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Botswana: Beyond the Call of Duty
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The Voice (Francistown)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 25 March 2008
Zeph Kajevu
Francistown
Maggie Moleofe, a customer service assistant with Botswana Post Office in the Main Mall, is this week's service award winner.
Moleofe, who has worked for the post office for the past six years, was surprised to hear that she has been nominated to receive an award for service excellence.
"My job involves assisting customers who visit the MMPO for the first time or those who not sure of the right counter to go to. The usually enquiries that I receive on a daily basis are: 'Where can I buy postage stamps, send a money order, send money through Western Union, a registered letter, parcel or make a cash withdrawal.' This is important, because some of the customers especially those from the smaller centres or postal agencies in communal areas are used to getting services under one counter," explained the Gabane-born Moleofe, adding that the information she provide has to be accurate to avoid wasting customers' time or creating unnecessary queues.
"Customers, especially those who know what service they want to source, are very sensitive and can in one way or another pick out unfriendly approaches even when you try to conceal them with a bogus smile."
Peo Pillar, a Financial Accounts manager with a local company, nominated Moleofe. According to Pillar, in early February she went to the Main mall Post Office in the afternoon around 14:20hours to send money to a friend in Shakawe.
"After completing the preliminary transaction formalities, I handed the form to Maggie who helped me with a smile and left after completion of the process. As soon as I was done, I immediately called the recipient to forward the transaction number to use when claiming the money from Shakawe Post Office, because there was an emergency. But my friend later called saying that the Post Office staff had refused to release the money because I had omitted the other recipient's name on the ID. At the end of the conversation, the incumbent handed the phone over to the Shakawe post staff member so that they could explain why they could not release the money. They advised to go and complete a change-of-name form where I posted the money so that it could be resubmitted before they could release the funds."
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Pillar says that on arrival at main mall Post office, Moleofe immediately recognised her and wanted to find out whether she had a problem or had brought new business. On learning that she was following up on the failed transaction," she asked me not join the queue and requested one of her colleagues to assist me. The 'cost-of-change' for the form was P15.40. But after Maggie learnt that both initials I had used were on the recipient's ID, she told me not to complete it." She said Moleofe called Shakawe Post Office but failed after sustained efforts since they were using a tele-fax.
"I offered to use my mobile phone to speed up the process and when I was connected I handed it over to Maggie, who said that she was not comfortable using my airtime. Instead, she kept on requesting Shakawe postal staff to call from the landline and when the officer refused, Maggie referred the matter to her supervisor. Within a few minutes, I was told to inform my friend to go and claim the money. Since the transaction had been successfully completed using the original form, I was told not to pay the additional P15.40. What touched me was that throughout the ordeal, Maggie was not only patient but kept apologizing for the delay, while giving the assurance that I would be assisted," she said.
On hearing the news about her nomination, the overwhelmed Moleofe said that she could not wait to share the news with her supervisor and other colleagues. "I would like to call on my other workmates to give the best service and build smart relations with our valued customers. Customers are our lifeline in terms of revenue and you will enjoy your job if you are good at whatever you do."
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