“My most embarrassing moment as a student adviser was when an applicant insisted I speak with his dad, who would make the payment for the deposit fee, and he warned me that the dad would most probably be in a bar drinking when I would call him, but he would still confirm that he would pay for his son. And sure enough, when I called the dad he was drinking at a bar, already intoxicated, and his response was ‘ tell my son to apply next year’, as he didn’t have any money left!”
Christine Muriithi, Student Adviser at the UNICAF Call Centre in Nairobi, Kenya
Two necessary qualities to work in this position, other than the obvious ones, are friendliness and patience.
My most embarrassing moment as a student adviser was when an applicant insisted I speak with his dad, who would make the payment for the deposit fee, and he warned me that the dad would most probably be in a bar drinking when I would call him, but he would still confirm that he would pay for his son. And sure enough, when I called the dad he was drinking at a bar, already intoxicated, and his response ‘tell my son to apply next year’, as he didn’t have money left!
In general, in dealing with applicants the greatest challenge I face is convincing them that UNICAF is a legit operation. In Kenya there are so many scam schemes that people are overtly cautious and need a lot of proof and convincing to believe us.
Our best reward is to be congratulated for providing excellent customer service, sound advice and all information necessary about the study programme in question.
