PHILIPSBURG:--- TelEm Group is getting into gear to fully open its stores and offices to customers and the general public as soon as the government makes the announcement that businesses can once again resume regular business hours.
So far, TelEm Group stores and offices have been permitted to open for limited hours and on specific days so that customers without the ability to make online payments can come into the stores to do so. From an initial “rush” last week, lines have tapered off somewhat, especially the special lines reserved for seniors, pregnant women, and physically challenged persons, between the hours of 8:00, am and 10:00 am.
“We are informing customers now that we are now giving “preference” to Seniors pregnant women and the physically challenged, which means that customers no longer have to wait until 10:00 am in the morning to come in a be served,” said TelEm Group Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Mr. Michiel Parent.
Mr. Parent says the commercial team, including customer service, is being heavily supported by Manager, Procurement and General Affairs, Carmen Lake-Reyes, to ensure everything that is needed is in place to accommodate staff returning to the workplace and also customers who are coming into the stores to pay.
“Even though we continue to motivate our customers to pay their invoices online or ask helpdesk-related questions over the phone or via e-mail, there is still a significant amount of customers who require face-to-face service. Carmen and the Manager, Customer Relations, Veronica Browne, are doing a fantastic job getting things in place. We started off slowly by only allowing a few customers into the stores at a time while we had the bulletproof glass to act as a barrier for cashiers. We also set up some tents outside as waiting areas to accommodate customers as best as we could while enforcing strict social distancing protocols,” said Mr. Parent.
He said the measures being taken internally were stepped up another notch recently with the completion of screens in the customer service area to separate the customer service representatives from visiting customers.
“The management team has inspected the screens and we are very pleased with how they look. They will create a very effective barrier along with the deep cleaning, hand sanitizing, and other protocols that will be enforced once employees return to their posts,” said Mr. Parent.
Mr. Parent says employees still working from home should expect a different work environment upon their return to their posts, to what is being generally described as the “new normal” situation.
“Once back in the workplace we have to constantly think of how we interact and relate with our colleagues and everything around us, what we touch, how close we are to each other, how we sanitize our workspaces, how often we wash our hands, how careful we are when it comes to reporting illness, no matter how small,” said Mr. Parent.
As the coordinator of the TelEm Group infectious diseases response team, Mr. Parent says the management team is doing all it can to ensure workers have a safe environment to work in when they are back in the workplace.
“The day is coming very soon when everyone will be called to return to work. We want everyone to be prepared for that day, but most of all to rest assured about the “new normal” environment they will be coming into,” said Mr. Parent.
