Latest update March 25th, 2025 7:08 AM
Latest News
- Surinamese invest US$516M into country’s first oil project
- ExxonMobil impact study for Hammerhead project silent on likely explosion from new pipeline
- ‘A shocking breach’: Trump officials leak military attacks to The Atlantic
- Pensioner goes missing during creek outing at Kwakwani
- Cuban national jailed for entering Guyana illegally
HIV/AIDS awareness and improved Customer Care to bolster City Hall’s operation
Yesterday’s session in progress
The relationship between customer care and HIV/AIDS awareness was amplified yesterday when a Customer Care Training programme got underway at the National Library Conference Centre for frontline municipal employees.
According to City Hall’s Public Relations Officer, Royston King, it has long been deduced that there is a direct link between customer care and the way that HIV/AIDS is addressed, thus a decision was taken to enlighten workers on the ideal way of operating within the workplace. And in order to achieve this objective, yesterday’s forum targeted 40 workers from various departments of the municipality sought to expose them to request knowledge on HIV/AIDS and customer care.
“We are dealing with the whole question of how we approach this whole question of customer care. We believe that it is like key to us improving our image at council and to build relationship with citizens and also for revenue collection.”
According to King, the municipality has been in receipt of numerous negative reports that people were not treated properly, thus the need for an improved care system.
The forum was also geared at enlightening the participants about dealing with difficult and angry customers as well as those with disabilities. It has been observed that often society does not cater to persons with disabilities in the various forms.
“We have started a process and this came out of the Burrowes Report that we should find new approaches to the way we do things at City Hall. We should build new platforms and we should engage citizens.”
The new approach may also require the municipality to acquire certain items such as wheel chairs and even reconstruct some sections City Hall and possibly even reformat some signs to ensure that customers are well facilitated. “We know that we really need to raise the bar at City Hall and have a strong customer relationship.”
We suspect that at the end of this session a programme will be put in place by the Public Relations Department to monitor the kind of customer care that will be happening in the various areas and to see if they have put what they have learnt into practice.”
Two similar sessions are already being streamlined for the near future, King divulged. The customer relation aspect of yesterday’s proceedings was spearheaded by King who has had extensive training and experience in this area while the HIV/AIDS awareness segment saw Occupational Health and Safety Officer, Dale Beresford and Colleen McEwan deliberating.
According to Beresford, yesterday’s programme marked the first in a series to be undertaken. He disclosed that the whole initiative has been made possible through funding from the Health Sector Development Unit and is geared mainly at reducing stigma and discrimination and improving confidentiality.
He too revealed that following yesterday’s undertaking, measures will be put in place to evaluate the participants to determine the impact of the project.
In fact, those participating yesterday are expected to become the face of the municipality as it relates to addressing the dreaded HIV/AIDS virus, Beresford added.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Desecration, Disrespectful, and Disgraceful
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The solemnity of Babu Jaan, a site meant to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Cheddi... more
The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?
By Sir Ronald Sanders For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries... more
Weekend Cartoon
