Friendly information before the official visit: Stadtwerke employees at the reception in the town hall
12.08.2020 – Hardly anyone in Offenbach is likely to receive as many good wishes for the weekend on Fridays as Anna Ignjatovic and Fatemeh Bakhtiari. The two Stadtwerke Offenbach employees take turns on duty at the reception desk of the Stadthaus on Berliner Straße. Most Offenbach residents will have seen them before: Anyone who has an appointment at the Immigration Office, City Health Office, Public Order Office, Social Welfare Office or the Office for Urban Planning, Transport and Construction Management, for example, or who works here, will pass by the two receptionists.
"We know all of the 450 or so employees in the building, at least by sight, and often the visitors too, because many of them come regularly," say the two, who also live in Offenbach. "When we go for a private walk at the weekend, we feel like we know the whole of Offenbach. We are greeted everywhere," they say happily.
"We have it well under control"
Anna Ignjatovic has been sitting in the box in the building at Berliner Strasse 60 for three and a half years, joined six months later by her colleague Fatemeh Bakhtiari. They only see each other every day during the handover. But they also talk to each other on the phone after work if necessary to discuss any uncertainties, new developments and other things that may arise during the course of the working day. "Many people don't know where to go and also ask us about contact points that are not here in the building, such as the registry office, citizens' office or court. We were also asked technical questions on a wide variety of topics. We first had to research for ourselves who was responsible," says Fatemeh Bakhtiari and her colleague adds: "In the meantime, we have created a notebook in which we have written down the answers and addresses to the most frequently asked questions."
Both previously worked for a security service and are therefore also good at dealing with visitors who do not express their concerns with friendliness and respect. "We have it well under control," says Anna Ignjatovic. Their friendly, open manner and competent way of dealing with people and their questions quickly made them well-known in the building.
GBM responsible for porter services in the town hall, town hall and VHS
Then came the decision from the city council to no longer have the porter services in the town hall, town hall and adult education center purchased from a service provider via Stadtwerke Offenbach's GBM Service GmbH Offenbach. Instead, the Stadtwerke subsidiary should take on this task itself. "We wanted to have employees from our subsidiaries in these important municipal buildings, which are visited by more than a thousand citizens every day," says Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke, who is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Stadtwerke Offenbach. "GBM was the right company for this task due to its portfolio and the good experience we have gained in the municipal properties and at our sports facilities with its janitors and groundsmen."
For the municipal employees in the town hall, it quickly became clear that the two proven and popular receptionists would stay on after the change. And Anna Ignjatovic and Fatemeh Bakhtiari didn't want to leave either: "We have a great working atmosphere here, the people who work here are without exception so friendly and nice that we didn't want to change."
"Where's the letterbox here?"
GBM was happy to comply with this request. "When we took over the new business area, we were pleased that we were able to hire two well-trained and popular colleagues for the town hall," says Claudia Lisch, Head of Infrastructural and Commercial Facility Management. "The previous service provider didn't put any obstacles in our way, although they would have liked to deploy their competent employees elsewhere."
And so they continue to take turns in the porter's lodge, now equipped with a plexiglass screen and disinfectant, greeting employees in the morning, saying goodbye to them in the evening and helping citizens. The most frequently asked question? "Where's the letterbox here?" they both say spontaneously. Anyone walking past the large, unmissable box at the entrance to the town hall can also be brought to the door by the receptionist if necessary.
"If older visitors say they are afraid of the elevator, we sometimes take them up to the 18th floor," says Fatemeh Bakhtiari. And Anna Ignjatovic remembers an elderly lady who absolutely refused to get into the elevator. "I helped her step by step up the stairs to the 12th floor."
August 13, 2020