A well-prepared consumer protection manager can generate profit

On 30 June the summer workshop of the Consumer Protection Manager Association (FORE) was the place where the ‘Consumer Protection Manager of the Year’ programme was announced. It was the 2013 amendment of the consumer protection law that made it compulsory for retailers and service providers – with sales revenue above a certain limit – to employ a consumer protection manager. President of the association Tamásné Köncse told at the workshop that there are more than 1,500 consumer protection managers in Hungary.

FORE’s objective is to make companies more active in the domain of consumer protection and help managers do their work efficiently. Zsuzsanna Suhajda from advisory specialist Relevancia Tanácsadó Iroda Kft. announced that the ‘Consumer Protection Manager of the Year’ programme – in several categories – will start in October 2017. Erzsébet Schreiberné Molnár, head of department at the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition gave a presentation about the consumer protection aspects of food safety. She warned that risk factors are present all the time.

The meeting ended with a discussion moderated by FORE general secretary Péter Szalkai. Máté Szász from Scitec Nutrition told that there are many sport nutrition products in the market that don’t meet the necessary requirements in terms of product ingredients or others which are advertised unethically. Bálint Oldal from Bunge Zrt.spoke about the company’s main goal: satisfying consumer demand with products of constant good quality.

László Horváth from Praktiker Kft. informed that they employ 27 consumer protection managers in their Hungarian stores, who also contribute to selling products with giving customers important information in-store. Zsuzsanna Selmeci from the 5th District government office in Budapest said: ‘things work well in consumer protection if it is the customer who returns, and not the product.’ //