Business seminars on legal foundations and the culture of consumer services will be held in Vitebsk

The Department of Consumer Services of the Vitebsk Region intends to hold seminars for business entities in the sector, primarily for small and medium-sized businesses in Vitebsk, starting next year to improve legal knowledge and enhance service culture. These plans were shared by the acting head of the state institution, Pavel Belous.

As of October 2015, there are 744 business entities providing consumer services in Vitebsk. Of these, 399 are individual entrepreneurs and 345 are legal entities, including joint-stock companies "Mir Usług Plus," "Vitrembyt," and "Lotos," which are part of the regional department. The breakdown by type of service is determined by demand: hairdressing salons are the most numerous in the regional center – 142, followed by services in the repair and construction of housing and other buildings – 114; tailoring and repair of clothing, headwear, leather goods, and similar items – 108.

"They all operate within the same legal framework, and there are Rules for Consumer Services that must be observed by all enterprises in the sector, regardless of their form of ownership, with mandatory registration in the Register of Consumer Services of the Republic of Belarus. Therefore, starting next year, we want to begin holding seminars for small and medium-sized businesses at our institution. We will explain pricing procedures, introduce, and for some, remind them about how not to violate consumer rights, how to work with the 'Book of Complaints and Suggestions,' how to hire and pay staff. So that they are aware of the liability measures that may arise in case of violations," explained Pavel Belous, the rationale behind the initiative.

Specialists from regulatory bodies and other organizations will also be invited to the seminars on a systematic basis. "But for this, we first need to make the relevant changes to the institution's charter to have a legal basis for conducting such training. It is assumed that initially one type of service will be selected, for example, shoe repair, and relevant entities will be invited. And then we will start working further according to an established scheme. We hope for understanding from individual entrepreneurs and firms: that they will respond to our offer," the interlocutor concluded.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.