Big ups for great service

I was recently compelled to cancel, replace and restore a sim card on one of my electronic devices after being inconvenienced by someone who took from me something that wasn’t his.

By now, given the times we live in, most South Africans have at one time or another been put through the mill of having to cancel bank cards, cell phone cards, re-apply for identity documents, drivers’ licenses and the like.

The electronic era, though extremely convenient, has reduced us all to a myriad of numbers and passwords that firstly have to remembered, and then have to be changed or carried over to new devices when they are stolen, lost or forgotten and remembered again.

So it was with a great deal of apprehension that I embarked upon this journey of inconvenience.

The lack of interest or willingness to display interest or pride in one’s work at a cellphone business in town certainly did nothing to ease my frame of mind and so I readied myself for the frustrating experience of being sent back and forth for this, that and the other.

On recommendation of a colleague, I approached another outlet in town that deals in the same kind of service.

What a breath of fresh air it was!

I was greeted in a smiling friendly manner by a young woman who immediately made me feel at ease and displayed a sincere interest in attending to clients as valuable and indispensable for the company she represented.

I found it most refreshing that this young woman, a true ambassador for her company, firstly acknowledged my presence and then actually looked me in the eye when talking to me.

I was not subjected to long periods of disinterested silence and she displayed a sound knowledge of the services offered and the products on display. I was also taken through a step-by-step explanation of the features and workings of the product.

Being of the old school, I was also hugely impressed by the fact that she was not engaged in a lengthy private telephone conversation, chewing gum or munching on a juicy hamburger while serving customers.

At the end of the financial year when profits and losses, assets and liabilities are added up, I sincerely hope that this company will recognise what a tremendous asset it has in this young woman.

Wouldn’t it be great if all companies or institutions that rely on the public for their very existence had employees such as this young woman?