This is after the metro advertised 250 call centre posts last month, in order to improve the quality of service.
Ekurhuleni mayor Mondli Gungubele announced at last month’s council meeting that the call centre service is set to improve.
He said the call centre has been expanded to accommodate 50 additional seats for call takers and dispatchers.
This was followed by 250 call centre position being advertised, with the closing date being September 26.
The metro said it has received more than 100 000 applications and that the Human Resources Department is currently busy with the capturing and preparation of the long list and shortlisting.
Due to the high volume of applicants received it will take longer than anticipated before successful applicants start with the actual work.
Gungubele explained that the process will increase the call centre operations seats for operators from 10 per shift to 60.
“It is expected that this additional capacity will bring some relief on the non-representativeness of the call centre in time for the festive season, which we all know has major demands,” said the mayor.
Reporting anything to the call centre has, for a long time, been nerve-wracking to many residents and the overall call centre has been “appalling”.
The latest sufferer is Kerryn Arteiro, who tried to report a water leak.
Arteiro said that other numbers on the municipal bill either rang several times without being answered or were engaged.
“Then, on the call centre number, I held on for more than 15 minutes without an answer and it kept saying `your call is important to us’,” said Arteiro.
A survey on the call centre experience also showed broader dissatisfaction with it.
Ann du Plessis, of Brentwood Park, thought the service is not very good.
“Sometimes they don’t even answer their phones; we have tried to get hold of them a few times in the last few years and received no answer, especially over weekends,” she said.
Renier van Rensburg, of Boksburg, called it “terrible”, saying it takes a couple of tries to get through and that they are slow to give reference numbers.
“We, at the Boksburg North CPF, report leaks, pipes, lights and such, but no work comes forth,” she said.
Lakefield resident Jabu Mokadi, said he is disappointed in the service as he had experienced difficulty in receiving help from the municipality.
“You cannot get through to the numbers provided when you need to report an incident,” he explained.
Lorraine Froneman, of Farrarmere, said phoning the centre is a waste time.
“You will phone, it rings, engaged, push all the numbers, but you can’t get through at all,” she said.
Froneman added that it has been a problem for ages. and that she prefers taking in her readings. Equally disappointed is Allan Cunningham, of Rynfield.
“You call in, but do not always get to the right person,” she said.
“We battle to get through; we have sewerage problems and reported it about two months ago.
” What can we do? We just have to be a little patient.”
Gerhard Joubert, of Northmead, said: “We cannot get through; it’s crazy.
“A couple of times we’ve tried; it just rings and goes engaged.
“We had damaged water pipes and our next move was to go to their offices to get assistance.”
Gungubele added that, as part of the ongoing innovations and improvements at the call centre, the metro has since introduced a twitter handle: @EMM_Call_Centre.
“We want to encourage communities to follow us on this handle so that they can receive updates on critical service delivery information,” he said.
The call centre service complaints line is 086 054 3000.
