For comparison, in terms of distance, Margao Municipality would be linked, say, by telephone to sub-offices in Chinchinim, Cortalim, Vasco. A person working in Vasco could contact a person in the Chinchinim office by merely dialing the four digit extension. If the person was not at her/his desk, possibly out to visit to check on a disabled client, one of the six colleagues would take the call. Not needing to leave her/his desk, but merely keying in *4 to have the called switched over. In answering the call, the first thing was to identify the department (say, Children’s Disability), the name, and then as a matter of routine “HOW CAN I HELP YOU ?”, in a polite tone. The name of the caller, the absent colleague, time, telephone contact, and any message, would be duly entered in a messages register, with an attached ball pen, kept on a lectern. On return the absent colleague would make a bee line for the messages register, and having made a note, would tick off as seen.
Any telephone call had to be answered within four rings. As said above, it was the duty of those present to answer the call of an absent colleague with all due urgency. Periodically, a computer print out from the central exchange would be distributed to all sub-offices, and the extensions which did not answer would figure in the print-out. The person concerned would be called upon to answer for not answering her/his calls. With such a system in place, it was hardly surprising that employees were conditioned to answering calls promptly. This is not tyranny or witch-hunting, but merely giving tax-payers value for money; making employees realize they are servants of the public, who pay their wages, and it is only right and proper that they give, in return, the services expected of them. It will need a man of blood and iron at the top to drastically change the mentality and culture of our civil servants who behave as the world owes them a living.
