A tribute to an exceptional 4+1 driver

Are you happy with any service you receive every day? Truth be told I hate the feeling of being denied a service I strongly think I am entitled to. But for some reason we have also accepted that in this country we cannot get exceptional services. Most of us have stopped complaining yet a high proportion of customers have experienced a problem of bad service when dealing with the public sector or private sector (restaurant, bar, guest house, coffee shop, public transport and others). We no longer report it because we do not think it would make any difference or the complaints process is too much of a hassle. Even when we receive exceptional service we do not bother to talk about it. Two weeks ago I came across a Facebook post that praised the Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA)’s exceptional service. One Facebook friend said when one walks into the LRA offices it is like they are walking into another country, they always receive excellent services. I can still remember this post because this is good news we do not usually hear or read about on social media or mainstream media. This week I want to report an exceptional service I received from a taxi driver. Last Friday I took a 4+1 taxi to my place in the evening. When I was sitting in the car I got a phone call. I spoke on the phone for about three minutes then I put my phone on the car seat between my legs. The driver was jolly and had engaged us in a decent conversation. When it was time for me to drop-off I even forgot that I had put my phone on the seat between my legs. As I was walking home I remembered that I was supposed to send a friend of mine M50 on Ecocash then I decided to load M50 into my Ecocash account. I walked into a local shop and the lady began serving me. She asked the usual question: “Is the phone with you?” I answered without hesitation, “yes!” Then I waited for a notification, but it did not come. My phone was supposed to vibrate but it did not. She said to me “it is done!” I walked out of the shop searching for my phone and could not find it. It dawned on me that I had lost the phone in the car. The only sensible thing was to attempt to call it and I did exactly that. The driver of the taxi answered the phone and told me one passenger had picked it and later gave it to him. This passenger answered Martin Luther King Jr’s urgent question, “life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” He/she decided to return my phone back to me through the driver. The driver introduced himself as Thapelo Molapo and I requested his phone numbers. After getting his phone numbers we agreed to meet the following day. I slept well knowing my phone was safe with the taxi driver. The following day when I got into town at 10am I called Mr Molapo but unfortunately he had gone to Khubetsoana. We agreed to meet up later. Around 5pm I called and he had gone out but told me that he will keep calling. He called every 5 minutes to update me on his whereabouts. I accidentally pressed something on the phone and lowered the volume of the ring tone without noticing. I put my phone in the pocket. Molapo called when he got to the bus stop area but I could not hear the phone. After about 20 minutes without hearing from him I decided to call him, when I opened my phone I was shocked to notice that I had three missed calls, they were all from him. When I called he politely told me that he tried calling but I did not answer the call so he took another trip to Khubetsoana and since I was going that side he requested me to take another taxi and we would meet half-way. Literally he called every three minutes to find out my location until we met. I informed the driver of the taxi I took that we might need to stop on the way in order for me to collect my lost phone from another 4+1 taxi and he was also cooperative. We eventually found him. It was raining and when I tried to get out of the taxi he said “stay in the car, I will bring the phone.” He jumped out of his car and ran to us and gave me the phone. He did not even attempt to request for money as a form of payment. Out of appreciation for his good service I sent him M50 later on Mpesa. This guy used his airtime to call me but did not expect anything in return. Exceptional service indeed. A taxi driver who did his work well. Martin Luther King Jr once said “if a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” The sentiments expressed by Dr Martin Luther King in reference to street sweepers are pertinent in several ways. At one level, the expectation is that all members of society, whatever their calling, should strive to attain levels of excellence. Molapo attained that level of excellence. In this case, King compares the work of street sweepers to that of Michelangelo, Beethoven, and Shakespeare, all three exceptional artistes within their respective fields. Street sweepers, therefore, just like these artistes, should seek to perform their jobs to the benefit of society and have pride in their accomplishments. Molapo stopped me from getting out of the car, he got out of his car in the rain and delivered my phone. Chances are that Molapo might never get to read this article but I hope he never stops serving others well. Molapo has challenged me to reciprocate his kind act. I might not have the chance to reciprocate the favour to Molapo but I can do my work well so that I can serve others. Let me conclude with Martin Luther King Jr’s powerful words: “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.” I am not sure if Molapo does what he does intentionally but for some reason he does his work so well. He is exceptionally good at what he does everyday.