The man behind CoJ Tweets
Never has municipal service and interaction been known for wit.
That was until Tumelo Komape took charge of the City of Joburg’s Twitter account. The man behind @CityofJoburgZA has people talking and he even captured the interest of international media.
Tumelo (30), the brand ambassador and City of Joburg’s digital manager, is a man who takes his brand seriously.
Tumelo, better known as TK to City of Joburg Twitter followers, met with the EXPRESS last week to share with readers the man behind the Twitter “handle”.
TK believes in hard work.
“I joined the municipality in 2012 as a web officer and only took over the CoJ Twitter account in 2013,” said TK.
He has since managed to increase the CoJ’s following with direct communication with CoJ residents. He has become known for his sharp wit, despite the difficulty of dealing with aggravated residents in times of power outages or water cuts.
TK plans to increase the Twitter following even more.
“We introduced a digital strategy in April 2013 and that has been a guiding point for what we want to achieve. One of the things that has made our Twitter presence a success is that we commit to our targets,” said TK.
Dealing with aggravated and frustrated Twitter users complaining about service delivery is not a task for the faint-hearted.
“We always remind ourselves that the customer is always right and solving the problem is our number one priority. We deal with angry customers every day. You really have to have a thick skin and aim to understand the customer’s frustration despite the insults that come your way. The customer is not mad at you but the brand. Never take tweets personally,” he said.
TK said four years of working in a call centre provided him with the necessary experience in dealing with angry customers.
TK’s day
TK’s day starts early, with his first Tweet reaching his audience at 7am.
“But before I brush my teeth I first check my phone to see what is happening and while I brush my teeth I watch the news to catch up with what’s happening for the day. My first Tweets of the day will focus on traffic updates as people make their way to work. I send out about 20 Tweets before even reaching the office. For as long as I am awake on any given day, I respond to Tweets,” TK told the EXPRESS.
He shares the credit with his team.
“We all work equally hard to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves,” he said.
Responding to complaints and inquiries about service delivery takes priority for TK and his team.
“There are three ways to deal with them. They are business-driven, customer-centred and lighthearted,” said TK, who has become known for the latter.
“How you respond depends on the nature of the complaint. A customer who has been without electricity for six hours is different to a customer who has been without water for three days,” said TK.
“We don’t rehearse what we Tweet. You can ask me the same question twice and my answer will be different” said TK.
