City of Joburg’s call centre fields over 34K calls during first 10 days of lockdown

Joburg MMC for Finance, Councillor Jolidee Matongo, had nothing but praise for the city’s call centre agents who have been ensuring that residents are not deprived of much-needed services during the lockdown.

This after an oversight visit by the MMC to the city’s call centre on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the city, he was bowled over by the levels of dedication shown by the call centre agents who expressed their commitment to continue serving Joburg residents with “passion and patience” during the 21-day national coronavirus lockdown and beyond.

CoJ confirmed that its call centre received over 12,000 emergency calls and over 22,000 calls related to water and electricity issues during the first 10 days of the lockdown.

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Matongo reportedly visited the call centre to ensure that the reduced number of agents classified as essential services staff were operating within the prescribed health guidelines to prevent contracting the coronavirus while delivering uncompromised customer service to residents.

“He began his visit by contacting the customer care line 0860 562 874 in his capacity as a resident of the city to test the efficiency of the services being rendered to Johannesburg residents. He then fielded a few calls that were related to a power interruption in Lenasia and a burst water pipe in Randburg.”

During this process, he also experienced a false emergency call.

“We must really commend the call centre staff for their level of commitment in ensuring that the impact of the lockdown is minimised on the city’s customer care services. As the leadership of the city, we are also committed to ensuring that our staff is safe while executing their duties,” said Matongo.

“Our call centre agents go through a lot as the everyday direct contact to residents with complaints about service delivery. Seeing and hearing them give personal assurances that they are available to continue serving residents with passion and patience during a very difficult time in the city, the country and across the globe, was very humbling,” he added.

Residents can get in touch with the City by calling 0860 562 874 or via Twitter at the following handles: @CityofJoburgZA, @citypowerjhb, @jhbwater, @myjra, @cleanerjoburg, @joburgparkszoo and CityofjoburgEMS.

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