Gwen Baloyi has been promoted to the position of 
Customer Service Manager. This is an exciting new development for both Gwen and SAMRO itself as there wasn’t a dedicated customer services department before the organisation’s recent restructuring. "Previously you found that a client would have to speak to every department in order to get full resolution of a query. The person would be passed from one department to the other, and there was no one dedicated to customer service because the person in accounts would be busy with accounts. The phones would always be ringing," says Gwen.
The phones haven’t stopped ringing; only now they’re being answered quicker. And thanks to Gwen, with courtesy and care. Keeping the customers happy is the aim of the game, she says. The customers in the case of SAMRO are the rights holders and music users, the two pillars of Customer Services. The queries her department deals with range from "did you get my notification", to, "why have I not been paid yet" on the side of the rights holders, and "why do I need to pay to play that song in my restaurant" on the other. "Can I borrow money from my account?" is one we hear daily from the rights holders," she smiles.
The Customer Services department at SAMRO has since relieved many of the other departments from dealing with the enquiries of customers. At the same time, says Gwen, "it has created a lot of work in my department that we didn’t anticipate. People don’t realise that there are only a few of us employed for Licensing Queries. And the phones always keep ringing!"
And they would. With over 60 000 licensees, ranging from premises as varied as restaurants through to concert venues, there is bound to be one or two people with questions. "You can imagine the telephone calls!" says Gwen. "Sometimes we get unhappy customers who don’t want to pay."
Gwen handles situations like these calmly, carefully explaining the law. "Some will be happy with that, others will still scream at you. You’ll always have the grumpy customers. It comes with the job." Having worked at a bank makes Gwen all the more qualified to deal with any challenges that may come her way.
It’s a job that takes a lot of patience. "You need to be a people’s person," she says "and know that you can’t solve all their problems but you can listen and be nice," she smiles. It is a job that Gwen takes pride in. Before taking on this new role, Gwen was Marketing Officer at SAMRO, and Business Development Assistant in the years before that. She first came to SAMRO through an advert she saw in the newspaper. "My first day was on the 21st May 1998," she says proudly recalling the exact date.
Gwen, a marketing graduate from the Tshwane University of Technology, has moved up in the ranks and now has a team working with her that deals with the people creating and the people using music. Gwen herself is keen on further nurturing her relationships with SAMRO’s customers, especially the music creators. It clearly has something to do with her being a fan of South African music. "I love so many artists; it just depends on the day or night. But my all time favourite is Kabelo, Booga Luv." Gwen says she also loves knowing about new music before it becomes a hit on radio because she works for SAMRO.
But her aim for the new department and its role is clear. "SAMRO has a reputation for customer service that is not great. When you phone Vodacom or MTN, their service is quick, quick. I want us to be able to respond immediately and improve the turnaround time for resolving queries." By trying to trace mistakes that are made and anticipating small issues before they become big problems are just some of the ways Gwen aims to do this. In the process, she’ll be helping to create a more efficient SAMRO, and that’s definitely something to call home about.
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