THE upgraded Ekurhuleni Services and Information Centre was unveiled in Bedfordview by mayor Mondli Gungubele on Friday.
The facility, which has been a bone of contention and frustration for residents, received a R7-million upgrade which has seen the number of agents grow from 50 to 250, enabling the centre to operate on a four-system shift with 40 agents per shift.
“It is a matter of fact that our call centre has been an Achilles’ heel for a long time. There was a time when there was no week that would go by without our people complaining about the poor quality of service they experienced from the facility,” said Gungubele at the official opening.
He said the most common complaints among residents were the fact that calls would go unanswered, callers would be kept on the line for a long time, there would be delays in the dispatching of trouble-shooting teams as well as agents lacking adequate information to assist residents.
“All these led to resident concluding that our call centre was non-existent,” he added.
Although the metro has made several attempts in addressing the recurring problems, they seemed futile over the years. However, Gungubele is certain that the R7-million improvements to both staff and technology will help turn the situation for the better.
Gungubele cited insufficient staff and inadequate training as part of the problem. Fewer lines and inferior technology also added to the centre’s inadequacies.
“The work done so far includes the creation of more work space for the call takers; upgrading of the technology; adding Telkom lines from 30 to 100; and the implementation of a single customer relations management system for non-life threatening emergencies. This work started in earnest last year,” he said.
He also said an operations rapid intervention team has been introduced to monitor and evaluate adherence to service delivery standards by departments. The performance of the call centre operators and departments is another intervention that the metro has brought in as it seeks to get the best out of the call centre.
Future plans for disaster service management in the metro include the establishment of a CCTV surveillance centre and a transport management centre should be operational in 2016. This will ensure that all emergency vehicles will be tracked so as to minimise vehicles being used improperly. In 2019, he expects that the unified command centre in Boksburg should be completed.
New and existing call centre agents were reminded they were the most integral part of the centre’s success and improved service to the community. They were reminded they were dealing with residents who were sometimes at their most vulnerable when they called and needed to be treated with the utmost dignity and professionalism.
“This is the most sensitive centre in the metro – failure is unacceptable in the service we are expected to be giving to our people. One of the most important aspects of this is restoring our community’s faith and trust in us.
“This centre has to be the epitome and centre of excellence for all people of Ekurhuleni.
“You as call centre agents must be curious about the vision of the city. As much as you may feel your duties are not as important as maybe the officials’ and senior management’s, you must contain the microcosm of knowledge about the city and community you’re serving. With all the technology upgraded and improved as well as adequate training provided, the greatest challenge is how each of the agents will deal with the people on the other side of the line,” he said.
