Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electrical Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) is on a countrywide meet and greet drive with customers as one of the many strategies of enhancing quality customer relations, a key aspect of service delivery.
While ZETDC has been to various parts of the country since the start of the year, the power utility escalated the initiative this week with regional managers from all regions and top management from the head office in Harare literally camping in Matabeleland North where they have been interacting with electricity users.
The outreach started early in the week when the international customer service week started and ends Friday.
On Wednesday the team was in Victoria Falls before moving to Hwange today in pursuit of the new trajectory to engage customers.
Upon arriving at each ZETDC office, the top management are literally relieving their staff and taking over shop floor work and attending to clients to interact with clients and hear their concerns and expectations.
The team also visited high density suburbs where they had a meet and greet with residents in an effort to create a two-way mutual relationship.
The power utility has been on the receiving end of attacks by members of the public for alleged poor service delivery, but the parastatal is convinced this is a result of lack of understanding of day-to-day operations of the power utility and the environment it operates in.
ZETDC commercial services manager engineer Ralph Katsande who is leading the team said the initiative is part of a customer transformation programme which has seen the power utility introducing a national contact centre.
“We are implementing several interventions both on the operations side and customer service delivery. We are also looking at customer service turnaround as we have been facing several challenges and failing to grow the network in connecting with customers.
“We are on a national roadshow to meet our customers and hear what their challenges are. We have been to a number of places like Mutoko, Mvurwi, Masvingo Triangle, Muzarabani, Chiredzi, Gokwe, Nyanga and Chimanimani and we have intensified this during this customer service week here in Matabeleland North,” he said.
The ZETDC has more than ninety 24-hour service call lines countrywide but customers would struggle to connect and get assistance.
“We now have a national contact centre which makes communication easy and this outreach is a programme we are doing to ensure managers are in touch with what happens on the ground and so it’s critical for us.
“We are very excited about this programme as it’s making a huge difference as our main mode of interface with the public where senior managers also get first-hand information. It’s officially running up to Friday but we are going to go beyond that,” said Eng Katsande.
Customers themselves are expected to pay bills to capacitate Zesa to operate the system, assist in safeguarding infrastructure and use power efficiently.
ZETDC is using the programme to engage customers, inform them and promote awareness as a strategic response to Vision 2030 and in the spirit of leaving no one and no place behind.
-@ncubeleon
Online Reporter