SA Rocks

With just a week to go until the World Cup kicks off, suppliers need to make sure that their customer service is in top shape to retain their regular customers and attract international visitors.

Judging by the feedback on getclosure, the following companies are doing just that:

Supplier: First National Bank
Customer: Precious Ibeakuzie
Date of Occurrence: 2 June 2010

Compliment: Thanks to the FNB Smart Spend loan dept. A special thanks to Anthea Freedman and Sthandwa, you guys really give excellent customer service , you go all out to make sure that your clients are happy…really appreciated!

Supplier: City of Joburg
Customer: Faith
Date of Occurrence: 31 May 2010

Compliment:  Rose on 011 375 5555 made calling City Of Joburg quite pleasant today, she was so patient and helped me right till the query was done, thanks Rose !

Supplier: KFC , Commercial Road, Pietermaritzburg
Customer: Alison Walne
Date of Occurrence: 30 May 2010

Compliment:  I would like to compliment the staff at this branch of KFC for their incredible service. Shabna at the drive through cashier window is fantastic and the staff at the other driver through window are always great – Thank you.

Supplier: SA Police Brooklyn Pretoria
Customer: Robert Jewell
Date of Occurrence: 25 May 2010

Compliment:  After a burglary the police were at the premises in approximately 10 minutes, the fingerprint unit arrived during the course of the day, and the CID members also visited the premises 1 day later. Great job!!!!!!

Supplier: Vodacom
Customer: Magdalena J J Page
Date of Occurrence: 24 May 2010

Compliment:  Well done – you are excellent. I wish more suppliers would display the efficiency and competency level that you have in dealing with my query/complaint.

As consumers we also have an important role to play in terms of getting customer service in SA up to scratch.  In line with the Don’t Complain Campaign, make sure that your voice is heard: give suppliers constructive criticism and compliments directly or via www.getclosure.co.za

Popularity: 11% [?]

HHP is up for a BET award this year in the international category. Let’s help him make his mark and VOTE!

Head over to the BET website now and vote vote vote!

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This one is a bit steamy but who wouldn’t want to see the stunning Candice Swanepoel shaking her tail feather for Esquire magazine.

Have a look at the full article on “50 songs every man should be listening to” over at Esquire featuring Ms Swanepoel the “Supermodel” as Esquire calls her.

Who says South Africa doesn’t have the most stunning women in the world? Not me.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Based on user feedback on independent complaints portal getclosure, Pick n Pay has done a great job of responding to their customers’ feedback over the past year.

From 1 March 2009 – 28 February 2010, an impressive 88% of Pick n Pay customers were satisfied or better with the outcome of their complaints submitted on getclosure, and 87% were satisfied or better with the way their complaints were handled.

Here are a couple of examples of positive feedback submitted by consumers closing their complaints on getclosure:

Supplier: Pick n Pay
Supplier Branch: Hyper by the sea
Customer: Shereen Brijlall
Date of Occurrence: 12 March 2010

Compliment:

Dear Ravi
Just to say thank you and all for attending to my complaint… you guys are extremely on the ball and that is what customer service is all about. I can admit that I only shop at Pick n Pay and will continue to do so only because of proactive staff like you and the rest that took my call. Please forward this onto your Manager because you are outstanding in your position. Keep up the good work.

Supplier: Pick n Pay
Supplier Branch: Hazeldean
Customer: Lesley Stead
Date of Occurrence: 4 March 2010
Compliment:

I would firstly like to thank Mmapula Sebati and Jade de Preez for their quick response to my complaint. They offered me a complete refund or replacement of the damaged school bag I had complained about. I would also like to thank both Ronald Mashao (Floor Manager at Hazeldean) and Els Hoek (Customer Services Manager at Hazeldean) for their extremely efficient and friendly service. Thank you to all involved.

In line with the Don’t Complain Campaign, remember that suppliers need your feedback in order to enhance their products and service.  Click here to compliment a South African company and your feedback will be published in the getclosure Compliments section; or submit a complaint to give a supplier some constructive criticism and getclosure will deliver it directly to them.

Popularity: 9% [?]

This man makes me laugh. And yes, sure, he’s a friend so I sort of have to say that, but I really, really mean it. Honest!

Popularity: 7% [?]

In the interest of continuing to support the growth of the comedy circuit in Cape Town I bring you the next event to laugh your ass off.

Funny Bones @ Purple Turtle

“Invasion of the TV Stars”

Date: 2nd March 2010

Time: 20h00 (doors open), comedy starts at 21h15

Entrance: R30 (men)

Venue: Purple Turtle

Address: Cnr. Shortmarket and Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

The Purple Turtle and Mumz The Word presents Funny Bones – regular Tuesday night comedy. Every Tuesday will feature some of SA’s best comedians both established and up-n-coming. On Tuesday 2nd March 2010 Funny Bones would like to showcase some of South Africa’s best comedians who you may have already seen on TV of the big screen. It’s invasion of the TV Stars.

The host for the evening will be Brendan Murray, a comedian who has been described as one of South Africa’s best young comedians. He will be Rhys Woods and Gareth Vorster who will be the open spots for the evening.

The great line-up of TV stars starts with Melt Sieberhagen who made his international debut as a cameo role in the Peter Jackson blockbuster District 9. He will be accompanied by his friend and fellow Jo-burger, Hannes Brummer, who starred as many cameos roles in the Afrikaans sketch comedy Kompleks. The headliner for night is Paul Snodgrass who most of you will remember as a

Sports presenter on ETV.

The event was conceived by Mum-z, who is a young, talented up and coming comedian who’s dedication to increasing the Cape Town comedy circuit has inspired him to launch new comedy nights in Cape Town including “The Show” at The Albert Hall (Woodstock) and “Funny Bones” at The Purple Turtle.

Entrance for the evening is R30, which is extremely affordable for anyone who loves comedy or has never seen local comedy live. All bookings must be made through Mamello Mokoena on talk2me@mumz-the-word.com or 076 801 2113

Popularity: 6% [?]

I have the incredible pleasure of knowing this fantastical majestic South African musician. She is sexy, ambitious and holy hell can she belt out a tune.

SA Rocks has featured her before with downloads available from her first EP, Green, Black Porcelain and we are proud to once again showcase this fantastic South African talent.

To download music from her new EP head over to her page on ThatGig.

Here’s a bit from that very page:

After the success of her EP Green, Black Porcelain went back to studio and started working on her debut album ‘Invincible Summer’. The first single off the album is ‘Are you listening’, a song about infidelity gone wrong. The song fuses pop, Black Porcelain’s silky voice with a rock influence, showing her diverse music influences: remains true to the eclectic style that saw all the songs on her EP (Green) get play listed on various radio stations nationwide.

Born and raised in Soweto Black Porcelain, real name Carol Mashigo, is a lover of music who has been go getter and not afraid to take risks. Refusing to confirm to the constraints of ‘genre’, she set out to do things on her own and released Green independently. Now with some experience & lots more confidence, she is looking forward to releasing her debut album ‘Invincible Summer’ early next year.

“The EP was more like an experiment and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was received! And after seeing how people reacted to the music live, I was really excited to get back into studio and work on a full album.”

2009 saw Black Porcelain have various tracks from ‘Green’ playlisted nationwide, made the May cover of YourLMG, she also performed at the annual Women’s Show (in Cape Town), was chosen (to be one of 20 up and coming musicians) to attend the Red Bull Music Academy taster and opened for international poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. Releasing the first single off her debut album is the perfect way to end the year.

“…a charming clash somewhere between Nina Simone and Diana Ross with a touch of badass for interest…”
Caroline Cellers, Gig review in YourLMG

Popularity: 6% [?]

Who’d have thunk it right?

I know, I was fairly taken aback reading this too. Those of us who choose to live here know why we do (or can’t leave for whatever reason) but many of us can recognise the great reasons that keep us here. I didn’t think that many other countries shared our views what with all the terrible media coverage we get abroad.

But we beat out France and the USA in an HSBC poll recently. Here is the top ten list:

1. Canada

2. Australia

3. Thailand

4. Singapore

5. Bahrain

6. South Africa

7. France

8. USA

9. Spain

10. Hong Kong

Nice. Nifty. Moving on.

source.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Ed’s note: This post is a guest post from Rich Laburn who has worked extensively in the South African bush and currently at Londolozi Private Game Reserve. This is the first of four posts that Rich will be writing.

There is nothing quite like South African wildlife. It is impressive and has endured long before the first seeds of the country were sown. In South Africa the opportunity to spend uncluttered time with this wildlife is phenomenal because of the accessibility and diversity of game reserves. South Africa hosts many concessions and reserves that provide exclusive opportunities to experience wildlife in its purest form and in uncrowded freedom. Frustratingly though, with so much wildlife around, it’s impossible to experience all of the remarkable encounters that occur every second of every day. Instead, all you can do is pick one animal at a time and give all your energy, thoughts and appreciation to moments spent with that being.

Where I work, at Londolozi Private Game Reserve, the animal that is most frequently picked is the leopard. After 30 years of continual respect, habituation and game viewing, these elusive cats are content to allow us to view them for hours on end. Following them down dry riverbeds and gazing up at them whilst they fall asleep in the cradle of large trees, the leopards viewed by the rangers, trackers and guests are plentiful. From the 17 year legacy of the recently deceased Female leopard to the muscular Camp Pan Male. The Nyeleti female with 3 tiny cubs and the Nottens Female who has just taken over her mother’s territory, these leopards are iconic. They are stars in their own unwitting way, yet still wild animals working with the pure existence of nature for their survival.

For me, there is one leopard that I feel the most affection for. The Maxabeni Young Male, so called owing to the spot pattern on either side of his shiny pink nose. Unlike his more evasive twin brother, this young male is willing to share his journey into adulthood. Cocky and cheeky but still desperately trying to learn where his place in the world is, every moment spent with him is different, interesting and thought provoking. I have watched him hunt his first antelope, leap away in fright from prowling hyenas and how his body language shifts from fear to confidence in momentary flashes. He has taught me lessons of persistence, courage and the value of cutting your losses. He is only a year old, yet he is wise.

This leopard is just one of many different animals that we as South Africans are lucky enough to have on our doorstep in the game reserves throughout this country. I don’t know where else in the world people are granted access to the exclusivity of spending time alone with wild animals, deep in the bushveld. It is here that the madness of the daily grind fades, the pollution of noise and carbon dissipate, and the seamless progression of days into nights into days allow you to just sit, enjoy and possibly learn something small from a moment with that being. It’s moment such as these that make South African wildlife truly rock.

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Ed’s note: This is a guest blog post from Sustainable.co.za.

We all complain about the Eskom price hikes: while facing mass retrenchments and skyrocketing food prices we are also faced with the exorbitant price of electricity and the future threat of 30-40% price hikes. But what are we, as individuals, really doing about the cost of energy and I’m not just talking about the financial cost. America and Europe are already educating citizens about reducing their carbon footprints and introducing incentives and laws to encourage the use of alternative energy. Perhaps it’s time we stopped complaining and started looking to alternative energy sources for our homes, such as solar panels and LED lights.

Here are some ways that you, as a South African, can do your bit to reduce your carbon footprint at home and save on that rapidly escalating electricity bill by tapping into alternative energy supplies:

What many South Africans forget is how lucky we are to spend so many days in the bright sunlight. The sun is one of our greatest alternative energy resources and one of its greatest advantages is that it’s not going anywhere at least for the next five billion years.
The initial installation cost of solar panels can be in the tens of thousands but the return on your investment starts almost immediately and you become immune to inconvenient power cuts and Eskom price increases. You can run your home fully from solar energy but, because the set-up required can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of Rands, you can start small and add sustainable products to your home as the money comes in. Solar water heaters, for example, cost little more than a regular geyser unit. And if you don’t want to overhaul your entire geyser system, invest in a geyser blanket or geyser timer to limit unnecessary heat loss and energy wastage. Geyer blankets and timers range from R200 to R500.

Zeke Murphy, owner of Sustainable.co.za, a Cape Town-based alternative energy company, says that it is possible for every average household to get involved in energy saving with alternative energy. “Realistically, the average household should be able to start considering alternative power for their lighting systems and running one or two low wattage appliances off a renewable energy system. These systems, if considered in the building of new homes, can be integrated without hugely impacting on the overall building cost”, he said.

If you’re considering making a positive change at home for the good of your country, your planet and your pocket, why not start now even if the finances aren’t readily available? Write down a list of what electrical appliances in your home are pushing up your energy bill the most. Usually the most energy heavy items include air conditioners, tumble dryers, geysers and ovens. Then look around for local alternative energy solutions that can do the job at a fraction of the price, like solar cookers and solar powered air conditioners.

Popularity: 5% [?]