Congratulations are in order

I recently experienced nothing short of world-class service at the Mogale City motor vehicle licensing office. Others in the Gauteng region should follow its example

What a pleasant surprise I had when going to the Krugersdorp (now known as Mogale City) municipal vehicle licensing test station, to renew my Professional Driving Permit (PrDP) … discovering a world-class facility with friendly, helpful, professional staff.

The reason I was so surprised is that, for years, I have been going to other motor vehicle test stations in the Gauteng area to renew my PrDP and found these facilities overcrowded, unprofessional, dirty and not user-friendly.

On arrival at the Mogale City licensing department I was immediately greeted by a friendly parking assistant, who directed me to a clean, secure and well-marked parking bay. He then gave me directions to the main building. What a contrast to the other motor vehicle licensing offices in the Gauteng area, where it is, at times, difficult to find a clean, secure parking area and someone to direct you to the correct building entrance.

At the Mogale City vehicle test station there were no dangerous-looking characters surrounding the car, offering their service to shortcut the process for a fee.

Recently, there have been media reports warning people to be very wary about dealing with these untrustworthy people who operate outside the perimeter fence of the other test stations. As at some of the local motor vehicle licensing stations, cars have also been broken into and valuables stolen while the owner is inside the building.

Sadly, the latest incident resulted in the death of an elderly woman, who was attacked right outside the licensing department while following her husband, who was on his way to the facility to renew his driving licence.

At the entrance to the administration building I was again greeted by a friendly assistant, who directed me to a very clean and well-laid-out area, where all the relevant forms required for the various transactions were neatly displayed. The official assistant also offered his guidance (without asking for money), to ensure that I had all the necessary forms.

Good and adequate seating is also provided to accommodate all the applicants. While waiting in the orderly queue, a photographer offered his services. Again, this is properly done and without the necessity of going across the road (as is the case at some of the other test stations) to have photos taken.

The staff, who process the documents and do the eye test and fingerprints, are also friendly and treat each person in a courteous and professional manner. The process is quick.

The payment office is well staffed and, again, the process is quick. At some of the other test stations you can wait for a long time before you are called to the counter to pay.

The entire process took me only 30 minutes – compared to my previous experiences where it would take the entire morning.

So, the question to be asked is: why can one motor vehicle licensing test station in the Gauteng area offer a world-class service, staffed with professional and friendly people, while other test stations offer such an unprofessional, unfriendly and shoddy service?

One of this country’s most respected commercial vehicle industry authorities, VIC OLIVER has been in this industry for over 50 years. Before joining the FOCUS team, he spent 15 years with Nissan Diesel (now UD Trucks), 11 years with Busaf and seven years with International.