I empathise with Forum contributor Amanda Ruiqing Flynn whose seemingly simple task of getting a refund for a carton of bad milk turned out to be a much more unpleasant encounter than she had expected (Simpler refund process needed at FairPrice stores, Sept 4).

It makes no sense for Ms Flynn to have to make a long trip to the outlet where she bought the faulty item to claim a refund when she could have done so at an outlet nearby.

This is a management problem which stems from a lack of staff empowerment, meaning employees are not provided with sufficient autonomy to make decisions in their day-to-day operations.

In developed countries, supermarket staff of all levels are given the authority to take care of customer needs, including refunds or exchange of merchandise.

But this is often not the case in Singapore because employees here want to play safe by trying to do things by the book. As a result, they have no leeway to help the customers the way they want.

Nothing is more frustrating when dealing with customer issues than to constantly have to refer to another person on the chain of command.

Supermarket operators must view employee empowerment as an important management tool which allows staff to carry out their daily simple tasks as they think best.

Employees who are passionate about their responsibilities will go the extra mile and make more of an effort - this could be through the level of service they provide to customers.

Jeffrey Law Lee Beng