In past millennia, the Middle East and Islamic World had some of the best courier and postal services on earth. But in more recent years, most postal innovations have been claimed by western nations. Saudi Arabia is well aware that it has lagged in modernizing its postal services. A few years back, the Kingdom began to seek ways to enhance postal services through technology — essential if the post was to join the Saudi e-government initiative. As part of that program, Saudi Post launched a website to offer information and services online.
The Saudi Post’s website (www.sp.com.sa) is in Arabic and English. That should be expected since resident foreigners make up about one-fifth of the Kingdom’s population and for many of these expatriates, English is a first or second language. It is not at all unusual for governments to offer e-services in more than one language. In the USA, Spanish and English are common. In Canada, it’s French and English. In Bahrain, e-government services are in Arabic and English. For the nations mentioned, the e-government services function in whatever languages are offered. Sadly, that’s not the case for Saudi Post.
The English portal for Saudi Post (www.sp.com.sa/english) is an embarrassment. The problems are both functional and content related. Of a functional nature is the fact that some links on the web pages do not point to the current hosting server. Instead they point to an IP address on port 81. Normally, websites are served at port 80, so this indicates that port 81 was either in use during the development or test phase and was never updated. The problem happens across the site in different places — images, drop down menus, etc., and shows that the developer did not go through the site item by item to check the functionality.
Of a completely ridiculous nature is the fact that the English Saudi Post site brings up many forms in Arabic. If an individual is using an English e-government service, then it is to be expected that the forms should be presented in English. If that is impossible, then the user must be informed. However, for example, in the portion of the site that allows users to locate post offices across the Kingdom, the explanation for the service is in English but then the selection of regions and towns is in Arabic. This is clearly unhelpful and is not dependent on any agency but Saudi Post.
Where English is used within the portal, the quality of the language displayed is atrocious. For example, this is the opening paragraph reproduced from an April 2008 news item at the site titled, “Saudi Post Leads The Leadership In Mail Industry Internationally:”
“Saudi Post has harvested a series of international awards, in leadership, creativity and technical information, for what the institution achieved of ability to harness and employ the technical development and modernization of postal services, according to the institutions’ strategy and vision to modernize and develop the postal facility, and moveing (sic) it to the the leadership category in the global mail industry, which started reaping the fruits of this vision, to assume a standard place in the world in the mail industry, through what he gained of international postal and management unanimity for its mechanism and his distinguished developmental and operational programmes.”
This is truly awful English and if this is the modernization standard Saudi Post is aiming for, then there’s every reason to consider e-mail as the only option for the transmission of written communication from or to the Kingdom. Someone was paid for this website and a penalty should be levied against that company or individual, as the site is a waste of public funds and maligns the Kingdom’s reputation. A professional product was not delivered.
Desperate to reach out those behind the portal, on the registration page for first time users of “My Post Online,” there was a telephone number, (800) 124-4224. Calling it, a prerecorded message was heard: “Welcome to SAMBA Phone. For English press 2.” SAMBA Phone is the phone banking service of one of the Kingdom’s banks.
Certain that SAMBA couldn’t help with postal issues, searching through the Saudi Post site led to the discovery of a second contact number (800) 124-4242. Calling that number several times finally resulted in reaching an automated service, through which I was put on hold for fifteen minutes until the call disconnected. There was another telephone number at the site under “Albarid Almumtaz” – 920001144. After waiting for eleven minutes for an agent to pick up the call, the agent said, “Sorry, no speak English. Tomorrow morning coming.”
Back in history it is noted that the early Islamic rulers operated a courier service called “Barid,” but somehow I don’t think it was similar to what’s offered through www.sp.com.sa/english.
