MEET THE STAFF SERIES

Shun all Sorts of Fraud and the Sky is Our Limit…..Basiru Abubakar advise Colleagues

MSS- Can we meet you?
B. A:  My name is Basiru Abubakar, I graduated from Bayero University Kano where I studied Biochemistry.

MSS- When did you join Kaduna Electric?
BA-I joined the service of Kaduna Electric on 1st September 2015 as Sales Representative. I am currently at Argungu Service Centre; that is the Argungu 33KV feeder.

MSS - What are your basic responsibilities as Sales Representative?
B. A: My basic responsibility is marketing; that is to sell electricity, but in a wider context, my responsibility is to take care of all the activities of marketing and customer services within my cluster. These includes among other things, enumerating and capturing of new customers in my cluster, delivering bills to the post-paid customers and ensuring full payments of the bills. It is also part of my duties to address customers’ complaint wherever such complaints are drawn to my attention. I also ensure that only authorized and register electricity users have access to the service. In other words, we also ensure that that anybody stealing electricity is detected, apprehended and penalized according to the Company’s rules and regulation.

MSS- Can you share with us some of the problems or challenges you encounter in the course of your duty.
B. A: The major challenge is the customers’ apathy to payment of bills; some of them still believe it is a social service and they need not pay for the service. The second problem is billing issues, like higher or let me say over billing and under billing problems. When billing issues are addressed firmly, I believe our cash collection will improve significantly insha Allah.

MSS -Please how do you address issues of under billing?
BA- We used to call the attention of our metering staff to access the customer's load at peak period and convert it in to naira and kobo for customers to pay.

MSS- Target remains an issue that often generates hot discussion, do you agree with your own target?
B. A. NO and that's why many marketers want to leave the department because of unrealistic target. There should be more scientific methodology for setting target so that at that end of the day, each sales representative will be given a realistic target. There is also the need for the continuation of the mass metering programme.

MSS - How can we maximize revenue and minimize loses in the Company?
B. A.  We can do that by constant awareness to both staff and customers. Our colleagues should know that we will surely give account of all our deeds, so be good ambassador of Kaduna Electric where ever you are. While the customers too should know that payment of electricity bills is an obligation; it is no longer social service as being erroneously assumed in some quarters. Also, as I earlier stated, the Management should ensure continuation of the meters deployment programme; we have no option to metering if at all we want to ensure 100% revenue generation.

MSS – Recently, NERC Forum Offices were commissioned at Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States. How will these offices add value to Kaduna Electric?
B.A: As you know very well, NERC is a regulator in the electricity market, as such, it is like bringing the referee closer to the players (the consumers and the Company). This is telling us we should keep on doing the right thing; we have to be constantly on our toes. On the other hand, we now have the opportunity to report deviant customers, especially high energy consuming ones and governmental agencies who have failed to meet-up their obligations or are shortchanging the market.

MSS - Do you have any advice to the Management of Kaduna Electric?
B.A:  My advice to the Management is one, appraisal should be well monitored, in some instances, the assessment made does not reflect the actual performance of the sales rep or the service centre. Such error is de-motivating and could result in disciplinary action taken against innocent people. Secondly, incentive should be given to those that out shine at different levels.

MSS- Do you have any call to your colleagues, especially fellow sales representatives.
BA- Yes of course, we are always at the tail end of this business and we need to be very vigilant and shun away from all sorts of fraud, we should have contentment of what we are earning monthly. If we maintain these, the sky is our limit

MSS- How do spend your leisure time?
BA- I like Reading religious books and traveling
MSS - Thank you for the time spent.
BA- Thank you so much