RHEMA's HOMECOMING was all about "LOOKS"

"I don't do well with big crowds"; "I need to stay home and work", "I'm just not in the mood".

These were just a few of the excuses I came up with to try and avoid going to the "Homecoming Celebration" organised for Rhema Varrie in Eden Park this past Saturday.  My Bestie - Glisson was part of the organising team and naturally that means he could find a task for me at the drop of a hat.  In fact he tried to persuade me to MC earlier on in the day and I wormed my way out of that one too.

Nevertheless, there I was eventually. I arrived late enough to not be roped into anything and blended into the crowd right at the back so that I didn't seem like a groupie.

For those who don't know; Rhema Varrie recently came third in SA IDOLS after being eliminated when he didn't make the final 2 - even though he had over 4 million votes and (in my opinion) has one of the richest voices I have heard in the competition in years.

Back to the "Homecoming Celebration"...

SO there I was in the back of the crowd; trying to blend in, taking a few pics on my phone and even offering up the occasional cheer.  But throughout the entire celebration while all the festivities were happening and the singing continued on stage, I was completely distracted, and so Rhema's program on stage constantly had to compete with my two main distractions:
1. My own emotions, and
2. The many people who caught my attention.

For purposes of where this post is going, I would like to focus on the latter.

Standing in one of the school corridors slightly behind me, she unintentionally caught my attention.  She just stood their amidst all the shouting, cheering and dancing.  The ordinary lady.  She stood there looking straight ahead and not saying a single word - not even to the lady next to her.  There was a slight smile on her face but what caught my attention more was the look in her eyes.

I was jolted back to reality by the announcement that Rhema's dad was about to take the stage and say a few words, and then it happened again...

Standing with her hand in the air throughout Mr Varrie's speech, was my next distraction.  The random mother in the "Vote for Rhema T-Shirt" who I can tell must have spent hundreds of rands on airtime to vote via sms.  Her reactions were boisterous and passionate as she tried to identify with the pride expressed by Rhema's dad but the look in her eyes was the exact same one I noticed only seconds before in the other lady's.

And so these distractions just kept popping up.  And then I realised that every person who had grabbed my attention had that same look.  The teenage mother with the toddler on her hip as well as the old man raising his can of black label as he sang all his own words because the contents of his can gave him all the confidence he needed to completely let go of all his inhibitions and just enjoy the moment.

The primary school kid trying to worm his way closer to the front to get a better view of the stage and the high school learner who didn't care about being cool for just those few minutes; - they had that look too.

The old lady with the swollen feet sitting on a specially arranged chair had the same look as the visibly drug intoxicated 20-something year old guy who probably hadn't even watched a single episode of Idols.

I had to force myself to stop staring at all theses people and so I took Arlene by the hand and we worked our way to a spot right by the stage.  We got there just as Rhema started singing his last song.  The song was "I Love You Daddy" by Ricardo who had just passed on 2 days earlier and so there was no way this entire community wasn't going to sing along.  I was the only one not singing because at that point I just couldn't ignore "Distraction number 1 " anymore, and so I just completely lost it and sobbed.

I sobbed, not because of the song, but because with a better view of the crowd from where I was now standing, I realised now what that look was. 

The look I kept noticing was actually in the eyes of every person there.
It was a look that was the same yet it was different.

 For some the look was one of hope for a better future for their own children while for others it was one of pride that they could share in the success of an ordinary boy from down the road.  For some the look was a longing that one day they too could be on a stage like this or have the chance to walk where Rhema has walked recently, while for others it was a look filled with regret for the talent they had wasted or the opportunities they have missed.

But the look was created by the same thing. . . and then I realised why it had grabbed my attention.  The look in all of those eyes was created by A DREAM. 

Perhaps a future dream, or perhaps a dying one. Perhaps a dead dream, or perhaps one buried under fear.  Perhaps a dream ignored because of overwhelming circumstances and internal voices shouting that it is too late. Every person who had shown up for a what they thought was a celebration for Rhema, was actually there because of the dream inside of each of them. 

And then I realised how our lives and our dreams are so much more about other people and not ourselves.  Rhema had to chase his dream and even face the disappointment of being eliminated and now having to take a detour to the final destination of his own dream, in order to show an entire community that they too CAN DREAM AGAIN. 

I realised how he may not even be aware of the magnitude of the responsibility he has.  So many people's destinies are now locked up in where he ends up and that is such an overwhelming responsibility, but as he improvised and changed the vocal arrangement of the song to suit his own range and to customise the message he wanted to bring across in the song, I realised that like him, every one of us already has everything we need inside of us to achieve our dreams.  We simply need to wake up to it and then chase after it with all of our hearts. 

I left sad, but I left happy.  I left helpless, but I left hopeful.  But above all, I left grateful.
I am grateful that I know without a doubt what it is that I am meant to do in this world and I am even more grateful for the opportunity to help others discover this for themselves too.

Thank you Rhema Varrie for chasing your dream.  Your dream is my dream, and the dream of so many others.

Be inspired.

Darren

An OPEN LETTER to AUTOPAGE - YOU SUCK!!!!!!

Dear Autopage... The worst service organisation in SA.

 

You are so lucky that I can’t afford to erect a billboard on a main road to let everyone know just how much YOU SUCK!

 

I feel stupid to even admit that I have been with you for approximately 14 years and have given you over R150’k in monthly payments to date.  Unfortunately I refuse to stick around any longer and thought I would let you and anyone else who reads this letter know why I am leaving and won’t EVER be back.

 

Here are my reasons why I HATE your organisation, why I will not give you another cent of my hard earned money, why I will tell everyone I know just how badly you have treated me, and why I am just so mad!!!

 

1.       YOUR MANAGERS DON’T SPEAK TO CUSTOMERS:

Yes, that’s exactly what your agents have told me time and time again when I call.  Last week I cancelled two appointments and even drove to your offices and was told that the managers were at a braai and none of them would come and speak to me. The braai was at the office park…The best I could get was a call centre team leader who again confirmed that none of the more senior people would speak to me in person or even give me a call.  After convincing Zaheer Vallee (the call centre team leader) that I cannot accept that, he assured me that HEMMA RAJKUMAR (Head of retentions) would call me back on Monday morning.  By Wednesday afternoon after a few more calls from my side, I was contacted by Lucretia Khan (who introduced herself as Hemma’s PA) and was told that Hemma asked her to contact me.  I then had to spend another 10 minutes convincing Lucretia that I couldn’t settle for the explanation that Hemma does not speak to customers directly.  Hemma eventually left a voice message for me and sent me an email asking when she could call me back.  I replied and have still not heard back from her… AND OF COURSE SHE WOULDN’T GIVE ME A NUMBER TO CALL HER BACK.

 

2.       YOUR CALL CENTRE AGENTS SIMPLY DON’T CARE, AND DON’T LISTEN

My average call to your call centre is approximately 15 minutes.  And It takes me an average of 3 calls to get through to a person.  when I eventually get to speak to an agent, the first thing they do is put me on hold and then eventually drop me back into the IVR and I get to another person and then have to explain myself again.  When I beg and plead for them to call a supervisor, they give me the standard response that “They are in a meeting, or they will not speak to me.”  It eventually takes me having to scream and shout and threaten them before I get a team leader.

The last team leader ZAHEER, gave me his email address and a direct number for himself, and promised to resolve my query.  I haven’t been able to get hold of him on the number he provided for over a week now, and he read my email on Tuesday last week but has still not replied.

 

3.       YOU CAN’T DELIVER ON YOUR BASIC OFFERINGS

I haven’t been trying to get you to provide me with electricity in a bottle… all I asked for was an upgrade. A SIMPLE UPGRADE.  And surely this was your opportunity to serve me well and RETAIN me as a customer. 

Instead, GIRLY didn’t process my request correctly.  That was on the 6^th of March.  I only discovered this when I called to follow up after my phone had still not been delivered a week later (14 March).

I then gave the next agent a chance to correct this , but after another week (now by the 19^th of March) , Lerato Mongwe then confirmed that my upgrade was still not even processed on the system.  Hours on the phone then resulted in Zaheer taking over the call and assuring me that everything was processed and I could come and pick up a phone on Friday 20 March. When I got there, the showroom consultant could not trace an order on the system because VISHEN had not processed the request correctly and I ended up spending 2 hours there waiting while everyone tried to cover up their tracks and prevent me from speaking to a manager.  I left there under the impression that everything was sorted but as soon as Monday came, all the wheel came off again. No PORT, no confirmation of the resolution of my query, and then this past weekend, no SMS’s , No DATA and then confirmation again from a call centre agent that the package I requested was not activated correctly.

 

It will take too much of my time to go into all the detail of the impact this service failure has had on me and my business over the last week especially.

 

So here I am, at work, on my only day off this month, trying to get some sort of help from someone at Autopage, and once again, all I get is the run around. 

 

I have spent 2 weeks just asking for GAVIN WEANIE (head of Customer Service) or HEMMA RAJKUMAR(head of Retentions) to contact me so that I could simply explain to them how I have been traumatised by the service I have received.  All I wanted was for one of them to listen to me and then get someone to sort out my request. And then for a sincere expression of understanding that I am frustrated and perhaps a simple apology for dropping the ball so many times.  I really didn’t expect any special treatment.  But by asking for this, it seems that my request is unreasonable, so I am left with no option but to leave. 

 

Please cancel my contract with immediate effect, give me back my number and let be on my way.  I will spend my hard earned money on airtime until I find another SERVICE PROVIDER who deserves me. I will no longer be bullied by you AUTOPAGE. 

 

 

 

Yours truly

Darren August

A customer who knows what real service is...