Service on the run spurs TV ad

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and you'll understand them better. This approach inspired bank employee Maggie Lesele to wear comfortable takkies to work in a bid to make payday queues move faster.

She had no inkling that her "Takkie Day" initiative would trigger a multimillion-rand advertising campaign or that her colleagues in 750 Standard Bank branches would lace up their takkies on the 25th of every month.

Lesele, who at the time was the manager at the Malelane branch - near the border with Swaziland - inspired her team of 25 to take part in the initiative. And it was nearly a year before the bosses at head office noticed what was happening.

The 37-year-old single mother described Malelane as a farming area where many casual workers from Swaziland and Mozambique were employed for seasonal work.

The workers are paid by cheque and it isn't easy for them to open bank accounts.

"What this means is that, by 7.15am on payday, there's already a queue of around 150 people outside the branch with cheques in hand ready to be cashed," said Lesele.

She said although her customers were less impatient than those in the big city, she still felt she had a duty to make their lives easier.

So she and her team put their heads together to come up with some solutions.

She added: "We even decided to meet them outside the bank ... so the service actually began in the queue.

"We put on our running shoes to be quick on our feet and organise the customers in three lines outside so that they could be directed according to their needs and not have to wait unnecessarily in the wrong queue."

After her bosses at head office in Johannesburg took notice of what the small branch was doing, they decided to use Lesele's i dea as the basis of a television and cinema commercial.

The advert shows a woman named Grace Ramarola getting dressed in her uniform at home, then putting on a pair of takkies to walk to work. Once she reaches the bank, other staff members follow suit.

Said Lesele, who has since been promoted to a bigger branch: "It makes work a lot more fun, and staff feel more energised and ready to take on their busy day."

Lesele's go-getting attitude has ensured that, in 15 years, she's been able to work her way up from being an ATM administrator to becoming a personal and business banking manager.

She has completed six courses with the Institute of Bankers.

She confessed: "I have often wished that I had the opportunity to do an MBA, but then I said to myself that I'm a people person and that's my strength.

"It's never let me down, so I should use that to make my way."

Her infectious attitude is helping to drive change at the bank, and her enthusiasm for helping people has been a key to her own success.

People's initial reaction to her takkies was surprising. "We got amazing feedback. Customers felt we were literally reaching out to them and showing them respect and caring."

Soon most staff, even those not working as tellers, began to get out from behind their desks and, sporting their takkies, helping them move the queues faster.

Standard Bank spokesman Jacqui Carnelley said Lesele "epitomised the spirit" of the bank. She put the needs of her customers first and, in doing so, inspired her staff, she said.

"Her proactiveness has become such an inspiration for everyone in the bank.

"Her actions show that everyone can take leadership in any part of the bank and make a difference," said Carnelley.

Last October, Lesele was promoted to the Emalahleni branch in the former Witbank.