Business

Old Mutual Board Chair Announces Life Insurance Plans

Sipho Showa
 
Sipho Showa

Speaking at the occasion to open Old Mutual Botswana’s headquarters at the Fairgrounds Park recently, Showa said they are only awaiting the authorities to issue them with the licence which could be any time soon. The  insurance company, according to the chairman, has already moved  ahead  by putting the necessary structures in place  to start the ball rolling as soon as  the licence is out.

Turning to the new offices, Showa said they could only be reflective of  the company’s statement of intent. Quoting from architect David Allan Coe who said, “ It is not the beauty of  a building you should look at, it is  the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time,  Showa emphasised that  as Old Mutual Botswana, they seek to build a solid foundation of products and services that are responsive to the  needs of the local market. Showa enthused, “ The American businessman Mortimer Zuckerman was correct when he said, “before you build a better  mousetrap, it helps to know if there are any mice out there”. “Therefore as businesspeople we have to  look deeply into things, plunge the depths, sound out all the information and work towards offering appropriate products and services”.

Showa added that his company  had gone some considerable distance in the design of its products and services to meet  the needs of their  customers. “We continue to develop others such as  an insurance product for the tourism sector. Many more will be on the way in due course”. The chairman also emphasised the provision of  excellent customer service as part of building a solid foundation for businesses. He advised that with many competitors in the market, customer service has truly become the bread and butter of any business.

“For a paying customer, or a potential customer for that  matter, there is probably nothing as unpleasant and painful as being denied good customer service. Such bad service often reminds me of a very moving scene in Homer’s The Lliad, an ancient Greek epic poem set during the Trojan war, where Patroklos appeared to Achilles in a dream.

Achilles is overjoyed at the sight of the apparition and tries to throw his arms around the ghost of his childhood friend but it vanishes. For many customers across the business sector, decent customer service is nothing but an apparition that vanishes unceremoniously leaving one displeased”.