ALBERTON – Ekurhuleni has one of the most advanced telephone systems and has set the bar in telecommunication infrastructure. Yet the answering of phones seems to be a challenge and we just cannot bridge this gap. The impression left with members of the public is that officials sit in their offices without working, alternatively that the phones are just not being attended to. I have sat in several meeting where this issue was raised but never fully grasped the immense frustration to members of the public.
I had two problems this past week and instead of following the internal route I worked through the Ekurhuleni Call Centre and switchboard. Firstly, Ekurhuleni does not have a switchboard. This very important customer service roll has been replaced with a direct call management system, which basically means you phone the person you want to speak to directly.
I had two very bad experiences this past week that necessitated me to investigate this Ekurhuleni telephone problem. On Tuesday evening, just as my two children was about to draw a bath, the water supply was interrupted. Within minutes I received SMS’s and telephone calls from residents with enquiries about the water interruption, simultaneously complaining about the call centre not answering phones. I tried several times to call the call centre, with nothing but a ringing phone on the other end.
The second problem required assistance from office-bound officials that caused the same frustration as the call centre, with calls remaining unanswered. When I took this matter up with the IT department, I was informed that phones at the Ekurhuleni Call Centre and on official’s desks are not just ringing without answer – when phones are engaged it also rings similarly to what call wait on a cellphone would do. This was surprising news as I found that officials were not ignoring my calls, they were in actual fact attending to current calls from other residents.
The problem is that the fancy phone system at Ekurhuleni is not programmed with a queuing system or prerecorded answering system that can explain to residents calling that the line is busy, and that they must please hold.
The problem is now receiving attention and should be resolved soon. Please follow me on Twitter @neildiamond7 for regular municipal updates.
