Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has hailed Stella Gondwe, a customer who protested against poor service provision at its Area 25 (B) Customer Service Centre.
On Saturday morning, Gondwe visited the service centre to pay her water bills only to find it not opened on time as indicated on the board’s notice. Together, with other customers, she had to wait for over an hour to be assisted. This prompted her to stand up and point out the discrepancy.
before the altered notice
In an act of frustration, Gondwe, using a piece of rock, was seen deleting part of the notice at LWB which indicated that they open offices at 7.30am in a video which went viral on social media.
The board sought an audience with Gondwe on Sunday to appreciate the bravery and assured her of initiatives the board is undertaking to improve customer care service provision.
Speaking during the meeting, LWB acting chief executive officer Silli Mbewe, while apologising to Gondwe for the discrepancy, applauded her for speaking out about the service provision and how she was treated at the centre.
“As a service provider, we really appreciate what she did. We owe her an apology for the service discrepancy. This should serve as a reminder to us that we owe our customers the best services. We should not take our customers for granted,” he said.
Mbewe emphasised that LWB endeavours to maintain both customer’s trust and a reputation for excellent service through the delivery of custom-made strategies.
He indicated that the board would be reviewing its service charter and re-orient its staff on the same and shall re-launch the service charter.
Mbewe has since labelled Gondwe as LWB’s hero of the year, saying what she did speaks out for all customers.
On her part, Gondwe applauded LWB for acting professionally by reaching out to her to appreciate her grievances regarding service provision and customer care.
“Being granted such an audience proves that the institution has the interest of customers at heart. I am really humbled. It’s my sincere belief that there will be a change and that the confusion that was there will be rectified,” she said.
