Face Technologies is an oven!
Jan 21, 2009
EDITOR—On January 17, I went to Face Technologies at Kyambogo to process the conversion of my driving permit. My experience was not a pleasant one. I had heard people complaining before but I had never paid attention.
EDITOR—On January 17, I went to Face Technologies at Kyambogo to process the conversion of my driving permit. My experience was not a pleasant one. I had heard people complaining before but I had never paid attention.
My turn came last week! First of all, when you hand in your URA receipt at the form collection counter outside, it is retained and you are asked to wait until you are called. The problem is that the forms on which customers are supposed to sit and wait from are in the blazing sun! Only one form can shelter peope from the sun. January 17 was a very hot day and people preferred to stand where they could get shelter than sit in the searing sun. Of course this means that if rain finds you at Face Technologies, you are worse off! After your name is read out, you have to queue up for an image scan. I entered Room D and when my turn came, I spent there about 15 minutes because the system had broken down.
As if that was not enough, the young man in charge seemed to be learning on the job because two ladies at different times came to help him out. After that I was given a form to fill and then line up behind a very long queue opposite the scan cubicles.
After the data had been captured I was asked to go to counter 10 and after counter 10, I finally went to line up again to pay for a provisional permit. The process would be bearable but the real nightmare is that Face Technologies is not an office but a warehouse!
The people are packed like sardines and although there are fans high up in the roof they are totally useless. The moment you enter Face Technologies you automatically begin fanning yourself endlessly. There are several transparent sheets in the roof which allow in an intolerable amount of heat.
What is most annoying is that when the customers are wiping their sweat in utter discomfort, the good Face Technologies staff are comfortably perched on their chairs in air-conditioned cubicles! What kind of customer care is this?
Nobody is bothered at all about this ‘mandatory’ discomfort forced on customers. On Saturdays, Face Technologies works from 9:00am to 1:00pm. When it clocked 1:00pm, the huge metallic door was closed and if the warehouse had been hot, it now became an oven!
How could Face Technologies have been given a licence to run a public office in such a place? The way they operate reminds me of how cattle are transferred on lorries from upcountry to the abattoirs in Kampala. Nobody ever thinks that animals can feel pain like human beings!
Face technologies must leave that warehouse and shift to a respectable office or they should redesign the warehouse if they recognise the fact that their customers are human beings.
The current state of affairs is simply unacceptable and intolerable! I would also like to know whether all motorists in Uganda must travel to kampala to have the new driving permits or whether there are centres upcountry where the permits are processed. After going through the hassle, one has to wait for a week to get the permit. If Kyambogo is the only centre, I pity the drivers who don’t live in Kampala.
Stephen Mukwaya
Kampala
My turn came last week! First of all, when you hand in your URA receipt at the form collection counter outside, it is retained and you are asked to wait until you are called. The problem is that the forms on which customers are supposed to sit and wait from are in the blazing sun! Only one form can shelter peope from the sun. January 17 was a very hot day and people preferred to stand where they could get shelter than sit in the searing sun. Of course this means that if rain finds you at Face Technologies, you are worse off! After your name is read out, you have to queue up for an image scan. I entered Room D and when my turn came, I spent there about 15 minutes because the system had broken down.
As if that was not enough, the young man in charge seemed to be learning on the job because two ladies at different times came to help him out. After that I was given a form to fill and then line up behind a very long queue opposite the scan cubicles.
After the data had been captured I was asked to go to counter 10 and after counter 10, I finally went to line up again to pay for a provisional permit. The process would be bearable but the real nightmare is that Face Technologies is not an office but a warehouse!
The people are packed like sardines and although there are fans high up in the roof they are totally useless. The moment you enter Face Technologies you automatically begin fanning yourself endlessly. There are several transparent sheets in the roof which allow in an intolerable amount of heat.
What is most annoying is that when the customers are wiping their sweat in utter discomfort, the good Face Technologies staff are comfortably perched on their chairs in air-conditioned cubicles! What kind of customer care is this?
Nobody is bothered at all about this ‘mandatory’ discomfort forced on customers. On Saturdays, Face Technologies works from 9:00am to 1:00pm. When it clocked 1:00pm, the huge metallic door was closed and if the warehouse had been hot, it now became an oven!
How could Face Technologies have been given a licence to run a public office in such a place? The way they operate reminds me of how cattle are transferred on lorries from upcountry to the abattoirs in Kampala. Nobody ever thinks that animals can feel pain like human beings!
Face technologies must leave that warehouse and shift to a respectable office or they should redesign the warehouse if they recognise the fact that their customers are human beings.
The current state of affairs is simply unacceptable and intolerable! I would also like to know whether all motorists in Uganda must travel to kampala to have the new driving permits or whether there are centres upcountry where the permits are processed. After going through the hassle, one has to wait for a week to get the permit. If Kyambogo is the only centre, I pity the drivers who don’t live in Kampala.
Stephen Mukwaya
Kampala