportunities for people to be employed, I don't think that it would have a big impact on the economy. But at the same time, it wouldn't be a very good idea to have self-service because it would reduce the number of people who know what should be done, which would cause a lot of problems for customers.
– Gassan Amaar
Abu Dhabi
I don't think that it would a big impact on the economy of the UAE because labour is very cheap here. Other things should be done to solve problems such as the inflation in the country, which has a greater impact on the economy. The dirham should be de-pegged from the dollar because once that is done it would help the economy.
– Raed Qasim
Abu Dhabi
There are many people in the UAE who would be affected if self-service were introduced because they might lose their jobs and so are forced to go back to their home countries. That would impact the economy because there are many jobs that depend on people doing them, not the customers.
– Abhishek Prakash
Sharjah
Employment would decrease a lot, especially for expatriates. If self-service were put into place, then it would cause a lot of problems, for both the expatriates and the people who depend on their services. I don't think that self-service would be popular or successful in Dubai.
– Sonia Khan
Dubai