POLOKWANE – Despite a change of name, staff uniforms and the face of the business, excellent service, quality products and friendly staff will not be compromised when Vleislapa Welgelegen reveals its new name at the end of the month. Review spoke to several employees to hear how long they have been part of the Vleislapa family and how they feel about the name change.
Kitchen supervisor, Charmaine van Zyl and her right hand, Madeleine Tomes manage a team of almost 20 personnel who are responsible for preparing all platters and other food offered by Vleislapa Welgelegen. “I have been working here for almost eight years and I love it. Changing the name is a good thing, it is time for change and now we can offer even more variety to the community.”Madeleine steps in when Charmaine is not available, taking orders and preparing the food. “I love working for Amanda and Jacques, they look out for our best interests. The name change is great, there is nothing as good as change.”
Chanise Lehark, Angelia Mokgopa, Natalien Lehark and Jacomien Bouwer are the friendly cashiers. All of them agree the name change is a wonderful opportunity to get new faces visiting the store. They mention working at Vleislapa Welgelegen feels like being part of one big family and meeting new people daily makes their jobs more exciting.
Sanetha van der Merwe, who has been working in the office for five years, was joined by Lindiwe Masiteng three years ago and together, they are responsible for all orders, payments and other administrative duties. “I think the change might bring more feet to the store and the new name is very unique,” says Sanetha. Lindiwe agreed, saying they can now offer unique products to clients.”
Carel Brand and Michael Uys have both worked at Vleislapa as supervisors for 10 years. Michael is the supervisor at the butchery’s meat department. “I am responsible for the sausage and mince processing. Furthermore, I have to make sure that the people who work under me do their part and that the shelves are full stocked,” he says. Carel is involved in the cold meat and biltong department where he is responsible for Vleislapa Welgelegen’s popular cold meat products. He also makes sure that their biltong is of the highest standard. “We are also sometimes responsible for the opening and closing of the store and for training in our department. I think the name change is a good idea and it opens the door to new possibilities.” Michael agrees and adds that after 10 years the time is right for change.
Along with the quality meat that Vleislapa Welgelegen offers, their biltong and biltong hampers are also very popular. The staff members responsible for this are Dora Jantjies and Ragel du Preez. “We help people to choose the tastiest piece of biltong which we then cut up and pack for them. It is very nice to be creative with the biltong hampers.” Dora feels the new name fully represents the store and staff and fits in well with them. Guess the new name for Vleislapa Welgelegen and win a R500 voucher.
The competition closes on 20 November and the winner will be announced on 23 November. The celebration of the new name takes place the weekend of 3 to 5 December during a festive few days with artists Juba, Will Jordan and Pieter Koen entertaining customers.
